Sew What’s Up Presents
The Sew What’s New Archive
This archived content is from Mary Wilkins’ sewing and
quilting message board “Sew What’s New,” which was
retired in August 2007. It is being provided by
“Sew What’s Up,”
which serves as the new home for many members of “Sew What’s New.”
From: Suzan61
Date: 07-07-2007, 07:03 PM (1 of 17)
I am just a brand new quilter - I recently met an older woman who has been quilting for 30 some years. When she finally allowed me into her quilting space, I was appalled. I immediately went in search of a book on how to organize your quilting space so I never end up in the disorganized mess she has. (I wouldn't know where to start in an effort to organize her space.) HOWEVER, once I was reading (and looking mostly at pictures) I noticed these design walls. I ended up installing one almost immediately and sure am glad I did. My design wall (you can see it behind me in my signature picture) is made of 1" thick polystyrene wrapped in flannel. Once I have my blocks up, I really enjoy sitting in my over-stuffed rocking chair with a glass of wine and contemplating how to arange the blocks next. I am finding now that I make so many changes, the quilt I started out to make ended up completely different. This design wall has brought out a whole new realm of creativity I never knew existed in me! The cost is minimal, yet the creative gain is priceless!
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User: Suzan61
Member since: 03-17-2007 Total posts: 10 |
From: Sancin
Date: 07-08-2007, 04:17 AM (2 of 17)
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Oh Suzi, Suzi, Suzi - your letter couldn't have been here at a more perfect time. I have been away for almost 5 weeks. I hired some home organizer/painters to paint 2 rooms in my house while I was away and come back in Sept to paint the rest. I have a lot of work to be done in different areas of my house that require the organization and supervision of tradesman, which these ladies told me they would attend to leaving me free to finish some projects in my freshly painted sewing room. I was quite clear, when they said they wanted to move things, that they were not reorganize. They were to have a book case installed (and not filled with every book they could find in the house, including the magazine recycle box and several piles to return to owners). When I came home I loved the paint, except for the few spills but my sewing room is a horror. I have been home a week and cannot find a THING. They installed all sorts of drawers and things (removing one chest I used daily) and mixed up all the stuff in my storage baskets/boxes and rearranged my sewing desk and when they didn't know what was what they guessed. Of course not everything fit in a neat space so there were piles of boxes of ? I have never been in such a mess in my life. I didn't want home beautiful - I wanted my mess where I knew exactly what was where, why and when I would be needing it. A whole drawer of buttons (from 2 bottles) and I haven't sewed on a button in 5 years yet where is my beloved bamboo turner? My interfacings and stablizers all mixed up, but colour coordinated.  And my fat quarters and waiting fabrics!! Yikes. There was even a drawer labelled projects which contained the scrap fabric I keep in a shoe box near my machine to try out stitches. I had to hunt for the machine. As can be seen by many postings here, Suzi, all messes are not messes to the person who makes them. I bet most sewers describe litter as messes and stuff all over the place their organization! *~*~*~* Nancy*~*~*~* " I try to take one day at a time - but sometimes several days attack me at once."
