Tuesday 16 February 2016

why a design wall mum?


My daughter asked me this week why I use a design wall
and I had the perfect example to show her why...

... as I've been busy with a little bit of playing
- Victoria Findlay Wolfe  style!
Only, of course it's taken me a lot longer than the '15 minutes of play' prescription!

I'm using her new fabric line, Mostly Manor, for my latest project.
I was a bit scared well, certainly hesitant, about pairing up the brights with the stripes,
but I kept thinking "just cut it up & just try it."




There's a little bit of fussy cutting on some of the 6 pointed stars,
trying to make the most of the pattern.


hm-m-m- fussy cutting gets a bit tricky when you've only got little fat 1/4's to select from :( 
{but I did find some excellent tips here}





It's a pattern I purchased from Somerset Patchwork in Australia a few years ago
Along with the fussy cutting & improving my 'y' seam techniques,
I'm also playing with the values a bit, just trying to make it 'more me'





and auditioning for the background triangles
something soft maybe...


I love how the edges of some of the hexi-star blocks here blur into the setting units
and it's hard to see the actual complete hexi shape


but on the other hand,
maybe I'll stick with the bright n' bold look ...




For ages I've spread stuff out on the floor and we've all carefully stepped around, or it's been spread out all over the spare bed... sound familiar? While my design wall is quite small, my sewing life has improved dramatically with it and I couldn't work without it! Now, I enjoy putting things up on the wall, looking at my WiP's for a few days, moving things around, and taking my time about making that final decision.

And how about you... do you use a design wall?

Oh, and my daughter & I are still poles apart about the final decision on this one, but that's ok
She's having fun now too moving everything around up on the design wall
and I shall keep moving forward with this,
making more hexi-stars until I run out of those yummy fat 1/4's in my stash!


EDIT: Ah, now I think we may be slowly getting somewhere!




Linking up with Em over here for 'moving it forward'
and here with Cynthia for my regular 'oh scrap' catch-up!

and I'm sure I'm not alone with this, but I do miss my WiP Wednesday date
over with Lee at Freshly Pieced
- the weekly deadline really helped me to stay on track with a few WiP's!

Linking up this week somewhere new- 'WiP's On Wednesday' over here


14 comments:

Kleine Vingers said...

I have a simple white sheet on a wall and use it a lot to hang blocks, swap them around and look from a distance. I couldn't do without. Greetings

gayle said...

I've been using a 'design floor' all this time, but I've got some flannel that I'm thinking about how to mount for a design wall. Though it would have to cover a window, since I don't really have any wall space...
I love playing with blocks - I could happily spend hours and hours just switching them around and admiring the effects! Can't wait to see what you end up with. In the meantime, enjoy the playing!

em's scrapbag said...

The blocks are wonderful!

Cynthia Brunz Designs said...

Your blocks are yummy! I especially like those floral blocks. Thanks for sharing with Oh Scrap!

Samantha said...

I can't remember life before my design wall... even if it's not terribly fancy or sophisticated, I love it. And your blocks look great!

Mystic Quilter said...

Beautiful diamond blocks, the fussy cutting adds a whole new dimension. The stripes of Mostly Manor - I too was unsure with these and have only used a few in my kaleidoscopes, at least so far!

Mystic Quilter said...

Lovely six pointed stars, and the fussy cutting is just perfect! I too was hesitant about the stripes and still haven't used more than three in my kaleidoscopes.

Linda said...

Love your fussy cutting. No, I don't have a design wall but I can see how that would be a great idea.

pandchintz said...

Looking fantastic! Love what you're doing with the VFW fabrics. Yep, definitely like a design wall - and mine's still fairly new and therefore exciting!

Maryse said...

That fabric is so yummy ... I got some myself but like most new fabric bundles, I have a hard time to break into them. That six pointed star is such a great pattern; it looks lovely! I couldn't imagine my quilting life without a design wall, mine is just an extra wide piece of cheap flannel, works fine!

Linda @ kokaquilts said...

Hi Gayle,I too have used the floor many times, especially for something big. For years I had a flannelette sheet draped over the door, and that worked well too.
I use my design wall constantly now, auditioning shapes, colours, scale and I’ve found taking photos easier. Like you, I play, swopping things around & around, making no commitment to any one idea until I’m sure!
Linda

Linda @ kokaquilts said...

Thanks Maureen. I’m getting more creative with the fabric the more blocks I make! 

Linda @ kokaquilts said...

Thank you Linda. Yes, I’m enjoying the fussy cutting, but it does eat into your fabric... Oh well, I might just have to buy a bit more :) 
I like leaving things up on my design wall, coming back a few days later, & suddenly choices all seem that much clearer!

Nancy said...

I love the kaleidoscope effect of these blocks, and I especially love the bright colors! Great choices of fabric to put together for the blocks.
--Nancy. (ndmessier @ aol.com, joyforgrace.blogspot.com)