Film in the Fridge » quilt

crazy crazy, or crazy fun?

admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:16:29 +0000

I still can’t decide. Sometimes I think it’s just crazy crazy, but lately I’m leaning more towards crazy fun.

After realizing that my scrap situation was getting a little out of hand, I needed to make something that would use them up. I wanted to try to make a block where all the points met in the middle, somewhat reminiscent of a spiderweb block, but without the paper piecing (and without the eight-sided web part). I pieced these in an improv-style, grabbing scraps as I went, and not worrying about the sizes of each wedge. I pieced each half individually, then matched them with another half to make each square block.

I made a few blocks to test it out, and I didn’t think they were too bad, but I wasn’t getting a very good reaction from Morgan. Each time I’d make another, he’d wonder aloud why I was making more of them. It got to the point where he’d just shake his head when he saw me reach for the scrap basket. I thought he’d see my vision when it was all sewn together, but to be honest, I’m still not sure he’s feeling it.

You know what though? The more I look at it, the more I like it, and that’s all that matters right?!

But with that said, what’s your opinion? Crazy crazy? Or crazy fun?

(and speaking of crazy fun, this blurry action shot shows my mom using the quilt top as a cape!)

Update: I’ve just posted a tutorial showing my process for creating these blocks. You can find it here!

far far away 2 quilt (with the registered holsteins)

admin — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:47:07 +0000

I’m really really happy with this quilt.

(really happy)

I started it right after I finished my Flea Market Fancy lattice quilts, and it was that quilt that inspired this design – the reverse of the lattice quilt. I used Heather Ross’s new Far Far Away II line — I wanted to see larger pieces of each design, and this quilt design worked well for that. I cut each square on the bias so that the pattern design would be oriented correctly when I set it on point.

For the backing I used Kona Artichoke paired with the Kona Snow used for the sashing with strips of the remaining Far Far Away II prints (of course!).

I wasn’t quite sure how I wanted to quilt this one – it’s on the larger size so I wasn’t really relishing the idea of straight lines, but in the end I really felt that’s what it needed. And then to make it take even longer, I decided it also needed double quilting lines… But now that it’s finished I’m really happy I went for it. You don’t notice the quilting as much on the front side, but it really stands out and makes a great pattern on the backing.

Have I told you about one of my favorite parts of quilting? Taking photos of the finished quilts. (I think that’s partly what pushes me to finish quilts quickly!). I love driving around and looking for fun locations. This weekend we went to a tiny little town in New York to visit my grandmother for her birthday. During the two hour drive I worked on the binding of this quilt and kept looking up periodically looking for a spot to photograph this partially finished quilt.

We passed this barn on the way to NY and I was totally in love with the color, the weathered look, and that sign, but we had already driven by and I didn’t want to annoy anyone in the car. But of course then I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Luckily it was still light out on our way back home later that day (and by that time the binding was done) so we were able to stop for a brief little photo shoot. There was a house nearby where I’m sure the owner of this barn lived — I wonder if they were in there watching us and wondering what we were up to, or if perhaps we were so fast that they didn’t even notice us. In any case, thank you to the owner of this barn! If only it was located closer to my home – I’d be using it as a backdrop quite often!

Notes:

Original post about this quilt can be found here.

Looking to buy some Far Far Away II? Hawthorne Threads just received a few more of these prints, with more arriving in August. Fabricworm & Pink Chalk Fabrics also have some of these prints available at this time.

Oh, and for those who asked, I think this line is great for quilting, even though it’s a cotton/linen blend. I like the contrast in textures, and I really like the extra weight that the linen provides, especially in a quilt this size. It gets cold here in VT, so I’m happy to have a heavier weight quilt!

charmed…

admin — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 12:33:16 +0000

Now I realize that not everyone enjoys charm square quilts, but I continue to find them fun, if for nothing else than the fact that it gives me something to sew at that very moment and doesn’t require too much thought. Because sometimes I like to sew just for the sake of sewing. I think I tend to make these quilts when I’m working on a larger quilt that’s taking some time — these give me the satisfaction of a quick finish and then I’m better able to get back to working on the larger projects. At any rate, here they are -

A cute little one out of the new Urban Chicks Dream On charm packs I managed to snag on ebay…

a bold & fun one out of MoMo Odyssea -

and an old favorite, out of a couple of MoMo Wonderland charm packs I had set aside -

Oh, and the other good thing about these charm square quilts? They’re small and therefore quite portable. And if you know me, you know that I don’t like to waste a moment sitting around without simultaneously working on a project! Handsewing these bindings kept me quite entertained in the car this past weekend!

