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

napkins…check

Posted on February 18, 2009

I talked about these napkins quite often during the last several weeks, so thought it was only right to show you the completed stack. It was close, but I did manage to finish hemming them all, right before the loaner sewing machine had to go back. (Many thanks to June at my favorite local fabric shop for providing the loaner and for hemming my wedding dress at the very last moment!)

I coudn’t pick a favorite fabric or favorite colors, so instead opted for polka dots. They’re fun, and I already had lots of polka dotted fabric, so it seemed perfect. I had hoped to hem each with this decorative stitch to echo the polka dots, but when my machine had to go to the shop, the loaner didn’t have the same stitch. I moved to these loops, then finally ended up with a zig zag when I was trying to finish them quickly before we left. I don’t think anyone will notice the hem of the napkin anyway!

Posted in Household Goods | Tagged Fabric, handmade, Napkins | 30 Comments

I’m a sucker for books

Posted on February 15, 2009

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…

Posted in Household Sewing - bags, napkins, pillows | Tagged Clothing, handmade, Heather Ross, mendocino, sewing, summer blouse, weekend sewing | 27 Comments

scattered mini blocks

Posted on February 12, 2009

I started making these mini blocks a while back. I originally made them way back here for the back of this quilt (nope, it still hasn’t been quilted!) I enjoy making them because they’re easy to make, they use up a lot of scraps, and you don’t need to put too much thought into it. I typically scatter my scraps on the table and then just piece them on the fly. Once ironed, I cut them to 4″ blocks… 4″ because I like all things mini!

My intention was to make an entire quilt using these blocks, but when I started laying them out, I wasn’t loving it. So instead I stacked them up and set them aside. One day I was looking at them though, and thought that it might be interesting if I sewed them together as if the pile had fallen over and scattered (strange description – does that make any sense?)

So here’s the finished quilt top of scattered mini blocks. I tried not to think too much about placement – just kind of dropping them and then filling in with white. I really did want a random look (though of course it’s not totally random – I did move some around a bit to even out the colors and create enough balance).

I’m really really happy with the way it turned out! The mini blocks are really cute, and I used a lot of scraps so there’s a lot of variety in the prints. I won’t have time to quilt it before we leave, but at least I’ll have something to look forward to upon our return!