Tag Archives: patterns

saturday sewing binge.

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I LOVE getting totally lost in a project, and that is exactly what happened over the weekend.

 

It all started with these guys that I’d picked up the day before at a quilt show.

 

ed emberley fabrics

 

Ed Emberley from Cloud9. I’d already been obsessed, and then finding some and actually having them in my possession made it impossible to resist.

 

For a hot minute, I thought about using them in a future pattern, but no. That idea was quickly turned down when I realized that I kind of wanted to make a quilt for no real reason.

 

After the fabric, my next muse was a project in this beautiful book by Amanda Jean Nyberg and Cheryl Arkison. Such a lovely, lovely book, and it’s been calling my name for a while. Candy Coated, aka the cover quilt, is exactly what I was looking for.

 

Sunday Morning Quilts

 

The fabric pull was fun. Especially because this pattern buys me all sorts of scrap liberties. I happily helped myself to a load of stuff and will continue to do so as the project grows. Sweet, merciful fabric.

 

fabric pull

 

The warm ochres in the lion print are majorly enticing, and I’m coupling them with some grays, lush blues, and plenty of neutrals. I’ve got the first few rows together, and hope to find time to plug away on it again soon.

 

candy coated lions in progress

recently made: clutch.

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Finally a new purse.

 

architextures clutch front_carolyn friedlander

 

 

I used this noodlehead pattern and really enjoyed it. The fabrics are from architextures with the exception of the strap and flap detail. Those are a Philip Jacob feather print.

 

Using my gray ledger print on the bias has been really fun–especially for some thick cording.

 

architextures bias cording_carolyn friedlander

 

architextures bias ledger cording_carolyn friedlander

 

Peach pockets on the inside.

 

architextures clutch inside_carolyn friedlander

 

My new go-to label system.

 

architextures clutch label_carolyn friedlander

 

Hardware (from the buckle guy) that I just happened to have on hand. Love it when that happens.

 

architextures clutch hardware_carolyn friedlander

 

architextures clutch backside_carolyn friedlander

 

Instead of using a magnet or velcro, I decided to go binder-style and use 2 vintage buttons from my stash with some braided embroidery floss.

 

architextures clutch closure_carolyn friedlander

 

 

aerial eye candy.

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For whatever reason I’m having a difficult time focusing today, so I thought I’d share some (slightly random) eye candy from one of my newest patterns, aerial. Enjoy!

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First is an early sketch. I think this one happened on an airplane, which is where I got the inspiration–an overhead (aerial) view of a patchwork landscape. From early on I wanted each block to have its own flavor, so I decided to limit the colors in each to a small set. That way I’d get more overall variety and (hopefully) keep some of the craziness under control so you could still see the pattern. When I made the sample I found myself trying not to repeat any of my previous color combinations. It was fun, challenging, and kept me entertained.

aerial sketch carolyn friedlander

Next up is a shot of the sample before she got sandwiched and quilted. I thought her backside looked especially enticing. The added texture and directionality of the seams makes it feel somewhat sculptural, which I like. (Looks like my chambray was getting a little out of control down there in the corner. No biggie. Chambray can be discreet about that from the front.)

aerial underside carolyn friedlander

And last are some stamp shots. While I haven’t been able to fiddle around with too many other aerial quilt samples, I have had some fun with the stamp. Bring on the visual texture.

aerial envelope red carolyn friedlander

aerial envelope carolyn friedlander

aerial envelope purple red carolyn friedlander

Red on purple. Oh yeah.

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sessoms blast from the past.

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With the giveaway I have going on, I thought I’d take a quick trip back to the (almost) very beginning of my Sessoms throw. Other than some sketches and a few lone blocks, it all started with this sample. Oh how things have changed!

sessoms throw by carolyn friedlander, shirting version

At the time, I remember being drawn to the idea of mixing warm shirtings with bright, contemporary prints, which I still think is a fun juxtaposition. I also went a little nuts with skinny borders, partly for looks, and partly because I was running out of fabric.

sessoms throw by carolyn friedlander, shirting version

And I’m embarrassed that the top still isn’t quilted! Yikes. Usually I’m not this bad since I enjoy the quilting so much. I can’t remember what lured me away, but now that she’s out, I want to put her to use. I should get on it. I’ve been wanting something new on my bed.

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If you haven’t already, leave a comment on Monday’s post by midnight tomorrow to win some fabulous fabric and a copy of the pattern.

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weekend sewing success.

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I love it when a sewing project works out, and lately I feel like I’ve been mostly striking out. So finally, a success. How sweet it is.

 

floral blouse

Here’s the pattern, which I adapted into a blouse.

jamie christina miz mozelle dress pattern

The translation wasn’t difficult. I started with a muslin version to test the fit and for placing the darts that I added to the front and back. I also lengthened the bodice and curved the hemline. When I got all of that to work, I updated the pattern pieces, said a prayer, and cut it out. The prayer was because I only had 1 yard of fabric. And guess what, it worked!* And that even included making the bias tape to match! I was stoked.     (*I am kinda short. 1 yard may not work for all sizes.)

