Film in the Fridge » ashley

a quilt for the wall

ashley — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 14:13:16 +0000

Do you have quilts hanging on the wall? We don’t. Morgan’s not feeling it, though he is ok with the design wall, which I guess is almost like having a quilt hanging on the wall.

However, I did snap a photo the other day during our photo shoot for the wonky string quilt that I’m totally loving…

So I immediately had it printed as an 8 x 10 to see the quality (I’m considering going even bigger, but wanted to see how it printed before ordering anything larger!) -

and I think soon we’ll have this hanging on the wall. A good compromise, I think!

(I had this printed through Mpix, but would love to hear if you have another favorite photo developing site)

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Hope you all have fun weekends planned! I have a market bag and a couple small quilts to finish. Oh, and speaking of market bags, a couple of you asked me for the pattern for the market bags I’ve made recently. I used my market bag tutorial, but enlarged it a bit. I think bigger is better. If you want to make one, the instructions are the same, but the new measurements are as follows — for the main part of the bag, you’ll need two pieces each from your outer fabric and your lining fabric cut 14″ x 20″. The fabric for the bottom of the bag is 6″ x 14″ (you’ll need 1 from each of the main fabric and lining fabric).

Also, don’t forget to sign up for Laurie’s Tufted Tweets giveaway if you haven’t already. And then be sure to come back here next week, as I’ll be giving away some of her new Tufted Tweets fabric as well (another chance to win – yay!)

Edited to add: Laurie just alerted me to another giveaway for Tufted Tweets in case you want to up your chances. There’s a great interview with Laurie over on the Robert Kaufman blog and they’re giving away a 1 yard set of fabrics to some lucky commenter!

a wonderfully wonky string quilt

ashley — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 12:38:24 +0000

Oh Anna Maria, how I love you and your gorgeous Little Folks fabrics!

I finally finished up my wonky string quilt and I’m so in love. I can’t even tell you how much I love it. So very much.

I made 11″ string blocks using a lime green solid for the center strings. To change it up a bit, I made these strings slightly wonky, sort of along the lines of Denyse Schmidt’s Any Way You Slice It quilt (I just added ‘wonk’ to my strings when sewing them to the paper, though Denyse has a pattern available in her book). All the fabrics aside from the center strings are voile fabrics from Anna Maria Horner’s Little Folks line. I think almost all of the patterns from the line are represented (I can think of one I’m missing…but maybe there are others? I’m not sure…).

I know I’ve said it before, but I’m so over the moon with the voile fabrics in a quilt. The resulting quilt is buttery soft and I want to just live my whole life surrounded by this quilt. Ok, a little crazy, but kind of true. (Perhaps I should just bite the bullet and make myself some clothes out of these fabrics instead…)

I had some minor snafus with this one – nothing serious, just a few things that made this take a bit longer than I expected. I had a little trouble with the backing — I ended up with a solid in a gold color, which is weird, since gold wouldn’t be my first pick. I made a pieced backing, got the quilt all pinned and then realized that I really disliked the gold more than I first thought. In fact, I disliked it so much that I ended up taking the whole thing apart so I could remake the backing.

Then I couldn’t decide how to quilt it, so it sat for a bit while I stared at it and considered various options. I knew I wanted to do a minimal amount of straight line quilting to keep it as soft as possible. I finally decided to go with straight lines on the diagonal, but made them wonky to keep with the wonky aspect of the front.

I bound it in the same green as the center strings (though not before I mistakenly made, and attached, a green binding that actually didn’t match!). But ah, it’s done, and I’ve already forgotten about those issues. In fact, I’m ready to make another! (and another and another!)

Somebody stop me. Seriously.

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Notes:

Tutorial for string blocks

Previous posts about this quilt can be found here and here.

Finished size: approximately 62″ x 72″

Other Little Folks quilts I’ve made – Playground patchwork & Moonlight in the Trees

Little Folks fabrics can still be found at Pink Chalk Fabrics, Hawthorne Threads, and Fabricworm. (It seems that some prints are on backorder, but apparently should be due back in in early May.)

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baby birds and butterflies quilt

ashley — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 20:29:28 +0000

I got this one finished, and I think it’s fabulous! (is it bad for me to exclaim over my own quilts?!)

The white sashing really turned the corner for me – I liked the blocks on their own, but the addition of the white really makes it all come together for me. I used the Robert Kaufman Kona white for the sashing and a large part of the backing.

