The Fig Leaf
At The Fig Leaf in Fort Collins, Colorado, Laura and Rob Shotwell pair two businesses—fabric and furniture— under one roof, offering quilters twice the fun.
Double Delight [1]
The Fig Leaf is located in a building that has housed various furniture stores for the past 50 years. The 4,000-square-foot space provides plenty of room for fabric, samples, and notions.
Meet the Staff [2]
Front row, from left: Kyle Redente, Charlotte Allum, Rob Shotwell (co-owner), Laura Shotwell (co-owner), Miriam Mears, and Ariana Clark; back row: Becky Martin, Joe Mears, Steve Ziegenhagen, Andrea Powell, and Amanda Clark.
Architectural Details [3]
Marble floors and elegant columns at The Fig Leaf provide a stately backdrop for fabric bolts and stitched samples.
All Things Large and Small [4]
Although The Fig Leaf has ample space to showcase large-size samples, smaller objects, such as pincushions and needle cases, have a home at the shop, too.
Take It Easy [5]
Quilters and their guests can find home decor inspiration (and a place to rest their feet) in the adjoining furniture store.
Calm, Cool, and Collected [6]
The Fig Leaf owner Laura Shotwell designed Calm, Cool, and Collected for Quilt Sampler® Spring/Summer 2012 magazine. A color palette reminiscent of the earth and sky washes across a light background in a batik beauty just right for a serene bedroom suite.
Machine-Quilting Details [7]
Karen Azevedo machine-quilted layered flower motifs in each block with the leaves extending into the corners of the block. She stitched a fern design in each setting square and, to add interest, rotated the direction of the fern in each square. She quilted the middle border with a vine-and-leaf motif and the outer border with a floral motif.
Calm, Cool, and Collected Color Option [8]
Gray is enjoying a resurgence in home decor color schemes. Why not incorporate it into your quilts as well? In quilt tester Laura Boehnke’s version of Calm, Cool, and Collected, graphic prints in the blocks pop off the solid gray setting pieces. Pumping up the contrast in the borders, Laura took a cue from the hints of yellow in her blocks for the first border, then added a striking solid black middle border. The bold print outer border ties the whole look together with a flourish. Fabrics are from the Groovin’ collection by Jane Spolar of Quilt Poetry for Northcott [9].
For more information about The Fig Leaf, visit thefigleafquilting.com [10].