Make small art look good

There's no reason to belittle my recent work -- even though most of the pieces are 8" x 10." I follow Lyric Kinard's advice and stitch them to gallery-wrapped canvas. First paint the canvas to complement the work. Then pin the little quilt where you want it. I stuck straight pins through to the back -- you WILL prick yourself! Then sew in fairly big stitches, knot carefully. I put a blog of hot glue over the ends to make sure it's secure. Here's the back

And here's the front:

A couple more:

Glue hanger onto back of your quilt

What I made: plastic quilt hanger with magnets

One day I described this method to a roomful of quilters: You cut a strip of plastic and hot glue it to the back of your quilt. More than one person gasped. It's just not right! We quilters make a pocket, slip a rod through, then hook it onto the wall. But "regular" people understand picture hangers better. So why not put one on the back of a quilt?

I got the idea from a 2011 Quilt Surface Design Symposium workshop with Cynthia Corbin. She uses this technique, with a sawtooth hanger instead of magnets. She said it works for any piece up to 24" wide. I had an 8" x 10" quilt of a cone flower. I wanted to send it to my mother, who hangs things on her refrigerator with magnets.

First I had to get a plastic sheet from Home Depot. I thought I could use my craft knife on it, but I was wrong. I had to go back and get the plastic cutter that was recommended. I cut my first strip, using my quilt cutting board and plastic ruler: I ended up with a shard of plastic. So I read the directions: you have to score the cut 7 to 10 swipes before snapping the 1 1/2" strip off. By the time I was finished, I'd also swiped the edge of my plastic ruler, which is no longer straight. And I dug a groove into my green cutting mat. This piece of plastic was getting expensive, but I'm going to hear from my mother soon, and she'll be happy because she can hang the little quilt onto her refrigerator. I like this technique.