Design Wall.

March 24, 2014May 1, 20157 Comments

The Design Wall is now up!

I first taped the two insulation boards together. I used duct tape:

I ironed and pressed the flannel (no photo of that). I then pinned the flannel to the insulation boards using silk pins:

I also used duct tape to hold the corners on the back (no photo).

We — a two-person job here — installed the design board to the wall, using screws. We made sure to install the screws where the studs were located. We are not home improvement experts by any means. We had some trouble at first because the screw caught the fabric, twisting it as it went into the insulation board. We made it work in the end.

Another shot of the finished project:

Again, thanks to Sew Katie Did for the inspiration.

In search of flannel . . . for design wall

March 15, 2014April 29, 20153 Comments

In the middle of making the Aerial quilt, I had an idea — look on wordpress.com to view other people’s design walls.

The blog, Sew Katie Did, had a nice design wall made from flannel:

In that post, she had a link to Garnet Hill for buying a flat flannel sheet for covering the insulation boards. Well, the sheets weren’t on sale at that time. The search began — the Container Store, L.L. Bean, Bed, Bath & Beyond, but no luck. I found 108″ flannel, made by A E Nathan, on fabric.com but “zero” yards were available.

In the meantime, my husband and I found the insulation boards at Lowes:

Each piece is 1/2 inch thick by 4 feet by 8 feet (total 96″ by 96″). They cost $10.43 each. We also purchased screws and washers. (total cost $31.31). I need 3 yards of 108″ fabric to cover the boards.

I checked back a week later at fabric.com and now it’s available. I ordered it immediately ($10.18 per yard at 3 yards equaled $30.54) and added some red fabric to get the free shipping for buying $35. When it’s all put together, I’ll post some photos.

Identity crisis: traditional? liberated? modern?

March 5, 2014June 5, 20145 Comments

Around 2008 I began taking quilting classes. I wanted to learn all the techniques — paper piecing, applique, Y-seams and so on. My first class was machine applique and the quilt pattern was Thirties Treasure using Thirties fabric:

I then took a class beginning in October 2009 using the book, Sylvia’s Bridal Sampler, by Jennifer Chiaverini, where I learned a different technique each month over a nine-month period:

I followed that up with the Christmas Greetings Sampler by the same author:

I also took a class in 2011 where we made the quilt Vintage Moments. I’m still hand quilting it:

I consider these quilts “traditional.”

I’ve made a few baby quilts. I have a photo of only one of them. I designed this one:

Last year I wanted to use my “scraps” from these quilts and found the quilt book, Sunday Morning Quilts. One of the authors has a wonderful blog: crazymomquilts.blogspot.com My first project was fabulous:

Without these other quilts, I could not have made this quilt.

I recently joined a group at Blue Crab Quilt Co. The group initially used the book, Liberated Quiltmaking by Gwen Marston. I took fabrics left over from Sylvia’s Bridal Sampler and made these liberated blocks:

I’m not sure what I’m going to do with these, but it was nice experimenting with liberated quilting.

While looking for a pattern for a gift for my sister, I saw this quilt pattern called Aerial by Carolyn Friedlander. This is a modern quilt. I’m about half way through making the “plots”:

By the way, on the right in the photo are a few of the Quilted Storage Boxes I made using directions from Sunday Morning Quilts:

These boxes have been essential in organizing all those “scraps.” They make it more likely that I will continue to make more liberated and/or modern quilts.

I did make that gift for my sister:

I can’t escape the fact that this turtle is very traditional and I liked it so much I made one for myself:

I’m trying to decide which of these design styles I like and how can I incorporate them into my life. I wonder if there’s a market for a modern liberated traditionalist quilt pattern and what would that pattern look like?