Impressions from Spring Quilt Market 2017
May 24th, 2017 by Morna
The Spring 2017 edition of International Quilt Market took place in St. Louis this year. As always I’m inspired and energized by what I see. Overall, I thought the colors looked clear and fresh, which I like. I saw several lines with words and/or letters. And, the inclusion of clothing patterns continues. Here are more specifics.
Michael Miller
A major theme in Michael Miller booth was Paper Doll, which featured four wall quilts with fabric (as opposed to paper) doll bodies. You or your children or grandchildren create clothes and stick them to the dolls. A wonderful way to encourage connection and to introduce children to sewing. Also new from Michael Miller is the vivid 21-piece Hello collection by Susan Emory of Swirly Girls Design. The line features an old telephone print (remember those!), scissors, exclamation points, and fun letters to cut out, along with blenders and tonals in graphite and aqua colorways. Free patterns and kitting instructions are available. The line ships in June and promotions include a summer blog hop followed by an Instagram hop. (michaelmillerfabrics.com)
Moda Fabrics
Moda introduced its 40-piece William Morris line, which was inspired by the archives of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The prints are from the wallpaper and textile designs of William Morris, 1834-1896). A kit of a 72″ medallion quilt is available. (modafabrics.com)
FreeSpirit
New from FreeSpirit and Amy Butler is the Soul Mate collection, which is printed on a higher thread count cotton poplin with a beautiful hand and finish. The primary print is called It Takes Two and is a tongue and cheek way to represent finding her soul mate, says Amy. The 24-pieces come in three colorways — dusty violet, dusty pink, and crisp indigo.
Hoffman Fabrics
New from Hoffman and Kari Carr of New Leaf Stitches is her signature collection All A Twitter featuring watercolor-on-linen hand-painted look songbirds. The other yardage in the collection features 32 coordinating fat quarters separated into sets of eight on four different bolts. The fat quarters are laid out as eight different designs on a two-yard panel. Love the bundling and kitting opportunities with this concept. The Me + You division includes a new release from Latifah Saafir called Double Dutch. It’s main fabric features popsicles and ice cream cones. Other prints are a splashing graphic that reminds me of a splat of ice cream that fell from its cone, letters, grids, dots, and graphic jump rope. Me + You also added to its Indah Metallics, Batiks, Solids and Ikats. (hoffmanfabrics.com)
Euronotions
Capitalizing on the popularity and usability of Grabbits™ magnetic pincushion, Euronotions has released Mini Grabbits. The smaller size magnetic pincushions come packaged in a box of three, one each red, yellow, and blue. They retail for $17.95. (schmetzneedles.com)
Thread Cutterz
Vance Zahorski introduced some additions to his Thread Cutterz line as this market. New is the flat mount cutter that is designed to stick to the front of your sewing machine. You can also now get bedazzled rings with Swarovski crystals, and the rings can be stamped with logos, perfect for any retailer or large show promoter. (threadcutterz.com)
Doohikey Designs
Pam Butler, a fabric designer with Riley Blake, showcased her Binding Babies™. These wooden spools are designed to hold wrapped binding or trim, so it’s easy to unwind by hand or machine to attach to your project. Each spool is painted with a fun design (clothes) and adorned at the top is a painted wooden head. (www.doohikeydesigns.com)
Soak
The Soak family of modern laundry care showcased its line of products in three-ounce bottles. I came home with a travel size of Flatter, the starch-free smoothing spray. Love the product and the pineapple grove scent. (www.soakworthy.com)
It’s Your Turn!
What did you see at Quilt Market that caught your attention?
Tags: Doohikey Designs, Euronotions, Flatter, FreeSpirit, Hoffman Fabrics, Kari Carr, kitting, Latifah Saafih, Michael Miller, Moda, Pam Butler, quilting, Riley Blake Designs, Schmetz Needles, Soak, Swirly Girls, Thread Cutterz