FITF: Film in the Fridge | modern quilts, clothing, fabric, and photos

not as planned…

Posted on November 18, 2015

…but a quilt top nonetheless. This will be a quick post today, as this top isn’t one I’m particularly fond of, but I think it’s also good to show the ones that don’t go as planned as well.

I can’t even remember what my original plan was for these fabrics. I imagine I selected the pretty Liberty of London prints for yet another patchwork quilt (I do love myself a Liberty patchwork quilt!), but then felt maybe I should branch out and try something else. I opted for half square triangles, but after making and trimming all those hsts, there was something I didn’t like about it – maybe the solid gray I chose? I don’t know, but like this previous post, it was really bugging me that I never sewed the blocks into a top.

So here it is, and once again, not a favorite, but at least I feel a bit better that the blocks actually have been sewn into a quilt top.

Posted in Fabric, Posts about Quilts | Tagged half square triangles, handmade, liberty of london, quilt top | 22 Comments

diamond panes in Carkai

Posted on November 9, 2015

Today I have another quilt to show you that was inspired by the Farm Barn at Shelburne Farms. I’ve always loved the details on the barn, and while snapping an inspiration photo for my post for the Quilt Local blog tour, I took a few of this section of the barn.

I was intrigued by these diamonds on either side of the windows – I like how they’re slightly curved, and I loved the thought of being able to show off fabrics in that diamond section.

(a selection of the prints that will be available at Nido when the line is available)

I was hanging onto this idea until I found the right fabric, and surprisingly enough, the right fabric came around sooner than I expected. A friend snagged a bundle of Carolyn Friedlander’s upcoming Carkai fabric for Robert Kaufman. She brought it over one day and I couldn’t stop exclaiming over it. So much so, perhaps, that she felt she ought to leave it with me. I pretended to protest, but really I was already thinking about this quilt idea.

I separated the low volume prints from the brighter prints and drew up a template for my curved diamond. I don’t sew curves too often, and I can’t say I have any experience drawing up my own template, so it’s certainly not perfect, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that my blocks actually looked as I was hoping. I had to adjust the template a few times, and it’s still not right (you can see that the diamond sides don’t always line up as I’d like), but having already cut out all the pieces, I had to go with it and be ok with the non-matching points.

I’m excited about the design though, and I think I’ll spend some more time working on the templates to get those curves to work out better.

[you could achieve a similar look using a drunkards path block, but since I wanted my center diamond to be one solid fabric (not pieced) and to have a less curvy shape, I decided to draft my own]

Oh, and Carkai? Having sewn with it, I find myself wanting a whole bunch more. Carolyn’s work is superb, and I think the colors in this line are my favorite of her lines so far. I’m so happy that we won’t have to wait all that long for it to be available – December is right around the corner!

Posted in Fabric, Posts about Quilts, Quilt Blocks | Tagged carkai, carolyn friedlander, curved piecing, diamonds, handmade, quilt top, robert kaufman | 19 Comments

a Friday giveaway, thanks to Lady Belle Fabric!

Posted on November 6, 2015

I have a good one for you today — you won’t want to miss it! This awesome giveaway is sponsored by Lady Belle Fabric, a husband and wife team in Tennessee. At Lady Belle Fabric they love fabric bundles, and it’s always fun to browse through their bundles to see what’s new!

They’ve recently added Liberty of London bundles to the mix, and you can find those in F16th, F8th, and fat quarter bundles.

You can shop by designer, manufacturer, or by the type of bundle (or precut) you’re looking for. Don’t forget they also have a great selection of notions for all your sewing and quilting needs.

Brooke and Rob just returned from Quilt Market and brought back this beautiful fat quarter bundle for one of you. It’s a great new line, Bluebird (this link shows all the prints in the bundle), coming soon from the ladies at Cotton + Steel (I may have managed to snag myself a bundle online recently, so I’ve seen it in person and know it’s amazing!). They’ve completed the package with a mini charm pack, some lovely Tulip patchwork pins and a spool of Auriful thread.

Want to enter? Please leave a comment here (one per person, please!). Feel free to comment about anything (I always love reading something more than ‘pick me!’ though…) – if you’d like, let me know your favorite bundle from their shop. I have my eye on the new Purebred line, and while I’ve admired it on their shop many times, I’ve yet to pull the trigger. I have a feeling it may happen sooner than later though!

Oh, Brooke and Rob have generously opened the giveaway to US and International readers, so comment away everyone! ~~I’ll select a winner on Sunday evening.~~

UPDATE! We have a winner! Random.org selected comment #138, Carol, who said

Carol says:

November 6, 2015 at 1:53 pm (Edit)

“Lots of sale fabrics that I like! And I’d love to feel the Liberty fabrics — I see them all over online but have never seen them in person. Thanks for the giveaway.”

I do hope you’ll take a moment to take a peek at Lady Belle’s shop. And as a special treat, they will be offering 15% off all orders through Tuesday, November 10th with code FITF15. (by the way, I couldn’t hold out any longer and placed an order for the Purebred. Did anyone else find something they couldn’t live without?)