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User: Sancin
Member since: 02-13-2005 Total posts: 895 
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From: Patty22
Date: 07-08-2007, 05:55 AM (3 of 17)
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Suzi..... your design wall is great, but it is way to high tech for me. I have a warm and natural batt pinned to my free wall in my sewing room; works just as well as a felt board...HOWEVER, if I'm in a pinch for a batt in an emergency, I can always take the lint roller to it and then use it in my project. Oh Nancy, sorry about them redistributing/reorganizing when they said they wouldn't. Wow, this is going to cause you some major work to go through everything again. Patty
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User: Patty22
Member since: 03-29-2006 Total posts: 1194 |
From: PaulineG
Date: 07-08-2007, 08:34 AM (4 of 17)
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Welcome Suzan - I'm envious of your lovely space - heck I'm envious that you have a space at all. Look forward to seeing some of your projects. And Nancy - neat is nice but boy oh boy if I were you those ladies would find that they had organised themself out of the rest of the job. So many issues - ignoring your instructions, crossing the line into your personal space (more figurative than literal), trying to organise something they obviously don't understand. Hope you get it all fixed up how you like it soon. Pauline
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User: PaulineG
Member since: 09-08-2006 Total posts: 901 |
From: Suzan61
Date: 07-08-2007, 11:52 AM (5 of 17)
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Thanks for the comments, Nancy - sorry about your re-organization. My older friend knows exactly where everything is as well. She just has so many UFO's piled EVERYWHERE that I start to have an anxiety attack whenever I enter her space. We now have our tea upstairs and she brings her projects into the kitchen before I arrive! LOL - Trust me - I am no neat freak, her basement just reminds me of a teenagers bedroom. I have only made two completed quilts so far - the first one I had my husband hang yesterday on our kitchen wall, and the other I gave to my brother and his fiance when I went to visit them in Quebec City in April. I just tried to attach the pictures of the quilts - but file was too big - am I doing something wrong? Suzan 
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User: Suzan61
Member since: 03-17-2007 Total posts: 10 |
From: Magot
Date: 07-08-2007, 12:02 PM (6 of 17)
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Easiest way to do it Suzan is to set up your own web page and link to the pictures. They need to be on a server somewhere I think unless they are really teeny. A lot of us use free sites for hosting photos like photbucket or photosite and then link to those. Love your sewing space - I hide in the conservatory... love and kisses, Jan
Guts-R-Us Cells a Speciality DNA to order. |
User: Magot
Member since: 12-22-2002 Total posts: 3626 
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From: plrlegal
Date: 07-08-2007, 07:40 PM (7 of 17)
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I have a large piece of camel colored felt that I hang over the open shelves where my quilt fabrics are stashed when I need a deisgn wall. All of my actual wall space is taken up by my peg board which holds my scissors, rotary cutters, rulers, etc., my bulletin board with a shelf underneath over my cutting table and a bookcase (stuffed to the hilt with quilt magazines, sewing books, etc. and the shelves that hold my quilt stash. Dh remodeled my closet to hold all my garment fabrics, and sewing supplies, etc., my machine tote bag, etc. I'm pretty organized, but my cutting table always has patterns, fabric, etc. stacked somewhere on it. Patsy Patsy
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User: plrlegal
Member since: 05-19-2001 Total posts: 318 |
From: vickki
Date: 07-08-2007, 08:00 PM (8 of 17)
| Your sewing room is great....I have a sewing room that you walk in and back out....It's tiny but I love it.... |
User: vickki
Member since: 08-21-2005 Total posts: 374 |
From: jessie s
Date: 07-08-2007, 08:49 PM (9 of 17)
| I have a small sewing room. I called it my play room because I go and play with my wool and material and craft supplies. I envy you guys with your design walls. Problem is I don't have an empty wall. One wall has shelves above the sewing table. Other wall has shelves and a large plastic drawer unit. The ceiling slopes down there so drawers almost to ceiling. 3rd wall has shelves, a window with my wool organizer underneath and then last bit has a lattice thing with cup hooks to hang craft supplies. 4th wall is a closet with my batting, pillow stuffing etc in it. I do my designing on the double bed and have to remove when sleep. But I am happy I have a sewing room. Only got that when my oldest son got married. He couldn't figure why couldn't wipe the grin from my face during his wedding. I wasn't thinking I lost a son, I was thinking I gained a sewing room. jessie s |
User: jessie s
Member since: 02-26-2007 Total posts: 46 |
From: plrlegal
Date: 07-08-2007, 10:47 PM (10 of 17)
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jessie do what I do -- have a flannel back table cloth, a couple of yards of felt or even white flannel -- something your quilt blocks will stick to without pins -- and just hang it up over your shelves when you need it -- that's what I do. My camel colored felt does not stay up all the time -- in fact, I'm getting ready to have dh cut me a dow rod that is long enough to stretch all the way across my open shelves and then I'm going to sew a rod pocket in my felt and insert the dow rod to hold it on top of my shelves when I hang it up. Patsy Patsy
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User: plrlegal
Member since: 05-19-2001 Total posts: 318 |
From: Sancin
Date: 07-09-2007, 03:15 AM (11 of 17)
As I was sputtering about my mess I did not address the design wall. I had floor to ceiling / wall to wall closet doors in my sewing room which I removed and put up tracks with plan to put sliding panels of canvas hiding the storage boxes - after the painting was done. I had planned to use canvas (rather than available commercial ones) so I could attach some fabric (as yet undecided) to the panels when I needed a design wall. I have been collecting all of the suggesting here and on other discussion lists about what to use for design wall. My mind seems to be gravitating to flannel, either table cloth or some white flannel that bought yards of to use for lining. Time will tell - have to find the flannel and the canvas first 
*~*~*~* Nancy*~*~*~* " I try to take one day at a time - but sometimes several days attack me at once."
