AUGUST

News and Trends from International Quilt Market

 

Color your way to calm…

“QUILTY” COLORING BOOKS FOR ADULTS

 

Among the fiction, autobiographical, and self-improvement books that crowd Amazon’s list of the year’s bestsellers (thus far) are a couple of surprising publications, Secret Garden and Enchanted Forest, both by Johanna Basford.

 

Why surprising? Because Basford is an illustrator and “ink evangelist who prefers pens and pencils to pixels.” And because both publications are actually coloring books for adults, and part of a growing trend of such aimed at providing busy, stressed-out grown-ups a creative means to relax and, essentially, “zone out.”

 

Within the quilting industry (where the idea of an all-ages coloring book is nothing new), we’re seeing this trend materialize in the form of designer-branded coloring books that represent the author/quilt artist’s specific—and familiar—design style.

 

Pattern and fabric designer Tula Pink, known for her distinctive, intricately layered designs, is releasing The Tula Pink Coloring Book (shipping October 2015) for those who would like to add their own touch to one of Tula’s signature designs. The book includes over 75 designs—from paisleys and florals to nature scenes and animal prints—and features perforated pages for easy framing.

 

UPCOMING SHOWS

2015

2016

Quilt! Knit! Stitch!/Portland

August 13-15

Classes begin August 13

Oregon Convention Center

Portland, Oregon, USA

 

International Quilt Market/Houston

October 24-26

Classes begin October 22

George R. Brown Convention Center

Houston, Texas, USA

 

International Quilt Festival/Houston

October 29-November 1

Preview Night October 28

Classes begin October 26

George R. Brown Convention Center

Houston, Texas, USA

 

 

 

 

 

International Quilt Festival/Chicago

April 7-9

Classes begin April 7

Donald E. Stephens Convention Center

Rosemont, Illinois, USA

 

NOTE: Quilt Market is a credentialed
trade show only, and not open to
the public.


For information on these or any other Quilts, Inc. shows, visit www.quilts.com

 

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Another artist and designer with an immediately recognizable style, Jamie Fingal, recently introduced her Whimsical Inspirations Coloring Book, available through her website. Each design included, Fingal says, was drawn by hand from start to finish. And the book itself was designed and constructed with the potential artist in mind, featuring a coil binding on the left, and printed on paper with enough weight to support watercolors, felt-tip markers, and colored pencils.

C&T Publishing offers a number of designer-authored coloring book titles under their FunStitch Studio imprint suitable for both children and adults. Included among them are Playful Designs by Patty Young, Boho Designs by Valori Wells, Doodle Designs by longarmer Bethany Pease Sheets, Fantastical Designs by Paula Nadelstern, Swirling Designs by Romanian quilter Geta Grama, and Whimsical Designs by Piece O’Cake designers Becky Goldsmith and Linda Jenkins.

 

 

Each book in the series features 18 designs from the author/fabric designer in their signature design style, and—as one positive reviewer pointed out—are printed one design to a page (rather than back to back), to allow for use of markers or paints, in addition to crayons, pencils, or other materials.

 

The company also just added two new titles to its coloring-book lineup: Modern Elegance: 45+ Romantic Designs to Color for Fun & Relaxation, illustrated by Amanda Murphy, and Off the Bookshelf: 45+ Weirdly Wonderful Designs to Color for Fun & Relaxation from designer/illustrator Samarra Khaja. Both are to be released in October.

 

 

The Zen Doodle Coloring Book, edited by Kristy Conlin, aims to help readers…er…colorists “relax and relieve stress” through the process of coloring. The book includes over 100 Zen Doodle illustrations—from geometrics to organic forms to flora and fauna—from bestselling books like Zentangle Untangled, Zen Doodle, and Creative Tangle.

 

Likewise, the upcoming Coloring Book of Quilt Blocks & Designs from Landauer (available November 2015) seeks to ease the stresses of everyday life by engaging one’s brain with creative and calming coloring exercises. The book contains 27 classic quilt block designs; each presented as 12 blocks on the first page, then tessellated and presented as a full-page coloring design. Aside from relaxation, this book offers the added potential benefit of sparking an idea and color scheme for a future quilt design!

But for those that prefer to literally incorporate their coloring into a quilt or project, the recent Color Me fabric collection by Hayley Crouse for Michael Miller offers users the chance to color their own prints using fabric markers. The original line of coloring-book style fabric is available in princess and space-adventure themes, perfect for children’s projects (color yourself or let kids contribute to a project by coloring it themselves).

 

The newest prints—shipping October 1—include a ballerina print and border print, construction-themed border and full print, and Christmas-candy border and “Jolly Holiday” full print.

So, before picking up any aromatherapy candles, stress balls—or new bad habits—to deal with your most stressful of days, might we suggest picking up a coloring book instead!

 

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News and Trends from International Quilt Market