2013 Spring Quilt Market Recap Vol. 1

A postcard arrived in the mail last week announcing the dates of Fall Quilt Market. Yikes! I still haven't blogged about Spring Market in Portland, Oregon. It's time to blog about it before it's ancient history, right?

Here are some of the many things that caught my eye...

Hello Tokyo by The Red Thread for Robert Kaufman. Dying!!

Gorgeous red and white quilts from Minick and Simpson

Pat Sloan's new Bobbins and Bits. Now why didn't I include her in the pic?

Most swoon-worthy collection at Quilt Market? Violet Craft's Waterfront Park!

Lazy Daisy Baskets by Darlene Zimmerman for Robert Kaufman.

From Art Gallery Fabrics. Beautiful booth, beautiful solids.

The Art Gallery displays are always amazing, and this Market was no exception. Carnaby Street.

Gorgeous quilt pattern from Sassafras Lane Designs. I want to make this quilt!

Brigitte Heitland's Zen Chic patterns and prints are in a class of their own.

The latest Echino Ni-co line. I need this bag.

More beautiful fabrics from Kokka

Love these prints spotted in the Seven Islands booth.

Upcoming Joel Dewberry.

Denyse Schmidt's new line, Florence, for Free Spirit.  

Don't you just love these colors?

The reality is, I didn't shoot many photos and the ones I took are dark and grainy. Time to start saving up for a new camera!

In the next post I'll show you what I ordered for the shop, a book review or two, and give a peek at the massive amounts of fabric I picked up at Sample Spree. Oh, my.

Stay tuned. More to come.

Happy sewing!
Annik

I'm Cuckoo for Kokka

The UPS truck arrived earlier this week and dropped off not one, but two boxes of delicious new fabrics. I squealed with joy upon opening the box of Kokka goodies.

My absolute favorite - Union Jack Hello Kitty. You can find it in my Etsy shop in fat quarter, half yard, and by the yard increments.

Here's a rather sad photo of this fabric in action at International Quilt Market this past spring in Kansas City. It's fair to say I went a tiny bit berserk when I saw these prints - just ask my pal Lisa.

This is a tote bag I made for myself using this fab fabric. I call it my "midlife crisis bag." It's okay that I like Hello Kitty more than my 3 year old daughter, right??

Next up, this amazing fabric designed by Dutch Door Press - two letterpress designers from San Francisco - featuring a plethora of Scandinavian and Dutch motifs, including dala horses, windmills, a sweet couple, love birds, and stylized flowers.

Here's the print in action at Quilt Market. Isn't it darling?

I liked this print so much I ordered it in two different colorways. Tangerine, lime, and magenta. Gorgeous!

The Hello Kitty print is 100% lightweight cotton canvas. Perfect for bags and pillows, and clothing (Hello Kitty trousers, anyone?). The Dutch Door Press fabrics are printed on Kokka's signature 85% cotton/15% linen natural canvas. These are also great for home decor projects and accessories. They're both listed in my shop in fat quarter, half yard, and by the yard increments in the Kokka/Japanese Fabrics section.

I'll save you the the full version long story, but when I was a small child my family used to visit a town called Lindsborg in Kansas. There was a store there that sold Swedish textiles - rolls and rolls of them all hanging on the wall. Here is one that my mom probably bought for my grandmother. When my grandma passed away many years ago, I brought this piece home (this is just a small section of it - it's table runner length). It sat on her dresser and still smells of the powder she wore.

I think part of the reason why I love the Dutch Door Press prints so much is because they remind me of childhood, my grandmother, and our family visits to Lindsborg, KS. Well, and they're also just darn cute.

Finally, here's what arrived from Riley Blake Designs. I'm still waiting (ordered over a month ago) on many bolts of chevrons. In the meantime, I've got loads of RB dots. The small dots are great for quilts and kids' clothes. Let me know if you need a dot fix. I can hook you up ;-)

Happy sewing!
-Annik

Sunday Stash #4

The other day as I was moving around one stack of fabric to get to another stack of fabric (don't laugh) and I couldn't help but notice that I have an enormous stash of Echino prints - especially some of the older ones.

A small fraction of the hoard

Do you know what's strange? I don't know the foggiest thing about Etsuko Furuya, the designer of all this yummy fabric. Isn't that odd? Other fabric designers have blogs, we see them in magazines, etc., but Etsuko remains a mystery. I did find a photo of her here, but not much else.

If you speak/read Japanese, would you mind giving us a quick translation of her profile on her web site?

Do you have a certain fabric designer you compulsively hoard? No judgment here - I completely understand.

Okay, I'm going to be scarce for the next few weeks. In the meantime - 

Happy Holidays to you and your family!

And may you find some time to do a little stress-free crafting ;)

-Annik