Frank

Since the name of this Lella Boutique pattern, FRANK, is the same as my husband, I just had to get it. I love the green of the face, the boo print in the rosy cheeks and the detailed little scar on his forehead. The pattern is so darn cute, like my husband. Note there are some similarities with my Frank: green background, general head shape, gray hair, forehead features, similarly spaced dots for eyes, rosy cheeks, distinctive nose, straight smile. He tripped on our concrete sidewalk at one point recently, but the scar on his forehead from that fall has faded. Gee, my Frank could have been a model for this pillow design.

I like making blocks that are non-traditional yet involve calculated piecing. As I cut out the pieces for this Frank block, I was struck by how tiny some of them were. My entire set of Alphabitties®, from A to Z, was needed to label all the pieces. I would need to be meticulous about keeping track. The smallest two pieces — black under the Z, to the lower left of the bright pink boo P — are only 1" square and will finish to two ½" square eyes. Isn't it serendipitous that my overhead light, (which I could not avoid), points right at that Z, spotlighting it? I did fussy cut Frank-the-pattern's ears from a fabric that reminded me of ear lobes (piece O, to the left of piece P). And that adorable background out of  pink cobwebs...? This will be the first time cobwebs have ever appealed to me. Wisely though, I cover the tray with a large square ruler so the neat piles do not blow away or get mixed up. Building this block is going to be fun. My idea of fun may not agree with many of you regarding so many itty-bitty pieces, but I am excited.

I proceeded methodically with Frank's assembly starting with the mid section of his face consisting of the eyes, cheeks and nose. Although there are a lot of pieces, there are relatively few places where seams need to be aligned. Seam pressing in opposite directions in order to nest upon joining becomes important only where the lower chin and mid section of the face meet, at the bottom of the nose. I do, however, need to be careful with an accurate ¼" seam. An accumulation of deviations can add up in both the horizontal and vertical directions.

I show the bottom half (left) and the top half (right) sections of Frank's face as sewn before being joined in a vertical column.
          

Here is Frank all put together and nestled among pink cobwebs. Now I get to ponder how to quilt him. His ultimate disposition will be a pillow. I bought a zipper to place in the bottom seam rather than make an overlapping back like the pattern called for. Luckily, Michael's carries some zippers with the closure of JoAnn's, so I am prepared. FMQ inspiration, come my way...