News and Trends from International Quilt Market

Elizabeth Hartman’s new The Kittens pattern, for example, features rows of simple, pieced 8” x 10” cat blocks. The pattern includes instructions for creating the cats with faces or without, and even an optional eyeglasses appliqué, should you want to lend a little scholarly sophistication to your cat blocks.

The Kittens by Elizabeth Hartman

If cats just aren’t your thing, Hartman also offers Allie Owl, Hazel Hedgehog, and her popular Fancy Fox patterns, the last of which—along with a new Bunny pattern—she had on display at Quilt Market using her new Rhoda Ruth collection for Robert Kaufman Fabrics.

Fans of big cats will love Violet Craft’s new Jungle Abstractions: The Lion pattern (which, we might add, likely wins the award for Most Photographed Quilt at Quilt Market in Minneapolis). This striking quilt is foundation paper pieced using one large-scale block. The quilt is shown using Michael Miller Fabrics’ Cotton Couture collection, but would work well with any solids line.

Jungle Abstractions: The Lion by Violet Craft with Michael Miller

We spied a lion of a different kind in the super-sweet Naptime Friends quilt from Darlene Zimmerman, which showcases the “Feedsack Lady’s” newest Reproduction-inspired collection for Robert Kaufman, Naptime 2. The nursery-friendly quilt also includes other precious creatures like an elephant, giraffe, bunny, puppy, and—yes—kitten.

Naptime Friends by Darlene Zimmerman with Robert Kaufman

Among the many stunning prints included in designer Thomas Paul’s new Seedling collection for Michael Miller is “Growl,” a seemingly woodcut-inspired design featuring rows of graphic tigers. The collection also includes bird, lotus, parasol, tulip, and peacock feather prints, but it’s Puebla—a Mexican Picado (paper-cute) print—that really steals the show.

Seedling also caught our eye for it’s purple-heavy Orchid colorway, which blends shades of black, white, lilac, deep plum, and—naturally—orchid.

Seedlings by Thomas Paul with Michael Miller

Orchid also makes an appearance in Michael Miller’s colorful new Melodies collection by Sarah Campbell. While the collection’s “Folk Birds” and “Folk Floral” prints skew a bit more traditional in design, its “Folk Floral Dot,” “Double Dot” “Button Spot,” and Matisse-like “Origami Birds” designs all tend toward contemporary.

Melodies by Sarah Campbell with Michael Miller

Like the Melodies collection, there were a number of new Art Gallery Fabrics’ collections introduced this Market in which purple plays a principal part in an ensemble cast of colors. These include Succulence by Bonnie Christine, Anna Elise by Bari J., and Wonderland by Katarina Roccella.

Succulance by Bonnie Christine with Art Gallery Fabrics

In a discussion on fabric color, we’d be remiss not to mention Moda designer Vanessa Christenson, whose near obsession with the spectrum (a quality that truly endears her to eInsider) has been the inspiration for both her line of Simply Color books and several fabric collections, including Color Theory, Color Me Happy, and Simply Color.

Her latest, Simply Colorful II, is divided between three colorways: green, blue, and—you guessed it—purple! The purple prints, which Christenson refers to as more of a “berry,” include small florals, dots, chevrons, checks, and other blenders.

Simply Colorful II, by Vanessa Christenson with Moda

Christenson’s fellow Moda designer, Sandy Gervais of Pieces from My Heart, won a Best Booth Award at spring Market for her deliciously purple-hued booth featuring fabrics from her newest collection, Prints Charming. The collection features traditional-style small print florals in shades of berry, teal, olive, mocha, and cream, and is ideal for several of the new patterns Gervais will be releasing in the coming months.

Prints Charming by Sandy Gervais with Moda

And while Gervais’ collection tends toward traditional in terms of design, the latest collection from Anna Maria Horner for FreeSpirit Fabrics tends toward the traditional in terms of construction.

Loominous, Horner explains, “explores beauty in form and color by employing several different methods of weaving with richly dyed cottons threads.” And rich they are! Although quite simple in design and pattern, the prints in the Loominous collection feature gorgeously saturated hues of virtually every color in the rainbow, purple among them. But it’s the intense shades of blue—turquoise, aqua, and indigo—that shine brightest in the collection.

Loominous by Anna Maria Horner with FreeSpirit Fabrics

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