Newsletter

* The Boho Quilt by Jen Kingwell has arrived! It is a beautiful quilt and very much in line with her most successful pattern of years ago, the Gypsy Wife. A gigantic heart is created from sampler blocks and the background has long strips of fabrics. All customers who pre-ordered the kit will receive it today or Monday. There is only a limited amount of kits as so many different fabrics are needed. Now the quilt can also be made in totally different colors... I was even thinking it would made a sweet first big bed quilt for any child with some of their favorites novelties mixed in. Or how about a patriotic quilt with lots of scraps in red, white and blue? It is not hard to make, just a lot of fun piecing. To get the variety in fabrics is the big trick. Our kit has 72 fat 16th and 23 different background fabrics....yes, we like to cut!

* A big heart quilt is almost symbolic for what I think is a growing trend in fabrics. I believe we are ready for a more gentle and kinder world and in fabrics there is a search for this. As I mentioned to the Burke QU Guild during the virtual lecture earlier this week, we are much more at home, we are in need of protection and we are trying to improve our environment in every way. There are and will be even more flowers in fabrics. So many collections have flowers! The flowers can be very small, like old fashioned calico, or Georgia O'Keeffe style of big ones and there are many fabrics with delicate designs. A little bird, a branch, a bug, fragile and sweet. Serenity by Art Gallery fits in this trend of kinder fabrics. This collection is what I would like to consider a trendsetter in basics and blenders. There is a variety of these delicate prints in soft colors. It makes a great group of 12 and can set the tone for a new background, especially when used as a group. Each individual fabric is soft, but together they make a statement that is gentle. When you use these colors as a background, the colors that are being combined with them are probably going to be less bright as well. Total new look. The fabric itself is super soft and of the highest quality as well. All Art Gallery fabrics are. They and Michael Miller Cotton Couture solids are the softest fabrics around.

* Last time I mentioned to you the Low Volume fabrics by Art Gallery, whites with little black random accents. I purchased those fabrics to help me make the Boho Heart kits, but they are also wonderful to have on hand anyway. Somehow, Low Volume is not so easy to find and you always need so many of them to get the desired effect. This week, I can tell you that also the Andover Century Whites have arrived, a collection of 32 - yes 32! - white on white fabrics. What is so exciting about Century Whites? Haha, maybe nothing, until you start looking for a white with a white design on it, simply because you need it in the quilt. 'Whites' are usually not the stars of the quilt, but without them the rest is falling flat on its face. I think it is especially the amount of 32, that makes this collection so wonderful. All different. Sooner or later you need it and then there is not such a variety around. The collection of Andover is part of the Centennial Celebration: 100 year in business as a fabric manufacturer and they wanted to make this statement. Lovely. 32 is so much better than 5 or 10. I don't think I have ever seen such a big group. There are more traditional designs, more contemporary ones. I expect this collection to fly away in bundles and we made bundles of all 32 and of 16 fabrics.

* The Linen Textures by Makower UK are back in. All 60 of them and since the collection will get another expansion in 2021 with the arrival of even more colors, it was time for us to turn this collection into a "Sticker-Fabric". Each piece you buy will have a label to identify the color and it well help us filling orders more quickly. Sometimes, the difference between the colors is so subtle. With so many shades, you can hardly decide on-line. Any time, you have a hard time making choices in fabrics, you can contact us. We are here to help. It's not common for an online shop to provide free advice and assistance. I love to be the exception and transform online business from not only an anonymous place where you click and purchase something, but to a source of inspiration in a subject we all like: fabrics and color. Every day I FaceTime with customers, usually in the afternoon when orders are out. I make quilts on the table by pulling fabrics and show them to you on camera. Or, as Kerry said the other day, "we are only a swatch away". We can match anything when it is hard to decide from a computer screen. Some shops are trying to get an on-line presence. As we have been on-line for 17 years already, I am trying to make it become a much more personal and service-oriented way of talking about fabrics. It can be so much more than shipping only.

* These Linen Textures by Makower are solids with some character. They are not flat or modern looking fabrics. I always describe them as expensive men's clothing, with a very rich and deep textured color. My dad had that navy and gray in his pants and blazers. Beautiful shades in really every color and a perfect "taupy" cream for backgrounds. The Linen Textures and also Suede by P&B are collections that you can go to for any kind of project. They are timeless and go with traditional or modern. It's all about the color and their ranges of colors are so wonderful. I am thrilled to have these kind of fabrics in every color.

* Another shipment of Marcia Derse came in on Thursday. Her "The Blue One" collection has created a tremendous response and everyone who ordered after the last newsletter and waited so patiently have been served. On Monday we will get even more of her panel in, but that will be the last shipment as Windham is running out. I could make the Boho Heart pattern in all these blues....love this collection so much. Like yours, my day has only 24 hours and I am already making many boxes out of her collection.

If you haven't seen this group yet, take a look because it will not be here forever. Marcia has created a panel and 22 organic fabrics in not too "matchy" blues, making a statement of art in fabric. The collection will be wonderful for any pieced quilt. You can combine it with her Palette solids if you are looking for a contrast color, but The Blue One is perfect in blue!

* The selection of Bricks and Dessert Rolls has been expanded with Moda Grunge Stars, Dots and Metallics.  These pre-cuts have proven to be popular and are a great deal. Bricks come in every color and are wonderful when you need little bits of fabrics in a color/style. They are nice for appliqué, for foundation piecing or creating blocks. Each brick is 6" x 3.5" and there are 20 bricks in a package for $6.95 ($7.95 in batiks).
Dessert Rolls are long strips of fabrics, 5" x 44". You can cut these in any size of course, but they are especially handy when you need 5" squares or 2.5" strips.