Category Archives: life

a little peek.

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I feel like I’m finally starting to come out from under my quilt market rock. These last few weeks have felt kind of intense as I put the finishing touches on a bunch of new stuff that I’m about to release.

 

Here’s a sneak preview.

 

slow sewing studio sneak_carolyn friedlander

 

I’ve been steadily working on a brand new pattern group. This is a group that I’ve been very excited about, and I hope others will be too! I’ve used it as an opportunity to do some different things, including reaching out to and working with a couple other designers who I really admire. I’ve solicited the talents of a mighty fine illustrator as well as another highly skilled pattern designer. It’s been so much fun.

 

In other–and very recent–news, I just had a minor incident in the sewing room that is turning this afternoon into “computer” time rather than the “sewing” time that was planned. I’m OK, but my left index finger needs to take it easy after taking a direct blow from my machine needle. It happens. I’m just glad that I’ll get by without a trip to the ER, and I didn’t get any blood on what I was working on. Awesome and awesome. Careful with those sewing machines.

 

And I just got the most lovely treats in the mail from the super talented Jessica Pollak. (a familiar face over at The Printed Bolt)

 

jessica pollak journals

jessica pollak ramen

I’d been lusting after both of these for some time now. What a treat! Both are available in her etsy shop.

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Happy Thursday!

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hi, april.

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Quilt Market is looming, as it tends to do. That’s fine. I mean there are still (quite a few) logistical things that need to be worked out, and my new stuff is not quite ready to see the light of day. But those are just details, right?

 

But seriously. I am really excited about the new stuff I’ve been working on. And I am excited to travel all the way over to Portland in May. I’ve never been there, and I hear she’s quite the hip lil place.

 

In addition to Quilt Market, I’m so happy to have a couple of workshops and trunk show lined up at Portland’s Modern Domestic. It’ll be fun to hang around after the show and meet more of the locals. On the agenda we’ve got some beginner-friendly stuff in an Aerial workshop (similar to this one), then some slightly trickier stuff in an Olive class, and finally a little socializing, chatting, and quilt-gazing in the evening during an open house/trunk show kind of thing.

 

I just recently shipped off the goodies for that.

 

olive and aerial in the mail

 

I’ve also been rummaging through my trash can for scraps to turn into notecards as I seem to have depleted my stash.

 

swatched card

These also kind of show some of my recent swatches and what I’m working with.

scrappy swatches

scrappy notecard

Marathon quilting on some new stuff…

quilting on essex linen

 

Dreaming about making a wiksten tank with some tsuru.

 

tsuru wiksten

 

And I’m massively impressed with Ken Kaufman’s “Matzotextures.” You’ve gotta check that out.

 

 

 

 

It’s on.

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And you better believe I’m excited. Right now, I’m waiting to board my flight to Austin and QuiltCon is almost at my finger tips.

While I’m waiting for that. Let’s kick this adventure off with a quilt.

 

sunrise architextures_carolyn friedlander

 

Sunrise + architextures + coordinating konas.

2 1/2″ strip packs of each + kona cactus for the frames, green map for the sashing, green trees for the border, and kona teal blue for the binding.

 

sunrise architextures_detail_carolyn friedlander

 

Here’s to much more to come.

 

 

local shop love. (+ a giveaway)

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Supporting local and independent business is massively important to me, not only because I work as an independent designer myself, but also because it’s what I grew up with.

 

thread spools carolyn friedlander

(I love the needle rack from Friedlander’s that now holds my thread)

 

My grandfather immigrated to the US from Lithuania and opened his first store in Lake Wales, Florida sometime in the 1920s. He sold all kinds of stuff: clothes, fabric, housewares, toys. By the time I was born, my grandfather had already passed away and my dad and aunts were carrying the torch. Many of my earliest memories are of spending time in the store wrapping presents, pricing stuff, or helping people find what they were looking for.

 

friedlander's scissors

(another relic from the Friedlander archive that I use often and even at the last show)

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In a lot of ways,  it was a totally different way of doing business back then. Shelves were stocked with actual needs and quality products, merchants had an active relationship with their customer, and solid customer service came naturally and without anyone having to tell you to do it.

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While my family’s stores no longer exist, I LOVE that I can still find the same values and practices that I grew up with in the local quilt shops that I frequent. I love how each shop emits its own flavor–a product of the many hands and hearts that create and nurture them. They build community and offer us the chance to connect with each other over the things that mean so much to us. Plus, I love not knowing what fun thing I’ll find from one quilt shop to the next!

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And they just sell better stuff, which is a total testament to the industry itself and how much it supports the little guys.

 

Visit Your Local Shop Day is on January 24, 2013 and right around the corner. I’m very happy to support it, and I’m also gonna do a giveaway in its honor. (See below for details.)