All three are for sale in the shop.

___

Timber!

admin — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 12:58:47 +0000

Remember this quilt? These colors always felt beachy to me, so I figured it was only right to take photos of it at the lake. This one is made from Jessica Levitt’s Timber line in the breeze colorway.

The pattern is my take on the quilt pattern used in Randi’s ‘On the Road to Spring’ quiltalong. I changed it up a bit by altering the size of the rectangles, adding in the thin white strips on either side of the solid green squares, and adjusting the placement of the blocks.

One of my favorite prints from this line is this larger floral, so I used a large section of it on the back along with a strip of rectangles I had left over from the front. (and yes, the green is the same on the front and the back, though the color certainly looks different depending on how the sun hits it!)

I always had it in mind to bind it in the same green solid that’s used throughout the quilt, but as I was quilting it I kept thinking about purple instead. One of my favorite Kona solids is Raisin – I pulled a piece out after I was done quilting it and was pleased to see that the raisin went quite nicely!

This one ended up measuring about 60″ x 66″ or so – a great size for a throw! It’s listed in the shop, (sold, thanks Kaz!) should anyone be interested…

__
Notes:

Some of the Timber fabrics can be still be purchased at fabricworm or at Hawthorne Threads

The solid green fabric is Moda Bella Pistachio and the binding is Kona Raisin.

the unfurnished quilt in a queen size

admin — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 13:58:03 +0000

I love big quilts! And despite being slightly intimidated by their size, every time I actually make one, I love it. This quilt is made entirely of Denyse Schmidt’s Hope Valley which I think pairs so nicely with the Kona Coal used for sashing. (The pattern is my Unfurnished pattern.) I altered the length of the blocks (upping them to 19″ in length, and a variety of widths), and did 5 columns, which results in a nearly perfect queen sized quilt.

Do you remember my fabulous new sewing table? What I didn’t mention at that time was that Erich and I worked out a trade – the sewing table for a new quilt for his bed (and yes, I’m quite sure I got the better end of this deal!) And since the sewing table has already been getting quite a lot of use, I’m really feeling the pressure to get this quilt finished!

I think it’s looking good so far… Now onto the backing!!

(and no, we don’t usually keep rolls of quilts in our bedroom… but since we have a guest coming who will want a bed to sleep in, the quilts had to find a temporary new home…)

Hope you all have a great holiday weekend. I’m looking forward to some swimming, boating, and another fabulous fireworks display!

I’m nothing if not predictable (another FFA2 quilt)

admin — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 12:07:16 +0000

Because if it’s not a patchwork square quilt, it’ll probably be a strip quilt!

I know, I know… try something new already! That’s pretty much what I say to myself too, but then I find myself once again making another strip quilt. Because if I’m perfectly honest, I really love them. I’m pretty sure that I could make a patchwork quilt and a strip quilt out of all my favorite fabrics lines and continue to be quite happy.

I originally planned on making a second patchwork quilt out of the remaining Far Far Away 2 fabrics I had left over, but at the very last second decided to go for strip quilt instead. I’m happy I did, because I think the strip quilt works well with these designs — you get to see a little more of Heather‘s fabulous designs this way.

I added in some Kona Snow and some Essex linen blend (in putty, I think?). The back got a couple extra strips of the prints along with some more of the Essex linen. I really love the texture and extra weight of the linen/cotton blends. And to add to the predictability, I used my favorite lime green binding. Of course.

I’m not sure where this one will end up… I’m kind of tempted to keep it, but we’ll see! I do know that I’ll first spend some time fixing a little error I just noticed. (photos always show you the errors that aren’t blatantly obvious when you’re just looking at the quilt in person, don’t they?) Well, I just noticed in these photos that one side is clearly not straight, even though I remember making sure it was square… (hmmm…), so I think I’ll spend a little time ripping out that section of binding so I can trim that little bulge down. Good fun.

dinner date block tutorial

admin — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 14:16:08 +0000

So… remember this quilt? It’s still not finished, but I’ve had a number of requests for a tutorial, so I decided to put a quick one together for you today.