As I mentioned previously, I had had fabric pulled for this quilt for several months. It was all based on the fabric used for the centers of each block – a print from Robert Kaufman’s Hot Courturier line. I really love the colors – the raspberry, lime and chocolate combo, along with those great silhouettes of the birds and butterflies.

For the backing I used up some of the remaining scraps to create a scrappy strip, and since I had a couple butterflies left, I made up a couple smaller blocks for the bottom corner.

I stippled this one, and did a fun patchwork binding, pulling in the brown, lime and raspberry colors. It shrunk to just about a perfect crib size, about 45″ x 60″. And yes, it’s also for sale!

boots for elephants baby quilt

ashley — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:25:04 +0000

This quilt was so fun to make. I actually forgot that I had bought this great Marimekko panel… I think I bought it while I was in Florida, right before our wedding (when I was spending more time than I should have been shopping for fabric rather than taking care of last minute wedding details!) Anyway, the other night I came across this same piece of fabric online and read this description of it:

“Karkuteillä can be translated to “being at large” and these animals certainly seem to be up to something. The elephant and the zebra are wearing funny boots in an attempt to disguise themselves.”

Suddenly I wanted to make a quilt out of it right away. The thought of the animals escaping the zoo in their fancy shoes just makes me smile, each and every time I think of it.

So I pulled some corresponding fabrics and came up with this fun stripe design for the other side.

And I know I told you these aren’t colors I usually like… so you might laugh when I tell you how much I love this quilt. And I do. Very much.

I stippled this one and then finished it off with a great red and white striped binding.

It measures about 50″ square, and I’m really, really tempted to keep it, but I know the look Morgan will give me. A look that sort of says “are you crazy?” (but in a nice way, of course!) So for now, I’m going to list it in the shop, but once again, I might secretly be hoping that it doesn’t sell! Sold! Thanks Caroline!

(oh, and the name? mainly because it reminds me of the circus, and so it seemed appropriate to name it after one of my favorite books, Water for Elephants… (if you haven’t read it, you should!))

blocks, blocks and more blocks

ashley — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:59:22 +0000

June was my month for the Block Party quilting bee, and I can’t tell you how much fun it was to start getting blocks returned to me. I oohed and aahed over each and every one. I’m still waiting on a few, but thought that maybe I’d show you what I have so far. I had requested blocks in a similar style as Denyse Schmidt’s Drunk Love in a Log Cabin, and so far, everyone’s really delivered! Take a look -

Fun, right? I can’t wait to get the rest of them so I can sew the top together!

Meanwhile, I’ve also been working on more of these munki munki blocks. I’m starting to think I may have been crazy to think I’d be able to do enough for a queen sized quilt. I’m rethinking that idea…

I’m trying to decide now if I want sashing or not… any opinions?

And a few other random things…

If you’re visiting here from Sew Mama Sew, welcome! I’m pleased to be a new member of their board, and if you haven’t already read it, there’s a little bio posted here.

Thank you all for the kind comments on the shop – I really appreciate all your feedback! Also, some of you have noticed that I have set up an Etsy shop in addition to the shop attached to this blog. I’ll probably list quilts in both spots, but will probably also list a few other items on the blog shop. I’m working on cleaning out my fabric stash, and I’ve started listing a few pieces here.

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend. Hey, guess what? It’s going to rain here…

quartered squares – a modified bento box block tutorial

ashley — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:00:59 +0000

As promised!

(Please keep in mind that this is just a quick little tutorial to show you how I constructed the blocks for my modified bento box quilt. There are tutorials you can purchase for the standard bento box quilt – I’ve never seen the pattern, and I really have no idea how the blocks are constructed in the pattern. I’m led to believe that this is not the same method, so I feel ok posting it here…)

The measurements provided are what I used for my quilt, but the technique would be the same if you decided to change the size of your strips, or the final size of your blocks. Using this method you’ll construct large blocks which you’ll then cut into quarters. These measurements produce a block that is 16″ square (or 15.5″ square, if you’re like me and aren’t as precise!) which is then cut into four blocks that are 8″ square (or 7.75″ in my case!) Please note that 1/4″ seam allowances are used.

All that being said, let’s get started! First off, select a bunch of fabrics you’d like to use. I probably used around 10-15 prints and about 5 solids for my version, but this is totally up to you!