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I’ll be making this one again.

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making my way home.

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20120522-181823.jpgk

Market was awesome. I had such a great time and am currently making my way back to Florida with a few fun stops along the way. I’ll definitely be posting lots of pics and comments about Market when I get back, but in the meantime you can check out my new patterns – aerial, backbone, and palmetto.

 

 

miniMINI sunrise update.

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Remember this weekend project from a little while ago?

 

Here’s an update.

 

miniMINI sunrise quilt

 

She’s all quilted, bound, and photographed. The orderly 1/4″ quilting, via my walking foot, gives it a nice texture without competing with the prints. I don’t always bind with the border fabric, but I liked the idea of keeping this one consistent. Of course, I had to break it up with a couple fabric scraps, and I am shocked that the hands came out perfectly positioned. Wish I could say I planned that.

 

miniMINI sunrise quilt binding detail

 

 

grove of one.

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Sometimes it takes me a little while to photograph things after I’ve finished them. It’s just something that I tend to put off. Sound familiar to anyone else? Last week, I finally tackled photographing a stack of recently finished projects. Here’s one of them.

 

grove sample with stamped border

 

I made this block (from my Grove pattern) at an event in Vero a few weeks ago. After some thought, I decided that I kind of liked it all by itself, rather than making it into something larger. I’ve been into little projects lately. They are great for trying out new ideas. Plus they make fun little pieces of art–and gifts too.

 

I liked the idea of using my art quilt stamps to create my own fabric for the border. In doing this, I realized one benefit to printing my own fabric was that I did not have to fussy-cut my directional print to work out in my project. I just cut the strips for the border first and then stamped the print in the direction that I wanted them to go. So now they match.

 

stamped fabric in my grove sample

 

I’ve also been really into some straight-ish quilting.

 

stamped fabric in my grove sample

 

And here was the original sans stamping, borders, and quilting. It always amazes me to see how much each part of the process affects the way it looks and feels.

 

orange and green grove quilt block by carolyn friedlander

weekend sewing recap – alligators and swiss dot.

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Finally, I had a weekend completely free and clear of any extra-curriculars. So I did some sewing.

 

First on the agenda was to finish up a pair of boxers that I’d already started.

 

alligator boxers

 

I’ve been a little obsessed with this fabric. I love the retro-florida feel and thought a new pair of boxers would be a fun use for it. I used this pattern, which I also used to make Christmas presents for my entire family last year. Coordinating fabrics and personalities was fun. I wonder what this selection says about me? I do love some old florida flavor.

 

The other thing I worked on was this shirt by colette. I’ve still got some handwork and hemming to finish it up, but I’m happy with how it’s turning out.

 

 

peach colette shirt

 

Using this swiss dot required a little extra thought with some of the detailing since it is semi-sheer. I needed all the seams to look clean inside and out. The strategy was to implement french seams wherever possible, which works out great in most places except for the center seam in the front and back. A french seam wants to pick a side, but since this seam is front and center, I wasn’t quite sure how to handle it. I ended up sewing it like a french seam but tried to iron it open(ish). It worked ok, but there’s surely a better way. Otherwise it was straight-forward and came together easily. I really like that the bodice is on the bias. I think that made setting in the sleeves a whole lot easier.

 

So there we have it. Some weekend fun.

 

 

Sessoms hits the road.

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I recently packed up my Sessoms throw to send to my new friends at Intown Quilters in Decatur, Georgia. She’ll be hanging there proudly for the next few weeks while they host what sounds like will be a super fun shop hop. Wish I could go too!

 

sessoms throw quilt

 

In honor of her special trip I thought I’d share a little bit about the process of making her.

 

I knew I wanted a lattice-like design and liked the idea of using bright and colorful fabrics. Awhile back, I read a tip to cut 2-1/2″ strips from fabrics as you buy them to create your own personal stash of pre-cuts, which I thought of as a space-saving way to horde fabrics that I loved. I also figured that saving small bits of my favorites would come in handy in future projects. That ended up to be true when it came time for this one. I had so many options that it was easy to find exactly what I wanted. I then tried out several solid fabrics for the background before settling on this particular blue. The color gradation was honestly an afterthought. I’d been working through my fabrics (in a fit of o.c.d) based on color, but liked how the effect started to play out as the quilt grew. My stream-of-consciousness quilting approach was both for the sake of entertainment and for trying new things. I wanted heavy quilting in the solid areas to emphasize the design and to promote fullness in the colored parts. The binding came together with leftovers from my strips and some fresh cuts of the blue. And that’s pretty much how she came to be.

 

 

sessoms throw

 

If I had kids, I guess this would be like sending one off to camp. I stamped out a new label so she doesn’t forget who she is or where she came from.

 

sessoms stamped quilt label

 

Safe travels, Sessoms! I hope you make lots of new friends.