Sorry its been sooo long since I blogged, but my daughter got the flu, then me. I would call myself 'barely functional' at this point, but life must go on! I didn't plan on many home made gifts this year because I new I'd be finishing orders up until last week. Thats when I got sick. See, the Lord knew that I would only stop sewing and take a break if I was sick, so I got a nice rest. Holly and I watched 'Elf" and I quilted this block for a clock. (I still LOL at the escalator scene, my favorite!!) I found a similar one in the magazine "Stitch", but it was bigger, had letters, etc. I took my inspiration from that and found a block in Elizabeth Hartman's new book "The Practical Guide to Patchwork" which I HIGHLY recommend~ and found a 12x12 star block I could make in Meadowsweet/Farmers Market fabric in the Superstar quilt. I added a 2.5" border all the way around in the Vintage Paisley fabric, quilted it, then attached to a 12" painters canvas I bought at Joann's. I used a staple gun to staple it to the wood frame and had my handy husband put the clock kit in, battery added and voila! He said the clock kit was super easy to put in. That's just his department in our house! I'm going to make one for my new sewing room, but at this time I am so overwhelmed at which 3 fabrics to choose out of the thousands (yes, I believe I have at least a thousand different fabrics which is why I'm getting a new sewing room!!). So, over the next few days I will be thinking and rethinking. Or maybe I'll do a different block that uses more?? Endless possibilities! Hope you and yours have a very Merry Christmas & I'll see you back next week! xo, Monique
I finished the block for my sewing room clock a while back but had to wait for my husband to put the clock mechanics in because I didn't think about a particular issue. Sometimes my creative mind doesn't think about the logistics. I bought a 24" artist canvas to stretch out this block and didn't notice that a piece of wood runs across the back in the middle making it difficult to put the clock mechanics in the back. Duh! Luckily it fit between the canvas & wood. It bulges a tiny bit, but I don't care. :) I used the dresden plate block from Anna Maria Horner's Handmade Beginnings book and then stitched it to Kona white and quilted it. Then I stretched it across the canvas and stapled in the back. I used various fabrics from Jennifer Paganelli including her newest Honey Child. Loooove it!!! Still working on getting more together in my sewing room, so more to post coming up. For now, I can now see its almost 11:30 and I'm still in my pajamas, so I'd better go! Have a great day!
