First things first...Making a design wall

  In a studio space, first things first.  Get your equipment moved in where it works for you.  Set up your supporting things (quilt stash fabrics, paints, inks, pencils, pens, rulers, light table, ironing board, shelving for your resource and reference area, threads, threads, yarns, patterns, etc.).  Now for me, the absolute first thing I need before I really want to create is that I need a design wall.  These spaces are invaluable for laying out ideas, piecing parts, mulling over if I am achieving a desired effect.  So here's how you make one...easy-peasy:

Materials:

• flannel fabric, 44-45" or wider if available OR a flannel flat bedsheet (neutral color)
• Sewing machine to sew a seam(s)
• thread
• a stapler or staple gun with staples
• a stool or chair to stand in

Calucate the available space you have on the wall.  Try to get as large as possible.  Now calculate your yardage needed.  Note:  if you width is larger than 44-45" fabric or 54" fabric then you will need to sew widths together.  So double your length amount in calculating for the amount of fabric needed.  Here my wall space was 81" by 96".  I'm making my design wall space 78" by 74".  It doesn't really help me if it's taller than I can reach since I'm banned from ladder usage (due to my clumsiness recently) so go as high on the wall as you can comfortably reach.  The bottom edge can go to the baseboard or just above it.  My's about 4-6" above the top of the baseboard.  When preparing your flannel fabric, I tear the selvages OFF, because when you sew a seam with the selvages in place, the seam will bow and not lay flat.  So tear them off.  Next if you have to join pieces together, as I did, fold your fabric in half  from top to bottom.  Mark the center, snip a 1/2"cut and tear in half.  Now sew those two halves together side by side as I've done here.  Now use your stapler to attach to the wall.  Start with the middle top and work outwards on both sides keeping the fabric taut.  At some point after I have a few staples on the top I tack one on the center bottom, then start on the sides and work my way around until the whole thing is attached to the wall.  Some people like to cover a piece of insulation board with flannel since you could pin through it.  I have liked the idea of a felt surface ever since kindergarten when the teacher would tell stories using a portable felt board.  I don't necessarily want to pin things, although you can slip a pin to sorta fasten things temporarily, I just want to place things up there on my design wall and see if this goes with that, move things around...for me... i do so much moving and adjusting...that pins would get in the way.  I just keep it simple.  It works great for me.  Have fun.

An easy way to do all the above is to just staple a flannel flat bedsheet to the wall!!!  Whatever works and you can get your hands on easily... fabric or a sheet.  Point is you will have a great design wall . Happy dance:-)!!

 TA DA!!!!!!!!!!

A Life lived. Living life.

Hi.  Yes, it's been a while since I've written.  Sorry about that.  My sister passed away.  She had a turn in January ... needed extra treatment and though that was super successful, the cancer attacked a different part of her body that wasn't as strong.  "We got out-flanked", as my brother-in-law puts it.  A life beautifully lived.  I miss her. :-/ 

As to the point above, I'm of course leaving a boatload out.  And that's the way it has to because that's what I can handle right now.  And with that said...

Now here's the thing, you have to go on.  An experience like that changes you in ways I never imagined.  And my creative pursuits have been on hold for some months, obviously, and now it's my turn to keep living life.  A not so easy challenge at first, but as the quiet sets in, the tears fell and fall, the stillness without her, the no I can't call you about this or hey honey what should i do about that, and regardless of anything (and everything for that matter), I'm still in this realm called earth, still breathing, the grass is still growing, my tummy is still growling cause it's lunch time, the sun is still shining and the world is circling around the sun yet another day.  And until that changes, which it's not as of yet, it points to the fact that it's my job to live life, whatever that looks like.  My hopes are to be as geniune as I can with who I am as I pick up my different pursuits--stretch beyond where I've been, explore new veins of interest and expand beloved ones.  It's definitely a 'you better live while you can cause this is your life and the only one that's going to make it anything is you' kind of feeling about it.  I feel charged by her.  What I mean is, not that she is charging me to do something, but this whole experience, her life beautifully lived has affected me and I want that to be VERY APPARENT in how I live life now.  And I'm becoming ok with that.  

Additionally during this time period, we had a happier time... a family member got married, so I got upgraded from my tiny but loved little sewing room to a sizable sewing studio with a wonderful storage closet and a huge design wall.  That was definitely something I didn't see coming..but for sure am not going to turn it down once offered!!  SO here we go.  Back to Living Life.