You might recall that I originally made my Flying Farfalle quilt using this technique, which was inspired by an image in Gwen Marston’s Liberated Quiltmaking II book. For my second quilt, I decided to change it up just a little bit, adding in a thin little strip of white to offset the bright colored points from the coal background.

I’m calling it Dinner Date because the coal background reminds me of a men’s suit with the pops of color as a fun tie.

So, to start, collect your materials…

For this quilt, I’m using Kona Coal as the background. I’ve decided to go with 6.5″ squares for this one, but you should feel free to switch it up as you’d like – rectangles, larger squares… whatever works for you! Along with your background fabric, you’ll need fabric for the points – I’m using up some of my colored solid scraps. The size doesn’t really matter, though I think it works best if you use a longer strip that’s at least 2″ wide. If you decide to include the thin white strip, you’ll also need some white fabric. My white fabric is 1″ wide.

Sew the 1″ wide white strip to the long side of your solid strip (1/4″ seams) and press. (I press my seams open, but feel free to do whatever works best for you).

I wanted my white strip to finish at 3/8″, so after sewing the white strip to the colored solid, I trimmed it back to 5/8″.

In order to sew the colored points to your solid background square, flip the colored strip over and position it along one of the corners, as shown in the photo above. (You will end up flipping the colored section back over that gray triangle after sewing your seam, so just make sure that the colored portion will adequately cover the background triangle.) I like my triangle points to be wonky, so I vary the angles when sewing the colored portion to the background fabric.

Sew along the edge of the white strip.

Repeat for the opposite corner, using another of your colored strips. Iron the points and you’ll have something that looks a little like the photo above.

And the back will look a little like this.

Using your background square as a guide, trim off the excess fabric along all sides of the square.

Since your colored fabric has now become the points of the square, you can trim off the excess background fabric that’s under the colored point. Just trim along the edge of the white fabric.

And voila! A finished block! Make several more and you can start to see the fun pattern when you put them together!

As always, let me know if there are any questions, and if you make a quilt like this one, be sure to add it to the FITF Flickr group!

on the design wall…

admin — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 12:07:56 +0000

Sad, unfinished manly quilt blocks from way back when (I’m hoping that having them on the wall will encourage me to finish them!), and the start of another quilt, using my ‘unfurnished’ quilt pattern (pattern available here) with some Denyse Schmidt Hope Valley and Kona Coal as the sashing…

I’m on a boat (with a quilt)

admin — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 13:09:59 +0000

A trip across the lake for ice cream… you’d bring your quilt, right?

Of course!

I finished up the binding while on the boat (not recommended! the waves and the speed tend to hinder progress) and so of course had to take the opportunity to get a couple shots while in this tiny little town.

I bought 1/4 yard cuts of most of the prints, and then used squares that were 4.5″ for this patchwork quilt (that way I have enough for a second quilt, should I be so inclined!).

Since some of the prints are a larger scale print, I did have to cut right through the designs, but I think it’s ok in this type of patchwork – it’s kind of fun to see a slightly different little picture in each of the squares.

The back is predominantly pink, with several of the extra squares from the front. I was most pleased that the quilting lines actually go through the diagonal on the squares on the back as well (this of course was not skill, just pure luck!).

It’s now been washed and dried and measures 46″ x 52″. Many of you asked about quilting with this fabric since it’s a linen/cotton blend – I found it to be quite similar to the Etsuko Furuya Echino fabrics – it’s a nice weight, not too heavy, and I think it gives the quilt a great weight & feel. Since it’s made of a linen blend, it’s not as soft as a regular quilting weight cotton, but I enjoy the texture the linen provides, and I imagine that it would continue to soften up with use and with additional washes.

This quilt will be listed in the shop shortly! Sold, thank you!

Notes:

Solid colors used in this quilt -

Konas – Sage, Woodrose, Eggplant, Petal, Stone

Robert Kaufman Essex cotton/linen blend – Natural, Putty

Moda Bella – Pistachio, Mist

(I don’t know the color name for the solid orange though I believe it was a P & B Textile solid.)

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far far away II patchwork

admin — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 13:32:11 +0000

Just because.

I bet you knew I wouldn’t be able to resist…