Since I only seem to be able to get things accomplished when I set deadlines and make very public commitments to what I plan to get done, I thought I might start asking on Monday “What’s on Your Design Wall?” and then the next Monday, when I ask again, you have to tell us what happened with what was on your design wall last Monday when you showed us? What do you think of that idea?
This idea isn’t about who can accomplish more than the next person or who has nicest design wall (I’ll admit it — mine is probably the ugliest but it works!) . . it’s totally about motivation to finish projects. Maybe you don’t need motivation . . I do!
If you want to play along, snap a picture of what’s on your design wall and share it, will you? Just leave a comment. If enough participate, I’ll start doing a link box on Mondays. Sorry for the late start this Monday . . just thought about the idea.
And, if you don’t remember til Tuesday or Thursday or Friday . . do it when you think about it. The more, the merrier.
Let’s see how much we can collectively get on our design walls and finished into quilts!
Here’s mine. You’ve seen this stuff before.
What you see: Part of some kind of pinwheel quilt I started several years ago; borders for a new Patriotic Stars quilt (yes, I sometimes make the borders first) and the orange quilt. One row has already been removed because my design wall is too short. No, the design wall is plenty tall enough . . I’m too short and if I put blocks near the bottom, when Speck is getting his nest built, he knocks them off.
By next Monday, I hope to have the orange top done and ready to quilt (already quilted if I’m lucky!) and have some blocks to go with those border blocks for the Patriotic Stars quilt . . maybe 2 rows of blocks. Oh, that’s very optimistic. I have some customer quilts to get done and a whole quilt to finish binding.
{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }
Well, if the floor in my stash room can count as a design wall, then I’m in. Although I’m doing backings these days, so it’s nothing exciting. I love your orange marmalade quilt – or whatever you named it!
Ah! glad you asked!
Yesterday i finally broke into my 2 charm packs and jelly roll of the Moda Collections for a Cause, Heritage 1846 that i’ve been hoarding.
So far i’ve made 40 HST’s with the charm packs and am working on making 4 patches of the jelly roll. they’ll be combined into Railroad Crossing blocks. I’m using the quilt pattern called “Opening Day” by Beth Merrill Kovich from the book “Snuggle Up”.
no design wall here (space is waaaay too short) so my craft table will have to make due. will try to get some pics up sometime tomorrow.
Well, my design wall is pretty boring. I’ve had my Jared Takes a wife on it most of the last two weeks. I took it down for a while this weekend while putting together the stash project top. But it’s back up there again, this time with yet another border option.
At the rate I’m going I will have finished several other projects before I decide on the borders for this one.
I made a crib size quilt from leftover purple blocks for the birthday party we went to yesterday. So, those blocks are off my wall. Now I’m working on your bears paw quilt. I also have some blue and yellow nine patch blocks laying around too and some scrappy bright hopes blocks. I want to do another orange quilt, so the orange fabric is on my staging table.
I haven’t bought any fabric in a long time and I’ve been trying really hard to use up fabric so that Ryan has some where to sleep when he comes home this summer.
What a fun idea! I don’t have a design wall either, but I do have a dining room table and sometimes the floor at the bottom of the stairs is called into service! I did a picture of my DR table, but if you go forward with this, I think it’s a great excuse to put up the design wall I’ve always wanted!
When I started reading about your idea and found it interesting, I thought I must be the only quilter that doesn’t have a design wall. Now I read the responses ahead of me and see that is not the case. I’m going to try to create a design wall by next Monday and then go from there.
Mine is simply puffy batting with two pieces of flannel draped over it. I use push pins to push it into a sheetrock/drywall type wall. When I take it down, I dip a Q-tip in paint and touch up the holes in the wall and no one ever knows! I wish I had a bigger one but I’m very limited on wall space. Once you get used to using a design wall, it may be really hard not to have one. Good luck with coming up with one but remember . . it surely isn’t necessary to have a design wall to create beautiful quilts.
A friend of mine uses a vinyl table cloth with the white flannel back. The great part is she has them in many sizes depending on what she is working on. A small square one is great for baby quilts and if you sew 2 of the long oblongs (60×120) together you can layout a CalKing.
Dianah
I have a bad 2 weeks coming up, so can I reserve the right to join in with this beginning the week of June 8? (No real design wall here, either……..I use the floor, the bed in the guest room, the kitchen island, etc.)
I wish that I had not been so productive last week as I got a few finishes done and the things on my wall at the moment are a ways away from being done! But Im in, at the moment my wall has got my quilt for an hour project you held last year which is waiting for the borders which I am going to have sewon and and basted by next Monday! Time to clear out a few WIPS!
I actually have the Wonder Wall by TRS Designs. I bought it a few years ago and get much use out of it. I do wish it was bigger. The GREAT thing about using a vinyl table cloth or making your own, you can make it the size you need!
I will be having the same thing on my design wall until mid JULY! I am working on the 9-patch a day project. Today is day 29. I know if I take it down I will get behind. SO it will stay up and motivate me to get it done.
My flannel design wall is put away, as we have used the dinging room for entertaining recently. However, I did get to sew this weekend, so I have a bunch of blocks on the floor at the end of the living room. That will have to make do for now
Great idea and I will play along too.
I need lots of motivation!
I have a quilt I have been working on since Feb on my wall it’s king size and for my bed, I work on it in my spare time which I haven’t had to much of. I do have a picture posted on last friday’s post http://judiscrazyworld.blogspot.com/2009/05/holiday-weekend-my-quilt.html
I thought I had all the inner blocks made but no, today I worked on more blocks after I dyed some fabric for my next show.
I don’t have a deslgn wall………how I put up blocks in progress is I pin them to a quilt I have hanging on the wall…….it does the same thing………when I have company coming, I just unpin the blocks and its looks normal.
