New York Beauty Hoop Clock

A hoop.  A quilt block.  And a clock. 

A match made in heaven if you ask me!

I have a confession. I can't function without an analog clock or watch.  Digital clocks strain my brain.  I need to see the clock face.  I need to see time in pie chunks. 

When we did the recent Studio Makeover, I mentioned that here were still many things to do.  This was one of them. I had a standing clock that was just taking up valuable floor space.  The focus on the makeover was to simplify.   The second mission?  If I add pieces or artwork, I want them to be inspiring.

But when we decided to donate it, I was left with no clock. I saw some seriously adorable clocks Like this one. 

From my Pinterest

But I really wanted to do something more. Not so cutesy, but more quilty. (is that a word?)

I scanned my Pinterest and I noticed the New York Beauty with flying geese blocks I adore and knew it had to be done. 

The background fabric is linen.
Full Disclosure:  It was not easy.  It paper pieced very nicely, but then it became squirreley when I pieced the curves. 

I tried piecing them with and without the papers in. Still stretchy.  

I was not impressed and got to the point where my repairs starting making it worse so I stopped. 

It was time to quilt. And I was excited. Until I realized most of the quilting just blended right into the loose weave. 

I had hoped to be able to see the quilting from afar.  No luck.

Again...it was just time to move forward.  Place it in the hoop and add a clock mechanism.
I cut a foam circle slightly smaller than the hoop so it would be snug.

I had to cut out a small square hole because the batting and foam were just too thick.

It's nice though because it is nice and snug and stable and doesn't pull the front to the back at all.

The hands were gold so I painted them black for more pop.  I still would like them longer so that might be an improvement in the future. 

But for now...I am happy.  Makes my right and left side of my brain are satisfied.  

Simple and clean....and inspiring!

(pssssst.....my camera died so these are phone pics.  Its amazing how many wonderful shots they can take and how many meeeeh pics they can take!)

If You Give a Quilter a Studio.....{Studio Makeover}

 If you give a quilter a studio....

Before photo

She'll ask you for new floors to go with it.

Maple Country by Home Legend

If you give her new floors,

She'll ask for the walls to be painted.

Paint:  Behr Bon Voyage

If you paint the walls,

She'll ask you for new window treatment fabric.

When you hang the new window treatments,

She will notice the fan blades don't match the floor, so you'll flip the blades around.

Since you are standing on it, she will probably ask you to move the island back towards the windows.

When you move the island, she'll notice she has more floor space to take pictures of quilts and blocks.

When she notices how clean the room looks with more floor space, 
she'll decide to she'll need some closet organization.

When she has more room in the closet, 

Cart from Country Door (vintage shopping cart)

She'll realize she has more space and store her rolling iron cart in it.  

She'll like the wire closet drawers from the closet so much, that she adds a unit with pre-cuts, 

When she realizes she likes to see her fabric, 

She will decide to rearrange her fabric and add her fat quarters with her mini bolts. 

She'll like the rainbow order so much, 

She'll organize her thread and buttons. 

But then she'll say she needs rainbow storage for her fabric scraps.

When she makes the storage bins, she'll say she needs to use up the fabric scraps.

You suggest she makes some more quilts.
She spies some empty areas above her cabinets.

When she thinks about minis, she'll want to go in the studio...

But if you give a quilter a studio.....

She'll want a longarm studio to go with it......

(To be continued)

Nosegays {Quilt}

By some might be said of me that here I have but gathered a nosegay of strange flowers, and have put nothing of mine unto it but the thread to bind them.

I eyed and eyed this lovely stack of reproduction 30s prints in my catalog for over a year.

I finally pulled the trigger and was so excited when they arrived on my doorstep.

But it was short lived.  I was stuck on what I would actually do with them. I knew the quilt would be just for me, but what kind of pattern?  I spent an extensive time looking at vintage 30s quilts.  The same ones popped up that intrigued me.  But the nosegay won the competition. 

Then I had to really think about what the process was. How vintage did I want to actually go?

I decided to go more than vintage.   English paper piecing.   I knew we had a trip coming up and my Hex on the Beach quilt is getting too big to take along.  It seemed like a marriage made in heaven.

Fast forward to our return.  I couldn't help myself and decided to piece a few of the basted shapes to make sure I made good choices for my fabric selections.

I could not be more pleased at the moment.

I can't decide which one I like more.

I wouldn't say I love every single print and combo, but I wanted to make sure I spread out and represented each color.

I need to slow down on the piecing of blocks because I just recently was able to cut background for basting those shapes, so there is still quite a ways to go.

But certainly a project that I am really enjoying!