NOVEMBER
News and Trends from International Quilt Market
UPCOMING SHOWS
2016
International Quilt Festival/Chicago
April 7-9
Classes begin April 7
Donald E. Stephens Convention Center
Rosemont, Illinois, USA
International Quilt Market/Spring
May 20-22
Classes begin May 19
Salt Palace Convention Center
Salt Lake City, Utah, 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
From the fall Market floor…
OUR TAKE ON NEW TEXTILES
AND TRENDS FROM HOUSTON
Every Quilt Market, eInsider has the enviable task of traversing the entire Market show floor—aisle by aisle, booth by booth—making note of the new fabrics and product trends that we think will be of most interest to you, our dear readers.
We walk with purpose—pen, paper, and iPhone in hand—searching for new designs that haven’t already reached their maximum exposure potential prior to the show (the internet, for all its benefits, is a little like the friend that spoils a surprise party because he or she can’t keep a secret). And we look for any greater trends or recurring themes that pull it all together, and new products that stop us in our tracks.
And this year, we nearly tripped on a tuffet.
Yes, you read that correctly. A tuffet. (See also Fancy footstool; thing upon which Miss Muffet sat.)
It’s not uncommon to see one in an exhibitor’s booth, but never before have we seen so many! Tuffets, oversized pillows, poufs…they were everywhere. It could be a clever marketing ploy to entrance Market-goers with tired feet. But more likely, it’s just a fantastic way to showcase new fabrics.
Small Wonder by Mary Fons tuffet.
Photo by Vanessa Wilson of Crafty Gemini.
Quilting Treasures Ombre Scroll tuffet
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V & Co.’s Color Theory Ombre tuffet.
Photo by V & Co. via Instagram.
Paper Obsessed by Heather Givans tuffet.
Photo by Vanessa Wilson of Crafty Gemini.
The Quilting Treasures booth showed off their new Ombre Scroll fabrics with a little help from Sharyn Cole of the Tuffet Source.
Other tuffet sightings included the Small Wonder by Mary Fons (for Springs Creative) booth, Paper Obsessed by Heather Givans (for Windham) booth, and Kaffe Fassett for Westminster. And over in “Moda Land,” the tuffet was the perfect vehicle to display Minick & Simpson’s new Miss Scarlet collection and V & Co’s Color Theory Ombre prints (the latter of which is so gorgeously constructed, we couldn’t possibly use it as an actual footstool!).
Tuffets aside, there were plenty of other noticeable trends on the Market show floor in Houston, including the continued growth of alternate substrates being produced by quilting fabric manufacturers.
The Diamond Accurate print from Art Gallery’s Denim Studio
Alison Glass Knit Solids from Andover
Robert Kaufman Fabrics recently added several variations on denim to their fabric lineup, including a Railroad Denim, Selvedge Denim, and the denim-look Chambray Union. And Art Gallery Fabrics created some serious buzz when it unveiled its new Denim Studio—a collection of 25 new substrates, including printed denim—at Market in Houston.
Andover recently introduced the Alison Glass Knit Solids collection, made of 100% cotton jersey knit fabric and available in 11 solid colors. The designer herself has also teamed with garment sewist/designer Karen LePage to create two new garment patterns, Knit Essentials and Woven Essentials.
Riley Blake Designs has introduced a new collaborative collection of jersey knit fabrics with design team Pattern Anthology that they’re calling Idle Wild. The collection features sweet florals, quirky birds, lace, and geometric patterns, and is practically—no, literally—made for creating adorable garments.
The company is also offering a new line of double gauze prints perfect for clothing and accessories in both solids and small prints.
Likewise, Camelot Fabrics is offering a number of their collections—including Flourish by Ciana Bodini, With Love and Beach House by Jacqueline Savage, Enchanted by Alisse Courter, and Ethereal, Kaleidoscope, and Nordic from Camelot Design Studio.
As they’ve done with all previous collections, Cotton + Steel is offering their new prints in a variety of substrates, including rayon, cotton/linen canvas, and double gauze. And Michael Miller Fabrics has introduced an entire new lineup of double gauze and bubble gauze prints, including solids, ginghams, and florals, as part of Sarah Jane’s new Sommer collection.
Birds print from Riley Blake’s Idle Wild collection
Floral print from Alisse Courter’s Enchanted collection for Camelot
Friskers print from the Cat Lady collection by Sarah Watts for Cotton + Steel
The Sommer collection also features one of our favorite recurring design motifs from the recent batch of new fabric releases...swans! Yes, it seems that every Market, we’re met with a new bird-centric design theme that makes its way into an abundance of fabric collections, and this time, it seems, it’s the Season of the Swan.
Royal Swans print from Elizabeth Olwen’s Park Life collection for Cloud9 Fabrics
Swan print from Sarah Jane’s Sommer collection for Michael Miller
Outside of Sarah Jane’s simple swan design for Sommer, we also spotted the graceful bird among the prints in two collections for Cloud9 Fabrics—Spring Walk by Little Cube and Park Life by Elizabeth Olwen—as well as the previously spotlighted Swan Lake by Patrick Patton for Birch Fabrics.
This is really just the tip of the new-fabric iceberg, but if you weren’t able to make it to fall Market this year
(or you need a little revisit of your time there), it’s a good place to start!
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Suite 550
Houston, Texas 77063
U.S.A.
Telephone (1) 713.781.6864
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e-mail: shows@quilts.com
News and Trends from International Quilt Market