Displaying Your Quilts

My (as yet un-quilted)
Gordian Knot Quilt.

I’m curious about how you display your quilts. There is always the usual layout flat on the bed. But what about quilts that aren’t meant for beds? What about wall hangings and lap quilts?

I have a few quilts simply pinned to the walls, but they are small and aren’t going anywhere. There are two lap quilts in the living room. One hangs on the back of the couch and the other on hubby’s recliner when they aren’t in use. I store customer quilts that are completed and waiting to go home on top of a lovely antique trunk I picked up in Herbert, Saskatchewan at the Trading Post.

I’ve got lovely shelves with rods under them in my studio that hold quilts. The advantage of these is that it is easy to change out the quilt. You can extend the rod if the quilt is longer than the shelf and center the quilt if it is smaller than the shelf. I’ve even got two quilts on one hangar, side by side. I have a cute quilt rack that my friend Colleen gave me. There are quilts on shelves and quilts on cupboards, quilts hanging on the walls of local shops and don’t even get me started on the piles of table runners.                                                                                            



The Rack Colleen Gave me.
With my rack of quilts to do
for customers behind it.



What I am thinking here is that I may need a better system for storage of those not on display. Maybe a ladder-type rack that holds six or seven quilts all at the same time. Clearly, I need to get after nagging Darling Hubby. He should be busy making me a quilt stand, a ladder stand, another one of the shelf racks for by the front door …. Well, you get my point.

Its funny, all these quilts and not one that fits MY bed. Hmmm.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: What is your favorite way to store quilts? Do you have a favorite rack? E-mail me a picture and I’ll post it on my blog (and maybe show it to DH to inspire him.) emailcath@shaw.ca

Storage and Distractions

Plastic Storage Bins, the two stacked
closely togethe with no lids
are full of batik scraps. Mmmmm.

I talked briefly about organization yesterday. I loved the idea one reader posted yesterday about an over the door shoe organizer. Sadly, I have French doors and they wouldn’t work for me. I would be worried about breaking the glass if I closed the door too hard.

Ikea bins.

I store each of my projects in clear plastic tubs. They stack neatly on my shelves and I can see what is inside. I'm not saying that inspires me to work on old projects, but I can see what I’m not doing. I have IKEA bins in my cutting table that are easy to pull out and dump allowing me to find that perfect piece easily. I have them color coordinated.

I find that I have "Magpie Syndrome" and am easily distracted by bright, shiny or colorful objects. I hop from one project to another and back. I’ll be busy working away on a project and I’ll see the perfect fabric for someone I know, and I’ll snatch it up and start designing their quilt. Last week I went shopping with a friend and found the perfect fabric for Cousin Anne. I know she has at least a double bed, so being wise I bought enough fabric to make her a queen size quilt. Yes, there is logic there; I hate getting half finished and discovering I’m six inches short of something. Anyway, Anne stopped by for hubby’s 50^th birthday. She loves the fabric, but only wants a wall hanging. She wants something small that she can easily show off. While I’m flattered that she thinks my work is worth showing off, what am I going to do with all the leftovers? I’m trying to reduce my stash, not build it. Maybe she’ll get both ... Ha ha ha, like I would ever get both finished. I would be distracted first.

Sometimes, I’ll see something I love and in almost no time it has a new home in my studio, just waiting for me to use it. Worst of all are new designs. I’ll see something and it will flash into my brain as a new idea for a quilt. First chance, I’m on EQ7 planning a new design. That design in turn morphs into half a dozen more before I now it, its time to cook dinner and I haven’t accomplished a darned thing.

My project bins are slowly being emptied, but when I get frustrated, I’ll drop a project sometimes for an extended period. Eventually I get back to them. Sometimes I’ll trade UFO’s with a friend. It’s like a whole new project. My Magpie likes that!



My queue for quilting.



Now, if only someone would quilt all the tops I have hanging in my studio waiting to be quilted. I always have great plans to fit one or two of my tops (or my daughters’ tops) into the queue each week, but it never seems to work that way. A client top will take longer than I expected, I’ll get lost in EQ or someone will invite me for coffee or fabric shopping. My discipline isn’t all it has cracked up to be.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: What distracts you the most? And how to you inspire yourself to get back to quilting?