Tuesday, August 21, 2012

A design wall with a little magic...

I've been after  design wall for a while. I've been eyeing up OhFransson's design wall, but as we don't have easy and cheap access to insulboard here, the backboard material has had me stumped. And as I told Danny, our walls are not made of cardboard, so brick and plaster don't make the easiest hanging space for a girl who has never learnt to use a drill.


Enter handyman, stage right.

I dragged HRH (Her Royal Handyman) to Bunnings (local hardware megastore) - and by dragged, imagine the general amount of dragging it takes to get a man to a hardware store, the football, or liquorland - and the engineering mind clicked into action. Before I knew it, we had 3 pieces of MDF, some heavy duty 'fabric' tape (it's used to hold bumpers on cars so is pretty strong), a piece of wood and a little hanger thingy.  I had already bought 3m of white felt in a Spotlight sale, so all up, about $36. 

 I zigzagged the two pieces of felt together, taped the boards together, with a slight gap so they fold, and hunted for a staple gun without success, so out came the Bear tape again.

 Then, much as I'm a liberated woman, I don't understand the drill thing. So it was over to HRH who made a bit of noise, used about 27 drill bits (from what I could see) and baffled me with man-magic. Next thing I knew, this was on the wall:
Hurrah!! I have a design wall! It can be taken down, folded up and put away. Ha, like that's going to happen! The blocks are the first two (and a half that I started) for my QCA month. It's going to be GREAT! 
Don't forget to comment on yesterday's post for a chance of winning a pattern from Echinops and Aster, and tomorrow for another special birthday week giveaway!

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8 comments:

  1. Katy CameronAugust 21, 2012 at 7:11 AM

    WTG HRH, can he come here next? The engineering doesn't defeat me, and neither does the drill, but drilling into these walls? Let me put it this way, last time it took two of us (one male) behind the drill to get each of those suckers in! I've got a good start already, I have the batting covered insulating material (bending at the join in the middle, but we won't mention that...)

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  2. Flo @ Butterfly QuiltingAugust 21, 2012 at 9:27 AM

    Looks good! Great job!

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  3. LynneAugust 21, 2012 at 2:20 PM

    Great design wall, fantastic blocks!

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  4. SusanAugust 21, 2012 at 3:35 PM

    Great job! I just made myself a small design board tonight! Being a teacher I had easy access to a wall stapler! Next time ask a school to borrow theirs!

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  5. chimesAugust 21, 2012 at 10:50 PM

    I've been meaning to make one of these all summer. I was going to use batting, but felt would work better. I need to watch for a sale.

    PS I freaking love your De Stijl blocks. Jealous that I am too impatient to even try doing this.

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  6. Cindy SharpAugust 21, 2012 at 11:32 PM

    Hurray!

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  7. NicAugust 22, 2012 at 3:01 AM

    Glad you were able to con a capable handy man to help you. The start of your artwork quilt is looking very promising, and I imagine this design wall will get a very good workout.
    Also loved yhe pic of the dogs overseeing everything

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  8. June DAugust 23, 2012 at 1:40 PM

    Oh my - I really like the example blocks you have on your new design wall. Great to see a sturdy one - thanks for sharing that!

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