Seen At The Quilt Show (Part 2)

Of course, when we go to shows, in addition to spotting future trends, we're always looking to see what people are making with the fabrics and patterns we stock in our shop. 

We love the Australian fabrics in our shop, so we're always excited to see them in finished quilts. "Australian Clams" by Leilani Seidel organizes the fabrics (which can be a little chaotic), and ties them together with the consistence of cream colored pickle dish-style arcs in complimentary colors. 

A stunner from afar and up close.

"Aboriginal Orbs" by Christine Johnson caught our eye as well. She's chosen purple to unify her fabrics and uses a variety of traditional and "modern" batiks to coordinate with the Aussies.

A new addition to our shop is Twighlight, indigo and mud cloth inspired fabrics by Whistler Studios and Windham. We're inspired by Natalie Barnes from Beyond the Reef patterns' quilt, "Faith Hope & Love" which uses these fabrics beautifully. We've already added the pattern to our shopping list! Since the fabrics are on the heavier side, we're thinking of pillows using just four of these improvisational-looking blocks.

Finding fabrics to represent something in a quilt can be challenging. "Fresh Picked" by Hedda Wright was a beautiful reminded that when depicting something, the mere suggestion through fabric color, pattern, or shape, rather than strict pictorial adherence, is most effective. It's OK to get wild and use polka dots for grass, florals in faces, and stripes for sky as they all have the potential to make the quilt more exciting.

Check out the fun cabbage leaves in not-necessarily-cabbagy fabrics:

Customers will often ask us for help coordinating fabrics (we LOVE doing this!), and the collections are usually based around a desired color or a focus fabric. But what if a quilt were designed around a theme, and any fabric with that theme was fair game, regardless of color?! Kristin thought "Strawberry Sunday" by Marcia Aurdal was pretty fun, and an off-the-beaten-track way to coordinate a quilt. All the fabrics used have strawberries. Of course the red in the berries ties things together, but overall, it's pretty scrappy and free-spirited:

And, speaking of color, the pickle juice background color in "Morse Code" by Lynn Glidden kind of screamed "Geri would love this!" Up close, it also has the Me+You Indah batiks Kristin loves, plus a bunch of Kaffe Fasset favorites for good measure. 

Fresh Fabrics For Spring

After a post-Puyallup Expo lull, new fabrics are arriving nearly daily!

Who's hungry for sushi? This fresh combo would make fun kitchen accessories like the French Flea Market Apron (which includes a kid size as well as an adult one), accents on towels, or maybe even some fun Pea Pod or other zip bags.

Maker Maker's graphically simple cats and dogs, and a collection of nubby linens from Lecien have a quiet, minimalist color palette perfect for totes and table runners.

Another lovely neutral collection is Destination Paris from Windham Fabrics. Are you dreaming of a European vacation yet?

Check out this purple and orange and blue from Robert Kaufman, Anthology, M&S (Australian), and P&B -- who knew they'd all look so rich and delicious together? Well, we kind of did.

We've refreshed our beachy blues and corals.

We've got a super cute collection of juvenile fabrics from Makower UK, mixed with some of our favorite basics, ready to be made into baby quilts and more!

And, Carrie Bloomston's Dreamer collection is finally here. We're making kits for our Hip To Dream and Lucy's Garden sample quilts, as well as having yardage for you to choose your own adventure!

Did You Know?

We keep ordering these Australian fabrics from M&S textiles and they keep flying out the door, so we know they are hitting a chord with our customers. They definitely have rich colors and appeal to a wide audience, but did you know that they are not just pretty pictures? Each fabric is based on designs from Australian Aboriginal artists and each one has it's own story.

Come in to the shop and read about the meaning of each design. Some include native plants or animals, some have spiritual meaning, and some represent such geographic locales as sand dunes or salt plains. Each story is intriguing and unique and provides an extra layer of interest to your quilts and other projects.