Select a fabric for the center of your block and cut this to 6″ square. Then select the fabric for the second ring of the square. This fabric will be cut to 1 1/2″ wide. You need 2 pieces 1.5″ x 6″ and 2 pieces 1.5″ x 8″.

Sew the shorter strips to the opposite sides of the square. Press. (I press mine to one side, but you could certainly press your seams open if you’d rather). Repeat this process for the second set of opposing strips. Press again.

The next ring is 2″ wide, and for this ring you’ll need 2 strips that are 2″ x 8″ and 2 strips that are 2″ x 11″. Repeat the process to sew the shorter strips to opposing sides, and press. Repeat with the next set of opposing strips.

The third ring is 1.25″ wide, and for this ring you’ll need 2 strips that are 1.25″ x 11″ and 2 that are 1.25″ x 12.5″. Repeat steps from above.

The last ring is 2.25″ wide. For this one you’ll need 2 strips 2.25″ x 12.5″ and 2 that are 2.25 x 16″.

In theory, this should result in a block that is 16″ square. (this assumes that you have perfect 1/4″ seams and that your ironing skills are spot on!). In reality, my blocks always ended up just shy of 16″ square, so instead of worrying about it, I opted to trim them down to 15.5″ square. I just eyeballed it and trimmed a bit from each side, but in order to make sure everything lines up correctly, you’ll should mark the center of the block and measure out 7.75″ from the center on each side and use this as a trim line.

Once your block is square, you can simply cut it into four equal pieces. In my example, with a 15.5″ block, I measured in 7.75″ and cut the block in half and then repeated for the other side.

You’ll now have four equal blocks that are 7.75″ square. (or 8″ square if your sewing and ironing skills are better than mine!)

Repeat the process for constructing these blocks, changing up your fabrics and the placements of those fabrics and then rearrange the quarter squares into full blocks.

Sew your blocks back together, and then sew all the large blocks together into a quilt top! For the quilt I made, I made a total of 12 full blocks, which resulted in a smallish quilt, measuring about 40″ x 54″ after washing.

Enjoy! And as always, feel free to comment with any questions or if you spot any errors!

Oh, and an aside – I made this block for the tutorial, but don’t have any plans for it… if anyone’s interested in these 4 quarter blocks, leave a comment. If more than one person is interested, I’ll let random.org pick someone tomorrow!

Edited to add: The winner has been selected – Congrats to Jessica Brown!

a few more wedding photos

ashley — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:28:51 +0000

We’ve been wading through the hundreds of photos we took of the wedding and thought we’d show a few of our favorites. Many thanks again to my sister, Whitney, for her excellent photography skills!

for all you flea market fancy lovers

ashley — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:03:37 +0000

I’m not supposed to be blogging, or shopping for fabric while on my honeymoon, but I just can’t help myself! Anyway, you know how I love the Denyse Schmidt Flea Market Fancy prints, and I know there are a lot of you who love it as much as I do… In case you’re looking for some, there’s a fabulous store out on the Cape which still has a few prints left. Mary, who manages the store, just posted the following photo on here blog, TumbleTalk, showing which prints they have left, and they’re happy to take orders over the phone. I think it’s going fast, so get it while you can!

(I just spoke with Mary and they’re out of #4, 6, 8, & 12 already!) You can call them at 508-362-8700.

And now we’re off to the beach!

We’re married!

ashley — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 15:03:00 +0000

More to come a little later on!

I’m a sucker for books

ashley — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 18:34:47 +0000

Especially sewing and quilting books. Most of the time I buy them just to have them. (I especially love them when they use my favorite fabrics in their project photos.) I love looking through them, but I don’t often make any of the included projects (you know me and patterns!) I have to say though, that that may change with my newest favorite – Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross.

So far I’m quite impressed with this book – lots of great projects, photos and several photos of projects made with my favorite Flea Market Fancy fabric line.

I was quite taken with the summer blouse, and decided I had to make one right away. I didn’t have any of the lovely Liberty fabric that was used in the book, so instead I used a print from the Mendocino line – because I love the cotton poplin, and mainly because I had a couple yards of it.

I tried to stick to the pattern, but did end up veering off course by the end. I think it’s pretty close though, and I’m happy with the result! And I made sleeves! I think I may try another of these, perhaps next time in a print that doesn’t make me feel quite so much like I’m wearing a nightshirt…