Fenestella

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

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.

See the entire Fabrique-istan collection here and Extreme Colors here.

Find Quilter's Newsletter Magazine here.

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FFF: Fantastic Fabrique Foursome!

Raise your hand if you love Paula Nadelstern's kaleidoscope-style fabric but feel a little hesitant about cutting into it.

(Okay, we have to ask...did you actually raise your hand even though we couldn't see you?)

Wendy Sheppard's "Fabrique Foursome" design, featured in the Summer 2013 issue of Easy Quilts, has the answer. Check it out:

"Fabrique Foursome" designed and machine quilted by Wendy Sheppard
and pieced by Sherry McConnell;
featured in Easy Quilts summer 2013
Photo courtesy of Fons & Porter

We asked Wendy for some tips on cutting Paula's gorgeous fabric, and she was happy to share, along with some additional photos of her quilt.

We love how you used Paula's Fabrique-istan fabric! Can you talk about how you cut into it and how you figured out how to do that?

When I look at a large fabric print pattern, I try to look to see if there's any symmetry first.  Then, I try to see if I couldn't take advantage of the symmetry and cut in a way that would efficiently use the pattern print.  In this case, I saw a large star print which is symmetrical, and proceeded to quarter the star to be used in constructing a block. 

Did you purposely select each sashing plus sign color to match the fussy cut squares?

Yes, I did.  I used the bright sashing fabrics to counter the black in the fussy cut squares.

Any tips for fussy cutting?

Definitely do a test sample.  Sometimes with fussy cutting, I don't press my fabric before cutting because heat from the iron tends to slightly distort the fabric weave that would make precise fussy cutting a little challenging, especially if I have to rely on straight lines in the print pattern.

Favorite thing about the quilt?

The colors!!!

Favorite thing about the fabric?

The prints and colors that just draw the viewer to want to submerge in all those colors.

Tell us about your decision to add the outer black outline border.

I find black to be the best blender when using a lot of colors in a quilt design. That "black" black fabric seems the perfect choice in "reining" in all the bright and bold colors scattered all throughout the quilt, and seems to provide a nice boundary within which the other colors can show off.

Any advice to quilters out there?

I always try to encourage my quilting friends to try out color palettes that aren't "their" thing necessarily -- sometimes, the effect can be stunningly and strikingly beautiful and out of the ordinary!

See more photos and learn more about this quilt on Wendy's blog.

See the entire Fabrique-istan line here and Extreme Colors line here.

Find the kit for this project here.

Find Easy Quilts here.

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Where is Fabrique-istan?

If you're looking for some serious inspiration, today is your lucky day! You may have seen Paula Nadelstern's new collection, Fabrique-istan, but now you can hear all about it straight from the designer herself!

Paula talks about her "prima donna" prints, shows one of her favorite ever all-over prints, and shares her philosophy about using complex fabric to create simple quilts.

Pull up a chair, grab a cup of coffee (or hot chocolate, or tea), and get comfortable for this exclusive interview with one of the industry's master designer's, Paula Nadelstern.



You can see a few of the fabrics Paula discusses below; head over to our Facebook page or our website to see swatches of the entire mouth-watering line.

Are you in love? We're glad; we are too! 

With fabrics like these, the possibilities are endless. Check back later this week to see the simple quilt designs that Paula's friends made with these prints. 

Visit Paula's website here.

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