Patchwork Clock

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

Swap Received!

I did a Christmas swap through http://littlemissshabby.blogspot.com/ and got paired with Nadine. Look what she sent me!!!! I really wanted handmade ornaments for my entry way tree & she sent 2! The card has a brooch that I can wear & she sent both chocolates and my fav toffee treats. I can't wait to hang up the gorgeous kitchen towel. I got a great jelly roll with batik fabric which is a fun addition to my stash~ I'm severely lacking in that department. Thanks for the wonderful package, Nadine! Check out her cute blog & you can see what I sent her http://apronvalleyroad.blogspot.com/2010/12/little-miss-shabby-swap.html This was my first swap & I loved it!!

Got Soul Blossoms?

I ordered my Soul Blossoms from http://hawthornethreads.com & had fun playing with the combos. Some new Jennifer Paganelli & Patty Young goes nicely with them. There are just so many prints, that I didn't order all, but still felt like I got a TON! My favorite is the Peony, so I posted those combos. Other combos are on my flickr site. Enjoy, try not to drool!!! :)

Whats Going On Wednesday

Here's whats going on today! Top pic is soon to be 56x64 random patch & minky blanket for Angie's mom for Christmas. I figured out the tray method works for this kind of project. As I've mentioned before I don't use a 'pattern', just lay out the fabric patches in a pleasing combo in the length & width needed. I set up the top row and left row and then fill in the middle. I need to organize by size and color so when the next patch is needed, I have in my mind which color & size & then I can easily find it with this method. It will be waaaaaay easier when I have more space in my new sewing rm~ which brings us to the bottom pic. The gold walls are my family room~ obviously not currently in use! The framed room next to it will be the exercize/utility room. My new sewing room will be on top of these rooms. They think the framing of that room will be Thurs/Fri, so I just can't wait! BTW, it was so cold last night with that roof off of the family room. Our bedrooms are upstairs, so at least we had a buffer from the cold. The furnace turned on at 2am, so my husband had to run into the garage last night and unplug it!!!! Not much sleep. :( Hopefully, the sheeting will go up today!

Monogram Pillow Covers

These were so much fun to make! I found a curly font on my computer & enlarged it. I traced the initial backwards on a piece of fusible interfacing. I ironed on the Swirly Buds fabric, cut it out & used a glue stick on the back to just hold the place while I used my blanket stitch on my machine to attach to the Marie square. It is an 18" cover, so I figured out the Vintage Dot border dimensions, attached , then quilted 1/4" from the pieces. My Loopy Vintage ruffle was cut at 4", folded in half, then run through my ruffling foot (love that accessory!!). An envelope back in Michal completes this fun project.

Linking to http://quiltstory.blogspot.com/

Magazine Worthy Blanket

I am still so excited about this photo shoot! I made the Fruit Punch patchwork and minky blanket on the crib and 2 pillows on the couch (Loopy Vintage Floral in fuschia) for Sonja and her home was featured in an emagazine called Adore. Her home actually made the front cover! She is an amazing decorator & the magazine features so many beautiful homes! Here is the link to the magazine: http://www.adoremagazine.com/ What a fun time to have a new baby girl and to have your home featured in a magazine!!!

Fall is Still Here!

I guess winter doesn't start until Dec 21, but the trees here in CA still say 'fall' to me. I walked down to the park and found this amazing tree with orange leaves and knew it would look pretty with this blanket. Peachy pinks, corals and sage green are an amazing color combination. I like the pop of blue sky. That color would have looked good in the blanket, too! Gods color combinations are a constant source of inspiration to me!

My Purple Phase

Well, it all started with Anna Maria Horner's Small Gathering in plum, then Far Far Away (which I haven't cut into yet), then Glam Garden and then Sonoma by Franchelle Contreras. Ahhhh, I have always loved violet, lavender, plum etc. When my husband and I first married I decorated our room in violet and forest green. The duvet was from Pottery Barn and looked so much like the purple print on the bottom of the blanket with the roses~ complete with matching shams. I eventually changed that to Laura Ashley's Toile print in dark purple with a cream background. I made a whole cloth quilt with it, shams, etc. Then I changed over to red, wheat & olive, but am now missing my purple! I decided to make a baby size blanket from the leftover blocks from Nicole's blanket (on flickr) and found all sorts of pretty nooks in my yard despite the dirt piles, broken concrete, rebar, etc. floating around the back yard. I'm pretty sure the workers thought I was strange clothespinning this blanket to my apricot tree & sitting on a mound of tarped dirt to get this shot! Oh, what we do to capture the perfect picture! Have you ever gone to great lengths to photograph something???