The projects I will be working on for the next couple weeks will be largely heavy on the handwork. This is because my flooring did not match and I had to pick out all new floors. When they are finally ready to do my floors Anne and I will have to move out for a minimum of 5 days. To say the least, I am not looking forward to that prospect. In the meantime, I got my Swoon Quilt back from the incredibly talented Vicki of Orchid Owl Quilts. You should follow her on Instagram, if you don’t already!
The Swoon is huge, 80″ x 80″ huge! When working with a quilt of this size I know some people can get a little intimidated, but over the years I have come to find that it is simply a matter of getting creative on how you support your quilt.
This is my sewing set up on a typical day. How I like it to be when I am piecing or working on small quilts.
The table next to my sewing table is actually a drawer set from Ikea and bonus, it is on wheels.
This is my set up when I am working on a huge quilt. Even though I didn’t quilt my Swoon, I still have to be able to work with it’s giant size to put the binding on the front. This is my set up for that process.
I’ve turned my ironing board into a side table and moved my set of drawers out to the front to support the weight of my quilt.
Now here is how it looks with my 80″ x 80″ Swoon on it:
Once I sit in my chair and adjust the quilt to sit further back on the extra table, the quilt doesn’t pull down at all. It is 100% supported and I don’t have to worry about it pulling on my machine or impacting my tension.
Get creative in your sewing room to support those big quilts. I’ve used chairs, ironing boards, extra side tables and my husband once or twice. Don’t let your quilt pull or hang from your machine. It isn’t good for the machine or the quilt.
Have Fun Quilting!
I also find the L-shape helpful. I like to have my L in the corner of the room when possible. Then the quilt will push up against the wall and not hang off.
Can’t wait to see your swoon finished. Looks lovely.
Move out of your house for five days to do the floors??? Oh my gosh! Do they have to redo the entire first floor? Where will you go? Does insurance cover a motel stay? That is an unbelievable story, the story of your flooring. I guess it’s kept your mind occupied for a large part of this deployment! I’m so sorry you had to go through all of this and it seems it isn’t ready to end yet. Your swoon is beautiful; love the binding color. Good ideas for making do with what one has.
Love your setup… someone suggested that to me on my blog when I started doing larger quilts and it really is a life saver! I hope that your house mess is all behind you soon.
Good timing. I’m getting ready to tackle a quilt on a small machine with limited space.
I will never forget the complete ‘duh’ moment I had when I moved my machine from the left hand end to the right hand end of my dining table, my quilting suddenly became much less of a wrestling match, funny how that works 😉