Here’s my official promo for the campaign, the short and sweet version.

 

Carolyn-Friedlander_Local Quilt Shop Day

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And then I’ll give a shout-out to some of my favorite local shops and their nearby complements–I know I like some nourishment after a little fabric shopping. They’ve all supported me, and I’m very happy to support them.

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Heartfelt Quilting and Sewing . Winter Haven, Florida

This shop is filled with the sweetest staff ever, and they have totally nurtured me from having no skills at all, to the fully obsessed quilter that I am today. Make sure to check out my open house on March 5 at their Lakeland store.

… Andy’s Igloo. The sign says “best ice cream for 62 years.” Let’s just say they know what they are doing.

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Fabric Warehouse . Lakeland, Florida

Another great shop with lots of fun fabrics, and I think they might have been the first shop to pick up my patterns! In March, I’m teaching a class through them at the Sewing Expo for my Aerial quilt.

…Pelican’s shaved ice in Auburndale.  Perfectly positioned on my route home.

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Inspire Quilting and Sewing . Plant City, Florida

These guys are super new, but have already established themselves as one of my favorite quilt shops. The light-filled shop is full of great samples and beautiful fabrics. Located in an unfamiliar town to me, I’m excited to get to know it more in the future.

…There’s a candy shop and tea room across the street, and then a fabulously home-grown and rustic cafe around the corner. um, hello.

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The Dragonfly Quilt Shop . Vero Beach, Florida

This shop is about and hour and a half away, but I love getting over there when I’ve got the chance. It’s just a few miles from the beach and full of that warm, beachy vibe.

…Snowballs. the BEST shaved ice. Just down the street. You’re welcome.

(Sometimes I’m not sure which is more robust–my sweet tooth or my “fabric” tooth…)

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Of course there are tons of other great shops out there, these are just some of my nearest and dearest. For more ideas in your area, peruse my shop listings, and also fill me in on some of your favorites by leaving a comment.

All comments made by Thursday Jan 24 at 11am (EST) are eligible for the giveaway. You’ll have to stay tuned for the prize…it’s a surprise! But it’s good. Don’t worry.

Happy Weekend!

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And check out these other folks on the Local Quilt Shop Day tour!

- Abby Glassenberg (While She Naps)

- Alissa Haight Carlton (Handmade By Alissa)

- Allison Harris (Cluck Cluck Sew)

- Cara Wilson (Cara Quilts)

- Cheryl Arkison (Dining Room Empire)

- Christina Lane (The Sometimes Crafter)

- Debbie Grifka (Esch House Quilts)

- Diane Gilleland (CraftyPod)

- Pam Harris (Gingerbread Snowflakes)

- Jane Davidson (Quilt Jane)

- Jen Carlton-Bailly (Betty Crocker Ass)

- Krista Hennebury (Poppyprint)

- Laurie Wisbrun (Scarlet Fig)

- Michelle Freedman (Design Camp)

- Monica Solorio-Snow (Happy Zombie)

- Pat Sloan (Create with Pat Sloan)

- Penny Layman (Sew Take A Hike)

- Rachael Gander (Imagine Gnats)

- Rae Hoekstra (Made By Rae)

- Rita Hodge (Red Pepper Quilts)

- Victoria Gertenbach (The Silly BooDilly)

hello new year!

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I’m feeling quite refreshed after taking a break. I had my computer turned off for at least a solid week, which is nothing short of a miracle. I did sneak a moment here and there on my ipad, but overall my effort to disconnect was successful, and my chi feels good.

 

While unplugged, my biggest goal was probably not to obsess over my schedule, making lists, or filling every moment with something productive. Aside from a couple of personal projects in mind, I just wanted to let go and enjoy. Some highlights were getting lost in good reading, knitting on a project that had gone totally dormant, spending time with family and friends, baking, sewing, and even getting lost in a 24 marathon. It’s been good.

 

Cue the visuals.

 

Shrug update: She’s being blocked, which means I’m closing in on the finish line. It’s always amazing to me how much lace opens up when blocked–a good reminder since I’m always tempted to skip this step. (Try to ignore the heinous pink towel and shoddy blocking system.)

 

blocked shrug

 

Single girl‘s got some new additions. It’s fun being able to work in some architextures.

 

 

single girl rings

I’ve been page-turning to Kaffe Fassett, vegan ultramarathoning, and industrialized fashion (not pictured). All very enjoyable.

 

reading book pile

 

Craft-wise, I’ve got a stack of flagged pages and projects from some recent acquisitions. (Apparently I’ve got a Japanese obsession going on. What can I say?)

