Here's a quilt and a vocabulary lesson, all rolled neatly into one blog post. Stephanie Sheridan and Linda Leathersich of Stitched Together Studios recently designed this quilt for Quilter's Newsletter Magazine. Its name?
Fenestella
"Fenestella" by Stephanie Sheridan and Linda Leathersich; featured in Quilter's Newsletter magazine June/July 2013 |
As in, fenestella (n):
a small window or an opening in a wall
a small window or an opening in a wall
As much a dimensional illusion as a work of quilted art, this design is a modern approach to the classic Attic Window concept, showing Paula Nadelstern's Fabrique-istan and Extreme Colors collections. Stephanie and Linda shared a bit about their stunning design with us.
The
name of this quilt, Fenestella, sounds like a Harry Potter character! Where did
the name come from?
Stephanie: Yes, we did name this quilt, but not after a Harry
Potter character! The word "Fenestella" means a small window or
opening in a wall. With this design being a modern take on a traditional attic
window block we felt the name was a good fit ... and it is just a fun word to
say!
The
fussy-cut squares really pop on the black. How did you decide on the design?
Was it inspired by something?
Stephanie: This design originated in Mom's mind and we worked
through the design process together ... which means that she drew it with
colored pencils on graph paper, then took a picture with her cell phone and
texted it to me. That is as far as her technical skills go ... then I took over
with EQ7. Our goal was to create a modern design that really showcased the
"Prima Donna" fabrics as Paula called them.
Why
did you decide to make the squares different sizes?
Stephanie: The feature fabric in the smaller windows is a
smaller scale design, so it called for smaller blocks.
Love
the contrast of the teal windowpanes with the black background. Was teal your
first choice?
Stephanie: We colored this design in several of the
Fabrique-istan colorways, but we both love the color teal, so this was
definitely our first choice. The Extreme Colors fabrics that Paula designed to
compliment the Fabrique-istan line provided us with exactly the shading and
contrast we needed to give Fenestella such a modern feel.
Talk about the machine quilting
design you used.
Linda: The quilt called for unique, modern-style quilting
and the asymmetrical diagonal wiggly lines fit the need. Using YLI invisible
thread, I ditched the panes and blocks to make them pop off of the background. In
the blocks I simply followed the designs of the beautiful fabrics. Love my
older model non-stitch regulated Gammill longarm machine!
People
often find Paula's fabric intimidating to work with. Can you talk about why this design works so
well with her fabric?
Stephanie: I also used to find Paula's fabrics a bit
intimidating, but once I got brave enough to cut it for the first time I fell
in love with the versatility of the prints. This design highlights the focus
fabrics with fussy cutting and the window frame colors.
Linda: I also use a lot of Paula's fabrics; I love making
tote bags with them! I find them easy to work with, whether I am striving for
perfect matches, or cutting asymmetrically (or willy nilly). I love the fact
that all of the colors blend so well together, even between colorways. Paula's
Extreme Colors are the perfect blenders for any project.
What
do you like best about the quilt?
Stephanie: We love
the clean lines of this quilt and the updated modern twist of the traditional
Attic Windows block.
Find out more about Stephanie and Linda here.
Find Quilter's Newsletter Magazine here.
Superlative. To me it looks like the "windows" are literally floating. I am so totally amazed that even after all these 100's of years quilts have been around that new patterns are still being thought of.
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