This is a great idea Judy. It will be nice to see how others are progressing. I won’t be able to get much done each week as other things in my life (DH’s business) is taking up way more of my time than I want it to.
Karen L
Currently on my design wall, now that my Star BOM is finished, is the Feathered Star by Sue Garman, current BOM on The Quilt Show with Ricky Tims and Alex Anderson. “Precision piecing” is the theme and Sue gives excellent tutorials! I’m 2 months behind, tho! ha
I am in the process of quilting a baby quilt and on my design wall (in my mind) as I don’t have a true design wall I am working on putting together a black and white quilt. I have been buying fat quarters and yardage but haven’t decided on the pattern yet… thinking of clays choice….
I love this quilt, did I say LOVE loud enough?????? I am working on my challenge quilt, my design board is foam core covered with cream flannel…. Did I say LOVE???? Oh, I did and I do, love this quilt, the oranges are fabulous…..
My design wall is empty right now. I am working on a scrap quilt and don’t have very many blocks assembled. Maybe next monday I will have something.
On my design wall is my entry into the Black and White challenge: All That Jazz. the top is finished except that the final border needs to be trimmed. It has been on the wall for a while so I could finish quilting a gift quilt for my youngest son and his wife. I finished that quilt today but can’t load Jazz until I get the batting for it.
My bricks are still on the design wall – I’d hoped they be assembled by now but I do have the rows sewn together…hopefully it will be off the wall by next Monday!
I love this idea! The quilt on my design wall has been there at least 2 years (groan). I desperately need to be accountable to someone or something to get a ton of quilts done before October. Do you want us to send our pics to you???? or post them on our blogs????
My design wall is a flannel back table cloth. I even have a new one that I got the other day for $2. Love design walls for 75% off!
Here’s what’s on my wall–it will have to stay there for a few more days……I have other things planned for this week.
http://grammasquiltingroom.blogspot.com/2009/05/whats-on-my-design-wall-monday.html
Count me in but right now my design wall is empty. I finished one quilt and I’m still cutting another one. I’ll catch up with everyone in the next few days.
Karen
I am excited to play along, I have a Basket Case quilt started and I am quilting a mystery quilt of mine today too. I am hoping this will help me get some of my UFO’s finished, Including all the tops of mine that need to be quilted too.
Here is the link to my blog to see what im working on. Thanks Judy Great Idea!!!
http://www.thelastyard.blogspot.com
I have my wall in the process so it is in two pieces and I have two projects on them. One is a Row Robin I can’t post pictures of because it’s not over yet. We are at the halfway point or so. When mine comes home it will be on the wall. The 2nd wall has a set of 6 blocks from the Fat 8th’s and Friends book by Marsha McClosky. I traded chunky strips at a guild meeting and need to make a charity quilt from them.They were Purple so I used them to make these cute flower pots. I’ll have to make another set of Chunky strips for the Charity quilt. I like this one too much! I have the 2nd set of six nearly finished after a road trip this past Saturday. Here’s the link to a photo of the six on the wall.
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/4SJNwXRruF
What’s on my design wall? I just updated my blog with a picture of County Lines, this is my son Steve’s quilt. If you are interested you can also see one of my boys’ practice scenes from Fiddler on the Roof. My oldest son Joe is Tevhe, yep he landed lead role! He is in the orange shirt, two of my other boys are also in the play. They too are in the bar scene. What fun we had!
I’m working on a quilt for my in-laws. I have all 16 blocks finished but as I’m putting them together two of the blocks don’t line up where they should. I have taken it apart twice now. AUGH! I finally put it away for a day or two. I’m hoping that when I am able to get back to it…tomorrow…everything will go as it should.
dawn
I love this idea. I have two design walls. Neither has anything on them at the moment. I have machine quilted 19 table runners for our daughters wedding reception, and that is what I am working on. I am doing a pillow turn on all of them and slitting the back to turn then doing a fusible patch to cover the slit. With the wedding only 11 days away..My design walls will be empty a little longer..
Both walls are floor to ceiling and 8 feet wide. I used foam board insulation glued it to the wall with liquid nails. I used a spray craft glue to glue a very thin batting I got really cheap over the foam boards. Works great. I can pin into the foam if needed. I just wish I had more time to use my design walls.
I have a block butler which isn’t working all that well. I just took down my newest granddaughter’s quilt, and still have pieces of a Wheel of Mystery class I took at Harrisburg about 3 years ago. My design wall is on the wall at the end of a hallway in my sewing room.
I have my Horse in a Sqaure Square 2 on my design flannel right now. Hopefully by next Monday they will be off and sewn into a quilt top and something new will be on the flannel.
Count me in I am working on my basket case quilt and trying to get some of my personal quilt tops quilted too. I have pics posted on my blog http://www.thelastyard.blogspot.com
What a neat idea. I use my closet doors as a design wall. right now I don’t have much on it as I just finished a Art Quilt and I’m almost finished my Fairy Breeze quilt. But, I’m sure I can find more projects to fill it so count me in.
Huggs,
Cleary
Ready to go! This is a great idea. Thanks!
count me in…maybe this will work…i definately need motavation
ann
I’ve decided to try this. Here is a link to my Design Wall post.Thanks for the impetus to complete stuff, Judy.
http://edutach.blogspot.com/2009/05/whats-on-my-design-wall.html
I don’t have a design wall currently. I was using a flannel backed table cloth but I think it got trashed when we moved (no wonder it was a Big Lots clearance and uggggly lol). Now that I have my own room I’m considering using the insulation foam boards, duct taped together and covered with batting and flannel. It will still have to be small cuz my room is only 10.5×11.5. I sooo need to participate in this so I will be shamed into actually getting something finished