FMQ Friday – Closet Design vs. Quilting Design

It’s FMQ Friday and I’m running late! I’ve been busy all day installing James’s new closet system – an arrangement of shelves, baskets, and hanging rods that supposedly fit together perfectly into the closet with only a few screws and effort.

Um….right….

*Sigh* This project really beat me up today. Last night I had the top rail and 3 upright rails in place and thought I was in good shape to put the rest together, get James’s stuff moved in, get the room ready for my handyman to spackle and paint by lunchtime.

But as soon as I got into the room and started installing baskets, I knew something was very wrong. Nothing was lining up! The baskets weren’t sliding out! That shelf won’t reach it’s bracket! What is going on!?

This really reminds me of my first experiences cutting out a quilt. My first quilt was a 9 patch, and just like with the closet I would jump right in, slice up lots of fabric, only to find that nothing fit back together properly.

I love the saying “measure twice, cut once” and that’s what I THOUGHT I had done with this closet system. But this system was actually a bit more picky than that. The best way to set it up is to hang the top rail, hang the uprights, but don’t screw them into the wall. Instead use the spacing of brackets and shelves to guide the placement of all upright bars. If the shelves fit then the bars are in the right place.

This style of construction feels so weird to me coming from a quilting perspective, but as a designer, I know so much of design has to do with how something feels, which isn’t something you can measure or quantify. While the construction has been screwy, the end result was definitely worth the work!

Yes, this is already a mess. I kind of threw everything inside as quickly as I could so the room could be painted. I do plan to haul most of the toys and books back out once more shelving is hung in the room itself. As always, one thing at a time!

Now what are you working on today? Hopefully actually stitching instead of drilling holes in the wrong places!

Simple rules for the FMQ Friday link up:

1. Link up with a post that features something about Free Motion Quilting (FMQ).
2. Somewhere in your post, you must link back here, or you can just post the FMQF button in your sidebar.
3. Comment on at least a few of the other FMQF links. Share your love of free motion quilting and make this weekly link up a fun way to connect.

Let’s go quilt (or get a beer and start on another closet!)

Leah