QuiltE

Thank you MountainWoman for your excitement ... to be honest, I didn't know if I was overstepping by making my suggestion! It just seemed to me that you had everything, and were missing that one "big" item. Big, in that I don't know what I would do without it!

There have been many different threads on here discussing the merits of one type over the other, and lots of how to's, different styles, etc.

Here's a bit about my experiences .....

My initial trial was fabric held on the wall with painter's tape. I soon realized it worked, and I wanted MORE ... but I definitely wanted something more stable that I didn't have to fear would have come down as I worked with it. I tried flannelette, fleece and batting and made my decision towards fleece, because, I found that pieced squares held better than they did to the others. Plus fleece gave me a wider width to work with. I also chose black fleece, because as I went around to LQS', I saw too many design walls of batting or flannelette that were just outright grubby looking. I didn't like that. Plus a designer had showed me one time with a design sample board how black gave a truer colour. One detriment ... if you do a lot of white/light quilt work, you may not like the black. A lint roller does a quick job of cleaning it off, if/when threads start clinging.

I jumped right in, and my first design wall was a biggie 7-1/2ft x 10 ft. I wrapped fleece onto 4x8 boards of tentest, which were then mounted permanently to the wall. Tentest was chosen because it was cheap, plus would allow me to stick in pins when I wanted. I realize that you may not be able to go permanent, being in an apartment, but in my situation, I knew I was here for the long term and too, I had the wall available! I have found that pins are not needed for this wall, but I wanted that option.

I like a hard surface behind the design wall, so that I can smooth a block or the quilt onto the wall. That is what helps to keep it there for the long term! Pinnability isn't really needed, except when I want to include paper ... eg. patterns, notes, etc. I have had large quilt tops on the wall without pins for a length of time. Although I now put in just 3 or 4 as a security, just in case! All of my FWS and PC quilt blocks were displayed as I assembled the blocks and they never jumped ship! However, you may find that you want to be able to pin things ... thinking that if it is in an area where you may brush up against it, you may want to secure what you have and not be playing 52 pick up!

There are some other less permanent options, and that is what my other design walls are .... from 15" square (portable), right up to that big wall. Of course, the basic where I started and where you may want to start .... painters tape and some fleece for that trial run. If you don't have any fleece, try a piece of batting that you have instead of buying until you know for sure what you want.

Others ... I have some small boards covered with fleece that I use when piecing blocks .... they can sit right on the edge of the sewing machine as I work. All the pieces are together, and I can take them to the ironing board for pressing and return to continue on. Can be as simple as a piece of cardboard, corrugated plastic or plywood covered. One is thin plywood, with a couple layers of batting and then the fleece. Corrugated plastic is fairly durable and leaves you with that pinnability! Sometimes I use more pins when doing block work than on a full wall .... pins labelled A B C etc to identify cut parts are easier than having to label each cut piece. Or if there are multiples of one size, I can remove the two I need at the moment, and keep the rest stabbed to the board until needed later! Plus, they keep those pesky little pieces from disappearing until sewn into place. )I just did some blocks at Christmas with one inch squares ..... )

The same corrugated plastic ... I covered 4x8ft sheets with fleece. They hang from the wall right up against the ceiling with picture hanging hooks. Knowing that my DJ project was going to be for the long haul, I did not want to tie up my main wall, and thus, why this wall was created. I went for the width between a window and a door, about 7 ft and covered it fully in this manner. Also, because my DJ was on white background, I did give in to white fleece for this one.

These corrugated/fleece type may be a good option for you as less permanent and picture hangers are normally allowed in an apt! Likewise, I have some other corrugated/fleece smaller design walls that just lean up against a wall, or a piece of furniture. The corrugated/fleece is nice in that they are lightweight, easily movable and if not in use can be slid in behind a piece of furniture until needed. I was fortunate to have some "free" sources for the corrugated plastic. Keep your eyes open for old signs being pitched! That's how I have continued to add to my collection. Can you tell that I tend to work on more than one project at a time?

Yes, I love my design walls and wonder how I ever quilted without one.
And I think you will soon agree!

Your question as to size .... as you have figured out by now .... any and every size.
You will never have enough! Just get started!

I hope these ideas help and not confuse you!
Please be sure to ask questions, if I have left you totally lost!

callen

You have done an amazing job with making that small spot, your little piece of quilting heaven !!

ube quilting

A very nice, tidy, organized place to create. " A room of ones' own", no matter where or the size. Enjoy your studio!
peace

lots2do

Such a nice, tidy space. Thanks for sharing it with us. At our previous house, I had a relatively small design wall. I hung a flannel backed vinyl tablecloth from a tension rod between a wall and a door frame. It worked for me. I haven't ventured into big projects yet.

Innov8R

Your space is neat and inviting. Enjoy.

MargeD

What a great, well organized quilting space. I too live in a 2 bedroom apt., where my DH has one bedroom and I have the other. Besides us being together 24/7, the fact that the king size bed would not fit in either bedroom, and because I need my own "space", we have separate bedrooms. I had to purge about half of my fabric, sewing machines, etc. when we moved from a 3 bedroom home with a full basement,where I had one sewing room, with another, smaller one upstairs. It was a very difficult transition, and I still haven't managed to really organize everything, too much stuff, as my DH says. However, I'm glad I saved what fabrics, supplies, etc. as living on a fixed income, I have made lots of things from my "Stash". Great organization.

jamsbuying

Very organized space, I can see why you love your 'Happy Place'!

Cogito

I love the mats hanging from skirt/pant hangers! That never occurred to me but I will definitely be adopting that idea!

Beehiveof9

I have part of a play room. I love how efficient and clean your sewing nook looks. I didn't hang my cutting mats, but used the space as a design wall area. Right now my "nook" is cluttered with several of my projects as well as my daughter's who is working on her first quilt. I LOVE how you hung your scissors and rotary cutters. I have a spot on my wall I could do that with! I think I even have those adhesive hooks in a drawer leftover from another project. Great idea!

cathyvv

Smart woman. I have no room set aside for a quilting room, but wish I did. The thing is, I have a tendency to spread out and use (misuse?) all the space available to me. So no room would ever be big enough.

But the nook thing did work well for me when I worked from home a few years ago. a 4 foot area in the walk in closet in the apartment i rented became an office. I had no intention of spreading WORK all over my home!