the wall

 I now have a design wall in my sewing room / studio! This has been a challenge since we moved in, and as I’ve become more and more involved in quilting I’ve realized it’s really an essential tool.  I’ve made a couple makeshift attempts – which is better than nothing, but……….
There are several ready made ones out there on the market, but they are 1) pricey. and 2) space hogging. or 3) needing wall space ( which I have none of to spare).  But, a week or two ago I had a flash of brilliance?, and came up with the perfect solution.

It’s all made up of pvc pipe and fittings, and covered in flannel. 
I used 3/4 inch pvc, and regular elbows for the top two corners. The bottom corners I used a sort of three-way elbow.   to brace it out away from the wall a bit. The top is held to the wall with velcro. You can now buy a package of "Decor Velcro" which means that the ‘hook’ side is super sticky-back – to go onto the non-porous surface, and the ‘loop’ or soft side is sew-on. One package has six feet in it – just enough to do the project. I stuck the hook side on the wall above the mirrored closet doors, and used a staple-gun to secure it in a couple places.  Then I sewed the loop side above the casing for the top pole on the flannel, which is stretched around the frame, and made a casing for the other three sides. It is perfect – and it is big – it measures seven feet high by six and a half feet wide. Once up, of course I had to put something on it – these are ideas that are in progress ( scraps from my HHJJ quilt from last fall):    I can take this off the wall and break down the frame when I’m not quilting, and easily regain access to my closet doors behind.  Since the flannel and the velcro were on sale for half price at JoAnns’, and the pvc and fittings are cheap at Home Depot, I did all this for under $30.  I’ve got a lot of navy blue flannel in my stash, so I could make another cover for when I want to work on a dark design wall. 
Now, I’m off to a quilt meeting…………………..

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