Why I Love My Design Wall // Works In Progress
Thank you to everyone who commented on my Division Street Diamonds Quilt post. A big thank you to people who left me camping and road trip tips. I love crowdsourcing, and I appreciate the tips! 2,002 miles in 2 weeks. It should be... an adventure.I have been working on this pixelated heart quilt on and off for the last month, and I have a new found appreciation for my design wall. (The quilt is based on a free pattern on the Robert Kaufman site). I am still debating if I am going to add a border or not. I really wanted to mix the pinks, blacks, orchids, and magentas with light volume prints, like the heart below. I put it on my design wall, and it looks great. Or at least, it would have, if I was using a gray background. I don't know why I didn't just do that!
Pixelated Heart Quilt by Katie Blakesley swimbikequilt.com Random Layout
Pixelated Heart Quilt by Katie Blakesley swimbikequilt.com Random Layout
For whatever reason, I really wanted to use this cute little heart from Dear Stella for the background.Which as you can see, looks terrible. The heart just blends in. I have tried to force enough quilts that didn't look great on the design wall. Guess what? Quilts that don't look quite right on the design wall look even worse when you sew them together. I made that mistake with my Division Street Diamonds quilt, and ended up remaking all of the blocks. Trust your instincts! Moral of the story? Design wall to the rescue.
Pixelated Heart Quilt by Katie Blakesley swimbikequilt.com Layout With a Border
I love being able to change the design around as I go.I'm lucky to have a dedicated sewing room right now--in our last house, my design wall was in my bedroom, in the house before that, it was in the living room. I've learned you can make it work, but it sure is easier when you can close the door and walk away! I wrote a post about it a few years ago (ironically, the quilt on the design wall in the post still isn't done. So, a design wall will help you design better quilts but won't help you finish them). I loved Katie Pedersen’s tip to use flannel sheets, I also bought mine at Garnet Hill, and feel like the fabric sticks to it so much better than the flannel by the yard I had found. Happy sewing.
How To Make A Design Wall by Katie Blakesley swimbikequilt.com