Design Wall

Other quilters have shown and mentioned their design walls on their blogs. I have never felt the need for one, because where I used to live we had a balcony landing over the first floor living room and I was able to lay out the squares and view them from above.

I didn’t want to invest in anything costly, and I wasn’t sure I already had any flannel that was plain enough not to disrupt the quilt blocks design. I went to the internet and found a super simple way to put up a temporary design wall – use the flannel side of a vinyl tablecloth! I found one I already had, draped it over a door, and was able to lay out the blocks as I have them. In the case of the signature wall quilts, I am randomly using different fabrics, and I want them scattered throughout the quilt, not bunched together. Heaven forbid any identical fabrics touch!To make the setting-in triangles, I didn’t want to do the math. I could, but I didn’t want to. I’m sure someone out there has a chart for situations like this. The blocks in the quilt are 3 1/2 inch squares, so I just cut nine 4-inch squares. Eight of them were cut in half on the diagonal to make all the triangles on the sides, and one was cut into quarters on the diagonal to make the corner triangles. When I have them all sewn together, I can trim the excess before sewing on the border strips.

I began sewing the rows, but neglected to photograph my progress. I had to get the roast out of the crockpot! I am sewing in diagonal rows, starting with the upper left corner and ending in the lower right.

Do you see a fabric you love? My favorites are the bubbles, and the blue flowers with a white edging on light blue background.

I’ve found that cutting minimums are different in the different stores: one store said minimum cut is 1/4 yard. Two other stores said I could buy by the inch if I wanted to. In another store, I didn’t ask because I only bought fat quarters there.

Back to quilting again

I haven’t explained my spotty quilting and posting lately. I was diagnosed in July, 2013 with Multiple Myeloma, an incurable cancer of the blood. The initial treatments (biologic – pills and injections) caused several side effects including fatigue. I wanted to work as long as I was able to, but that meant I mostly dozed in the evenings and rested on the weekends. I didn’t do much sewing or quilting. In January, 2014 I had a stem cell transplant. My own stem cells were harvested from my blood and returned after high-dose chemotherapy. I’ve recovered stamina and energy since then, so I am back to sewing. As I said, it’s incurable for now, but I am in complete remission for a while.

My niece lived near the major hospital where I had the transplant, 4 hours’ drive from my home. There were a few times I needed to stay in the area for appointments and she graciously allowed my husband and me to stay several nights. She stocked up on foods and drinks we preferred and I enjoyed the energy of her household of 6. As a thank you gift, my first quilting project post-transplant was to make her a wall hanging she would enjoy.

I’ve made a couple of bookshelf quilts and it’s still a favorite of mine. I am able to use scraps from my bins and personalize it for the recipient. For hers, I included a birdhouse as a bookend, a shelf lamp, a framed photo in which I embroidered an image of her cat, and a coffee mug with Detroit Tigers’ logo.

When I make this quilt, I always try to make the leaning or stacked or upright books look as natural as possible. I’ve seen some finished quilts with nothing keeping the upright books in place and that always bothers me! The edges on this one seem wavy because I had just finished the binding and hadn’t pressed it.

(Close-up photos of the wall hanging)

My niece loved it and quickly posted a picture of it hanging near her reading chair. I hope each time she looks at it she sees how much I love and appreciate her and her family.

My husband’s oldest daughter and daughter-in-law both announced they were expecting their next babies, so I have new projects to begin!