1. Fabrics are still trending toward the light/white undertones keeping with the fresh, modern trend in quilting. In the Moda booth this was seen in several lines, including a line from Lucie Summers, a designer from Suffolk, UK, who specializes in printmaking. Her Summersville collection is inspired textures and shapes found in the countryside where she lives and features her vintage thrift store ceramic collection. The whimsical designs, also featured on gift items, come in four colorways: leaf, orange zest, coal and seafoam. Also contemporary in look from Moda is A Stitch in Color by designer Malka Dubrawsky. Malka’s line features simple, graphic patterns and bold colors that were inspired by her hand dyed patterns. The fun pieces looked great in one quilt and would be perfect for infusing a touch of color in a neutral quilt. Malka is also the author of Fresh Quilting: Fearless Color Design and Inspiration. One of the most popular lines in the Moda booth was Ten Little Things by designer Jenn Ski. This collection features a main panel with 10 illustrations of numbers and pictures, perfect for a child’s quilt. In the booth it was featured in a soft book for kids to practice counting and writing. One page included chalk cloth (fabric you can write on with chalk). See more at www.unitednotions.com)

2. Westminster Lifestyle Fabrics featured lots of new contemporary designs. I liked the Lilliput Fields line from Tina Givens, which is her take on ancient weaving, tapestry and design. She started with ancient Suzani tapestry, a tribal textile from central Asia, and then including an ikat and a Victorian inspired design. Her palette ranges from rich rustic burnt oranges and dark browns to a bright palette in eggplant, pinky pinks and soft yellows. Also from Westminster is Jane Sassaman’s Early BIrds collection with its recognizable large floral design complimented by smaller floral and textural designs. I liked her tone-on-tone curlicue print. Ty Pennington Impressions features designs inpired by the world around Ty. His booth featured all his designs done in ties, perfect for a menswear approach.

3. Clover always introduces a variety of new products. In the Nancy Zieman Trace ‘n Create Template series is the E-Tablet & Paper Tablet templates. The template features three sizes and two variations. Because protecting and supporting your tablet is key, Clover has a heavy Precut Tablet Keeper Shaper that will provide needed structure. The Nancy Zieman line also includes two new fusing products: Fuse ‘n Gather for making ruffles and Fuse ‘n Bind, a convenient precut, perforated interfacing for making binding. Also new are the extra small and mini Flower Frills makers.

4. Glitz was a hint from an earlier post I made on Facebook. When I looked at the judged quilts on display, that was what struck me. I was drawn to so many that included what I’m calling “glitz”: luminescent fibers, metallic threads, lamés. All the quilts were extraordinary, and the quality continues to be quite high. The awards ceremony was Tuesday night and you can see the winners on the Quilts Inc. website. Congrats to all the winners. I was thrilled to see lots of IAPQ members in the list.

5. New for longarmers is A Quilters Eye, a monitoring device that allows you to view a magnified portion of the back of your quilt while you are quilting the top. A camera captures the stitches on the back and they are shown on a 7-inch monitor that attaches to all machines. The product retails for $450.

6. Mighty Bright introduced a Lighted Seam Ripper with a 4X magnification. It features an ergonomic handle and an LED that lasts 100,000 hours.

I’ll share more next week. In the meantime, please share your thoughts and experiences on Quilt Market below.