I was looking for a way to hang my quilts just for taking a photo of them. You saw my old set-up in an earlier post–stapled sheet to garage door, which doesn’t exist anymore. And while my sister and I were hanging out last week, waiting for her husband to finish getting his cancer treatment, we found clothespin bags, complete with clothesline and pins in Crate and Barrel for cheap. I bought one and began scheming.
Overhanging out house is this fascia board. My husband put two hooks, about 110″ inches apart, and we strung that clothesline between them, supporting them with two cup hooks, also equally spaced.
Then I got out the steps tool from the kitchen and hung up the quilt myself, as that was one of the criteria for my “studio.” You can see the line is hidden and just the tips of the clothespins show in the picture. But we found that this Amish quilt was too tall for the set-up. It’s about the biggest quilt I’ve ever made, and it dragged slightly on the cement. Yes, I should have put down the garage door, except right about this time two neighbors came over from two different houses to ask me about this quilt, and how could I interrupt that lovely experience?
As quilters, we are usually holed up in a room upstairs, or a basement downstairs, and only other quilters see our work on Instagram or on blogs. So, today, this quilt saw the light of day. I take it next week to go to Road to California to choose some thread. I’ve had some great suggestions from an earlier post, including thinking about using lavender thread–brilliant! Thank you all for your great suggestions; I’ll consider them all.
(my bag is similar to this photo, snagged from the web)
After I took off the clothespins, I slipped the clothesline off the hooks and stored it all away until the next time I need to photograph a quilt, and my husband isn’t around to hold up the corners.
OccasionalPiece--Quilt! 
How clever and useful!!! I start assembling my AWAT2 today – you’ve given me great inspiration – thank you!
Your quilt just SO gorgeous. Great idea for photographing quilts…..I never can find a good place.
Great idea! Thanks for sharing!
Your quilt hanging plan is wonderful. The guilt is stunning, it is going to be so fun to quilt it. I bet you will have fun choosing threads.
Very clever you . Your quilt is amazing. The amount of time represented in all that piecing is astounding. I’m in awe
What a great idea!!! The hooks stay in place!!!
The other thing I think wonder is if you put a pocket (for hanging) on the back of your quilts? You could then use a PVC pipe & slip thru and just hang two loops of wire from the end of the pipe to the hook on the soffit. That way, you are not up on the ladder hooking clothespins and moving etc. I have difficulty picturing you on a step stool/ladder with a big quilt on your own, up that high. I hung quilts at a show; and we had a “helper tool” – a piece of wood with a notch at one end to “lift” the hanging boards onto the stands. No ladders required.
Genius. But then, that doesn’t surprise me. Someone who can make a quilt like that can surely come up with a creative way to hang it for a photo.
This is such a phenomenal quilt!
Great idea! That quilt is so pretty.
How smart! This quilt is totally amazing.
What a clever idea! ps- the quilt is absolutely stunning!
Brilliant!!! I am constantly trying to figure out a way to photograph my quilts. How nice that you were able to show off your quilt top to others. It is simply breathtaking!
that is pretty smart of you to do that. But that quilt top is gorgeous!! Wow, love the color pallet and the pattern.