TGIFF & TIP: A Design Wall

...that's right.

I'm linking up to TGIFF again this Friday, and Jane at "Where Jane Creates" is hosting. Head over after you're done here and check out her decade-old finally finished project :)

I've used their motto of completing something every Friday to light a fire under my arse and actually put up my design wall. I've been sitting on the materials (however basic, haha) for at least a month, never finding the time to get around to it.

So, it's not an exciting post. But it's a finished project I'm proud of, no matter how easy it was to do.

I thought I'd do dual duty and write it up as a tip, as well.

Materials:

• 100% low-loft quilters batting. I used a twin-sized piece of it for my wall. The bigger the wall you can sacrifice in your area to put a design wall up, the better.
• Push pins/thumb tacks (for the obvious)
• Pair o' scissors
• Hammer. My walls are plaster, not drywall, and therefore very hard, and since I have arthritis in my fingers I found it difficult to push the pins in by hand...but not with a hammer! (and I always like an excuse to bang stuff. Something about frustrations...)

You probably won't need a hammer. I have arthritis in my hands and have difficulties pushing pins into walls ;)

 Ok. Here we go!

Instructions:

1. Pick a top corner of the wall to start with. Attach a pin; I started in the top left. Work your way across the top of the batting, pinning about every 12", and smoothing as you go.
2. Now, if you're like me and didn't precut your batting but started hanging right away, go back to the side you started on (for me it was the left) and pin down the side and bottom of the batting, smoothing as you go.
3. Go back to the side with the excess batting; for me that was along the door jam (see pic below)...I inserted pins about 1/2" from the edge of the batting (or where I was going to cut - right along the door jam). Trim batting.

   4.  So now that you've got it all pinned, you may have to go back and readjust pin placement as you smooth the batting against the wall once more. You want it smooth and sung against the wall, but you don't want to pull the batting really tight.
   5. You're done! Step back and admire your work.

So now instead of my unfinished limbo (W.I.P.) projects hanging by binder clips on the wall (getting good and warped, I might add...):
...they now will have a new home while I decide on their layout and finishing touches:

YAY!


.................................
In other news, I've been hard at work pressing, cutting, pressing again, making these perfect little 6.5" square blocks for my new project, a snowball quilt (queen).
I am absolutely in love with the mustards of the Aviary2 collection mixing with the grays & butters of the Maasai Mara. YUM.

I'm fussy-cutting a lot of the blocks to optimize their pattern usage, but man, does it add time to the process. It will be totally worth it though, I'm sure!