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

things i’m working on…

Posted on January 15, 2009

Mostly making a mess –

You know how I love digging through my scraps! I’m considering another scrap quilt, but this is as far as I’ve gotten, so who knows…

And then there’s this quilt, which really should have been done ages ago. I’ve definitely been procrastinating with this one. This is actually the start of the back of the quilt. (is it strange to do the back before you do the front?)

This picture is probably a bit distracting since I’m building it on top of another completed quilt. Does anyone else do this? I typically construct the backs of my quilts on top of the fronts, so I have an idea of the size I need. I don’t really like to measure, so I find this technique works perfectly for me.

Since I don’t have a completed top for this one, I’m using my Bits of Color quilt as my size guide. I like the finished size of that quilt.

Anyway… the center will be white, and I’ll do a white border surrounding the zig zag rectangle. Now I just need to actually get sewing…

The free time I had for sewing is now replaced with wedding planning. We are planning a wedding in Florida in early March, and let me tell you, trying to plan while in Vermont is a bit challenging. I’ll be heading to Florida this weekend in order to finalize some plans (and to get away from the -10 degree weather we have here currently!). I think we’re doing ok now – ask me in a month though and my answer will probably be different! There are many more plans to be made, including plans for a honeymoon… (anyone with suggestions on interesting honeymoon locations is welcome to comment!) Since we’ll be in Florida, we were thinking somewhere in the Caribbean, but who knows…

Posted in Household Sewing - bags, napkins, pillows, Posts about Quilts | Tagged 1974, designer, Fabric, quilt, scraps, Urban Chicks, zig zag | 16 Comments

a couple improv blocks

Posted on January 13, 2009

I worked on a few improv blocks last night. I don’t typically make these types of blocks — while I try never to use a pattern, I do usually have a plan of some sort. Making these types of blocks without any real plan takes some getting used to. It’s easy for me to start overthinking and overdoing it. I find when I make one block at a time, I’m more apt to try and pack too much into that block. I like a cleaner, more simple look, so I have to continually remind myself that less can be more.

But now, can I talk about that chair fabric? It’s designed by the talented Laurie Wisbrun and printed by Spoonflower. (You can buy it in her Etsy shop) There’s something about a chair printed on fabric that really gets me (remember my wall hanging?). She now has it available in other colors, and I’ve been drooling over them as well. (maybe if I say enough about it she’ll send me some? Shameless, right? I’m kidding, of course.) I’ve selected a few other fabrics from Jennifer Pagnelli, Erin Michael’s new line, Lush, and of course, my favorite Flea Market Fancy.

This block is my favorite

I had to do a little editing to this one (that’s allowed, right?!)

And lastly, this one, which I’m not entirely sold on… not yet, anyway!

You can see that I’m having a hard time breaking out from the straight lines. I’ll be working on that!

Posted in Household Sewing - bags, napkins, pillows | Tagged erin michaels, flea market fancy, handmade, lush, pieced, project improv, Quilt Blocks, quilting | 17 Comments

A field of flowers.

Posted on January 12, 2009

In Vermont. In January.

Even though temperatures were only in the single digits here yesterday, I thought that a quick outdoor photo shoot was in order. I’ll look back later and think how pretty it looks, and I’ll probably forget how cold we were!

The hardest part of making this quilt may have been finding enough floral fabrics. I didn’t want to have to go out to buy fabrics for this quilt, so I spent quite some time going through my entire stash as well as all my scraps. I aimed for a mix of sizes, trying to include even a few teeny tiny flowers.

The back stumped me for a while, but once again, Morgan suggested something that inspired me to make these two large reverse blocks for the back. Those of you who have been reading for a while might notice that this is the first time that I’ve used a solid other than white. I only had this little strip of green and a bit of pink, so it’s not a huge use of solids. Maybe I can’t even count it at all…

The binding might be my favorite part. I’m seriously in love, and in fact it changed this quilt from one I liked to one I really love. I wanted a floral, but something not too busy, so I was happy when I came across this Alexander Henry Ava fabric in green. If you’ve seen it, you know that it is a floral print, but when used as a binding, it has a nice mix of green and white and it’s not noticeably floral, unless you look closely. Did I mention that I love it?