"She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness." Proverbs 31:27

Monday, January 9, 2017

Design Walls and Basting!


I have been  wanting a design wall for a long time!  I bought a foam board that is 1 1/2 inches thick and eight foot by four foot.  At first I was going to put it in front of my closet doors but then decided to put it on the wall instead.  It stays as long as my treadle is pushed up against it, we put double sided wall tabs on it, but I am going to have to pull the treadle out when I start quilting.  Since it is foam, nails won't work, any suggestions on how to hang it?  It does not go to the floor because I wanted to make two boards and the vent is there.
 I have not hung this one yet, it has all of the "extra" blocks from the Sew Sweet Bee.  I often make two blocks, and then send the best one and keep the other one.

 I spray "basted" the batting on the foam board.  I wanted to use flannel, but I had this cheap batting that is super thin, so I used it.
I taped the back with duct tape to make sure it stays on.
 I finally got my cake quilt basted!  I spent the whole day Thursday in my pajamas and worked on my quilt!  I sewed the back together and got it basted.  I wanted to wait at least a day before I quilted it, giving the glue time to dry.  I hate basting, but do prefer spray basting over pin basting. I always have wrinkles when I pin baste.  I do the backing, let it dry, and then I do the front.  If there is a wrinkle,I would rather have it on the back, so I always do the back first.
 Here are my tools. I use knee pads, painter's tape to hold down whatever is on the bottom, and spray glue.  I use Krylon glue, since I can get it at Walmart.  I might try something new when this runs out.  Any suggestions?
 Please ignore my pj's (remember I spent the whole day in my pj's, to sew), I wear knee pads when I baste, to protect my knees.  This was a great idea from my stepmother.  Can you see all the lint from the glue on them?
Question:  I was told to serge around the quilt before I quilt it.  This was from a professional, I always start quilting from the center out, to avoid wrinkles.  What do you think?

Thanks!

BTW - This morning in Bible class with my student, we were talking about not being lazy and finding things to keep yourself busy and out of trouble.  I told her that hobbies are good for that and quilting keeps me busy so that I am not tempted to be lazy and gossip.  I also have my church activities, Homemaker's group, Quilt Guild, Ladies Bible Study.  All of these things keep me busy.

"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest."  Ecclesiastes 9:10

10 comments:

Connie Kresin Campbell said...

Your design wall is looking great Missy, I was able to use nails when I had a foam core wall but I have a feeling you have plaster walls and that would be messy. I never serge around my quilts.....like you I always start quilting in the center. I pin baste as the spray doesn't work as well for me.

Kim said...

Love your design wall. I never serge my quilts and never heard of it before. I guess everyone has their own preference.

Dora, the Quilter said...

Love the cake quilt.
Yes, the knee pads are a wise tool that more people need to use. (I can no longer kneel safely--not even at the prayer rail after communion. I had no idea this could happen back when I spent several years with bruised knees from kneeling beside students' desks.)
Love your sturdy design board. Are there any command strips that would do the trick?

Dora, the Quilter said...

When I do quilts on my treadles, I put in a line of stitching about 3/16" from the edge. Most often I start quilting in the middle, although sometimes I stitch horizontal and vertical lines through the body of the quilt. My years/decades of experience have made it clear that if I began by zigzagging through the layers around the edges, there is a high probability that there would be bubbles or tucks somewhere.

Linda Swanekamp said...

There are command strips with a velcro type fastener that will work. I have the same foam board. No matter how busy some people are, they are still gossips and back stabbers. The problem is the human heart- the bad stuff inside will find any crack to come out as poison. Only a transformed heart will be healthy and a blessing to others.

Pam @Threading My Way said...

What a clever idea to wear knee pads while basting! You'll be so pleased with your new design wall. I must do something about fixing one up.

Tena said...

Love your design wall! AND, I love your chosen Bible study and scriptures for the day. Amen and amen!!

Sarah said...

I like 505 spray - it's not permanent so you can adjust for wrinkles at any time. I use 1 or 2 folding tables to baste all my quilts - no need to kneel any more - and as long as the quilt parts are centered it's ok that parts of the quilt hang off the table while you are basting. I lay out the bottom/batting/top; smoothing it all by hand and making sure it's all centered. I fold back a section of the top, only spray what I can reach and then smooth the top down again, working in sections out from the middle. Flip the quilt over and repeat. Once both sides are sprayed, I flip it over again and make sure there are no wrinkles any where. The key is working in small sections. I don't do any kind of edge stitch and because it's spray basted and won't shift, I start quilting anywhere that works best for the quilt design.

Tanya Quilts in CO said...

I want to make a design board too, but I do not have a place to put it. Mine will be portable, so it can live in my guest room and come in to my sewing room when needed. There were some great ideas and tutorial on Pinterest. Thanks for sharing yours!

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

You can nail it, if you put large washers between the nail heads and the foam board. That will keep the nail heads from pulling out of the foam board. I wish I'd thought of using spray baste when I covered mine. Mine move around, since I don't have a place to put them in my sewing room. I store them in the guest bedroom, but, can move them to get better light. Still not optimal, but, better than nothing.

"Oh taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him." Psalm 34:8