 

craft book pile

 

And I’ve even gotten a start on a tunic from the Stylish Dress book (on top). I need to work out a few alterations, so it’s gonna hang for a bit while I ponder on that. The tea calendar was something I picked up at Quilt Market from Spoonflower. All it needed was some architextures binding to finish it off, which miraculously felt like the thing to do one afternoon.

 

tunic in the making

 

So, lesson learned that breaks are good. I’m feeling pumped to start a new year off with some energy and excitement for whatever it may bring. I’ve taken time to review the good stuff of 2012 and will continue to map out goals for 2013. I do love my goals.

 

Hope you are able to do some of the same. Happy New Year!

 

 

entering break mode.

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It has really been an awesome year, and I continue to be so grateful.

And with that, I’m officially entering break mode until the new year. I think it’s just the right time to slow down and get to some things and people who I haven’t been able to enjoy as much as I would have liked. Let there be lots of sewing, eating, and visiting!

architextures and kona gradient carolyn friedlander

In the meantime, there are just a couple of things to mention.

 

First, Pink Chalk did some fabulous Architextures and solids matchmaking–see here. So lovely. And they’re also fully stocked with the coordinating Kona solids–see here and here–that I’ve been using on many projects (including my new Stripes and Shirts patterns).

 

Second, Joan Ford of Hummingbird Highway is collecting quilts to give to the people in Newtown, CT. See here for the details. The turnaround time is soon, but with my time off and a good survey through my stash, I should be able to get something together to send. We all know how special a quilt can be.

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Warm wishes this holiday season, and I’ll see you in the new year!

 

 

late summer showers.

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before the storm

 

The early evening showers have been quite regular this week, and I love the drama right before it all goes down. The colors and light get kind of intense. I snapped this yesterday while taking a look at our first pineapple in bloom. Fresh pineapple is one of my favorites, and I honestly had no idea that the bloom was so pretty. The purple and peach are quite unexpected.

 

fresh pineapple

 

The week has been great. I got four new quilt tops ready and almost all basted that I’ll be taking with me to Houston for Quilt Market. Quilting them will be next.

And I’m not quite sure what’s on the agenda for the weekend, but I do feel deserving of a little down time.

 

One thing might be to take a look through the latest GenQ. That came in the mail this week.

 

gen q second issue

 

 

And it’d also be great to make use of this fun fabric that I scored at the quilt shop yesterday while stocking up on backings.

 

purple and gold fabric

 

 

Warm cerise with flecks of gold…so lovely. Single girl maybe? Very likely.

happy weekend!

 

hello quilts.

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They’re baaack…

box of quilts

…all six of them have been traveling around and apparently having a great time this summer on tour. I’m totally honored to have had so many wonderful shops hosting them all over the country. My next step will be to get them out of their box to breathe and decompress. They need it.

 

Good news related to that is that two of them will be turning right around and heading over to Georgia for the Georgia Quilt Show. I just got word of their acceptance. Hoorah!

 

Otherwise, it’s been a busy week spent working on new patterns, samples, and other goodies that I am very excited about. I’m also starting to feel the pressure of Market as it looms in the fast-approaching, near future and am cranking it in to full gear. There is a lot to be done, which is why I was thrilled to have the good fortune of finding the new Dave Eggers novel on the new release shelf at the library this week. SCORE! The gods must have known that I needed some enjoyable reading at 3am these last few nights to distract my brain from its obsession with all things Market related.

 

So it goes.

 

And I’m seeing lots of signs for exciting stuff this fall. I was completely stoked to get a taste of Rashida Coleman-Hale‘s new fabric line, as well as the line with Kokka from Ellen Luckett Baker.

 

Should be good.

 

 

making a clean spot.

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In starting a business (and also in life) there’s a certain amount of necessary and miscellaneous stuff that starts to accumulate – in piles in my case. Quilting goods pose a similar threat, but my recent issues have had more to do with managing the random boxes, packing supplies, and extra inventory that are starting to take over my life. My recent feature on where I sew planted an organizational seed. It shouldn’t be a secret that I did some much-needed de-cluttering, dusting, and reorganizing in preparation for inviting others to see my space. And since then, I’ve been motivated to take an hour or two here and there to tidy up some other areas.

 

inventory

 

Here’s a look at my inventory. I should have taken a before picture. It was bad. And scary. Ikea has become a good friend in my efforts. The polka-dot boxes may be a bit loud, but they are just the right size for housing my extra stock of patterns. They also add some flavor to the otherwise utilitarian shelf.

boxes

My extra supply of shipping boxes may not look as pretty, but at least they are organized in a way that doesn’t require shuffling through a pile of random shapes and sizes before finding (or not finding) the appropriate one for my needs. It was such a mess, so this is a big improvement.

 

And as I close in on one clean spot, another messy spot opens. I spent a fun weekend away and have a brand new pile of things just waiting to be unpacked. So it goes…