New Design Wall...

Quote for the Day:
"I would rather be surrounded by smart people than have a huge budget. 

Smart people will get you there faster."

~author unknown

In the past, my quilt design wall was a large piece of beige flannel fabric taped to one of the walls in my sewing room.  It extended behind the entry door and can be seen in this picture.

However, I had to add another bookcase to my sewing room to add more storage space, so the rearranging of furniture caused the design wall to be inaccessible.  :(

I decided to make myself a new, bigger, "portable" design wall out of  two 4' X 8' foam insulating panels.  You know the kind that they attach to the outside of a house before applying siding?  

I chose the 3/4" thick ones.  ($16/each)  I hope they will be sturdy enough.  When in use, they will lean up against the cabinets in my sewing room.  When not in use, they will be stored upright between a wall and a free-standing wardrobe that is in my quilting room.  They are very light and can easily be carried from the quilting room to the sewing room.  

I started by sewing batting scraps together till I had two pieces large enough to cover the 48" X 96" panels.   Working on my dining room table, I attached the batting to the printed side of the insulating sheets with Elmers Craft Bond spray adhesive.

I then flipped the board over and pulled the batting around to the back of the board and stapled it into place.

After stapling it, I used Gorilla tape to help hold the batting to the board.  I've heard that it is stronger than duct tape, though it looks just like it.

Here is one sheet of the new, finished design board...

 When working on a large bed-sized quilt, I can put both boards side by side to get an 8' X 8' (96" X 96") work area.  :)

And here it is with some blocks on it...an action shot!  LOL

If I find that they aren't sturdy enough on their own, I can always get a long, thin board and glue it vertically down the back to keep it from swaying or bowing.   I'll see how it goes.

I have one more quilt-related-that-is-not-quilting project to do before I get on with putting the next quilt in the frame.  More on that later, though!  :)

Loretta