Borrowed Design Wall

Had a "finish-it-up" sew-in at the shop, and I made use of their design wall to help me along.  Didn't finish (this is meant to be part of a larger project), but made good progress.

Me at the start of the afternoon.  I had put together 4-1/2" squares into a design based on a tutorial found on Freemotion by the River's blog.  That was as far as I got on this project while at quilt retreat camp in May, and I knew I needed space to lay out the next step...

Using the Twister Tool from CS Designs.  My mom had this tool; she was gonna use it to sew up some pinwheels at this year's retreat, so I decided this project would be done with her in my heart.

 

Me at the end of my sewing afternoon.  All rows are completed.  I was warned that the pinwheels should be cut and sewn one row at a time, to avoid utter confusion, so that's what I did.

And then I pinned each row, as it was completed, to the design wall.  So inspiring to see it coming together like that.  I know I can sew the rows together at home without the design wall's assistance.

Here's a close-up of the design wall, as seen from one of its edges: made from insulating boards, 4 ft x 8 ft, that have been screwed into the drywall.  Multiple boards butt up against each other to cover the entire wall.  Then you just use straight pins to attach your project.  Not the same as those flannel or fleece or padded design walls that don't require any outside assistance to hold up your project, but it so worked for me!

Next "finish-it-up Friday" is the last Friday of the month in Berkeley, California.  If you're in the Bay Area, you might consider dropping by to use some design wall for yourself.

Linking up with Design Wall Monday, hosted every week by Judy over at Patchwork Times.  Always fun to see how some folks use a resource that I merely covet... or borrow, in this case.

What do you use for a larger-scale design space?  Is it permanent, or fleeting?