Design Wall

First, it is Friday and we did go out to lunch, but it wasn't any place really special.  I got to go out to lunch yesterday with some friends, so today I told my husband that we could go to IHop so he could have breakfast. That's not to say that I don't enjoy having New York Cheesecake pancakes.  We went to the music shop that he enjoys shopping in that is right next door to JoAnn's - so we both got to see what special deals we could find for the 4th of July weekend.  I bought a new rotary cutter, name brand was Claus.  It has a titanium blade - will have to see how it holds up to the others.  Best part was it was 50% off.  I was also able to use my 40% off coupon on another item.

I tried to post a response to the forum on TheQuiltShow.com on the subject of Design Walls.  In my attempt, I found I could not find how to put an image in the New Forum, so that is when I decided to post it here.  There are lots of ways to create a design wall.  It can be as simple as pinning your pieces to curtains or putting a flannel back table cloth on the wall.  If it works, that is all that matters.  I have limited wall space in my house.  I have a good size shop out in my garage for my quilting frame and commercial embroidery machine, but there is no space for a design wall out there - besides I don't do any sewing out there.  In the house my sewing room is sufficient for my sewing machines and ironing board and cutting table, but not alot of extra room... and no space for a design wall.  The hallway was the only available wall.  It is a very bright hallway because there is a skylight above it, and I can stand back in one of the two doorways to get a perspective view of whatever might be on the board.

When I told my husband I needed a design wall he decided to use corrugated plastic board that is used for signs.  It comes in 4 x 8 foot sheets, and is typically white.  I covered the board with flannel using a spray adhesive, which included the edges that fold over to the backside.  He attached a 7' piece of molding that created a lip to hold onto the two screws on the wall.  He attached the molding with two screws from the front side and reinforced it with a couple staples in between.  I lifted the board off the two screws on the wall to take these pictures.  If I ever didn't want it on the wall, I could take it down and slip it under a bed.


A few months ago I needed a larger area for a quilt I was working on.   My design wall is mounted so that the bottom is about 24" off the floor.  I created a hinged board that folded was 24" by 48" and it made my wall expand to 6' x 8'.  I slipped the opened hinged board under the bottom edge of the one that was hanging.

I have one at our cabin in Colorado.  My sewing area is in the loft and there is no wall to hang a design wall so we took a 4 x 8 sheet and divided it into three pieces and put two hinges on it so that it can stand on the floor pretty stable.  It folds up and stores behind my sewing table very nicely. I have also made a couple different sizes that I can take with me to quilt meetings.  One of them I even covered the back so it would look nice sitting on display on a table.

The cats like to get in the middle of whatever might be new in their space.

If you have any questions about my design wall, I would be happy to try my best to clarify.