Design Wall Love

I finally got a design wall put up in my new sewing space, and I LOVE it. It's nothing fancy, just some batting stapled directly to the wall, but I've missed having a place to arrange blocks, etc. and it's just what I needed. I started with a cotton batt, some large-headed push pins, and my wicked-looking staple gun:

I used the push pins to temporarily hold the batting while I got it straight on the wall, since this was a one-woman job:

Then I cut out spaces for the phone jack and electrical outlet on that wall, rough openings at first:

And then, the stapling and trimming away the excess batting. Around the outlet and phone jack, too. And yes, my rented house is wired upside down. Just one of its many charms.

That looks kind of bad, but I'm planning to cover all the staples by gluing some trim over them. I just need to get out and shop. After about an hour of concentrated effort, the wall was ready to use:

Big ta da! It's going to make this space so much more functional. And fun!

Flocks of Flying Geese

This weekend I made the first of six sets of flying geese for an exchange I'm participating in at work. Because there are so many to make, I decided to use the no-waste technique. Here are the patches for 12 sets of 4 matching geese, all cut and ready to go:

Each set of 4 matching geese requires 1 large and 4 small squares. Our geese are supposed to be 2 1/2" x 4 1/2" (finished size 2" x 4"), so the large squares are cut 5 1/4" and the small are 2 7/8". I drew 3 diagonal lines on the wrong side of each small square, one from corner to corner, and additional lines 1/4" to each side of the center diagonal:

On to sewing, cutting, pressing:

And, repeat:

This is one of the most accurate ways I know of to make flying geese, and it's way faster than stitch and flip on each end of a rectangle. I'm going to get lots of practice the next six months!