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User: Sancin
Member since: 02-13-2005 Total posts: 895
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From: HeyJudee
Date: 07-09-2007, 07:08 PM (12 of 17)
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Just because everyone is talking design walls...I have to mention a portable design wall product that I saw at the Vermont Quilt Festival. I think it is fairly new on the market but may be something that quilters with limited space may be interested in. They are located in Oregon and they don't have any distributers in as I was asking about that. Here's their web-site...no affiliation what-so-ever. http://www.cherylannsdesignwall.com TTFN from
Judy |
User: HeyJudee
Member since: 01-25-2005 Total posts: 1366 
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From: jessie s
Date: 07-09-2007, 07:29 PM (13 of 17)
| Thanks Prllegal. A great idea. And don't have to buy anything. Always have a flannel backed cloth on the kitchen table. They get nicks in so instead of tossing will recycle to the sewing room. jessie s |
User: jessie s
Member since: 02-26-2007 Total posts: 46 |
From: Suzan61
Date: 07-09-2007, 09:28 PM (14 of 17)
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Okay - my husband helped me set up a photobucket account - so here we go! http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t276/wolfen1960/Quilting001.jpg http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t276/wolfen1960/Quilting027.jpg http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t276/wolfen1960/Quebec168.jpg The first picture is my very first quilt that I started in October of 2006 and finished in March - I did not have my quilting machine yet. The 2nd picture is a quilt that changed several times in the process due to the design wall. It's effect is more dramatic than the pattern and I prefer it. This is the first quilt that I machine quilted myself. The 3rd picture is my new Pfaff Grand Quilter and a New Generation Grace quilting frame. I am practicing on sheets from WalMart before I go to town!!! Hope these photos show up this time - I find it painful when my husband instructs me in anything - I'm still seething over last week when he was teaching me how to back up a trailer into a garage!!! LOLSuzan PS - In previewing before I sent - I see that my pictures are no longer in the order that I describe them - le vie! |
User: Suzan61
Member since: 03-17-2007 Total posts: 10 |
From: Patty22
Date: 07-09-2007, 09:49 PM (15 of 17)
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Suzan....I love the colors in your quilts - very nice!
Patty
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User: Patty22
Member since: 03-29-2006 Total posts: 1194 |
From: plrlegal
Date: 07-10-2007, 05:00 PM (16 of 17)
Suzan I know exactly how you feel. My dh is so wonderful but when he starts instructing me in anything, my blood pressure hits the roof and I have to bite my lip to keep from screaming. He talks down to me like I'm a two year old or an embicle that doesn't understand anything.  Patsy Patsy
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User: plrlegal
Member since: 05-19-2001 Total posts: 318 |
From: shaysmema
Date: 07-10-2007, 06:06 PM (17 of 17)
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Suzan your quilts are beautiful love the colors. Enjoy that long arm it is so much fun, don't know how I managed before I got mine. Barbara |
User: shaysmema
Member since: 02-14-2007 Total posts: 52 
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