Erin McMorris, a lover of design, fashion and textiles

Erin McMorris says “If it has a surface, I’ll put a pattern on it.” This is a testament to how much Erin loves design, textiles and fashion and a reflection of her style for FreeSpirit Fabrics. When asked what inspires the whimsy behind her designs, she quips. “I’m a fun, whimsical person so it comes out of me naturally.”

Spoken with pure moxie, a confidence she carries into her most current FreeSpirit Fabric collection. Aptly named Moxie, her newest collection is made up of 24 SKUs of 100% cotton fabric available now at your local quilt shop.

Word bubble trends and a visit to a Lichtenstein Retrospect in Chicago captured Erin’s imagination and helped bring Moxie to life. The graphic shape of the word bubbles and the look of printed comic books translated into three color ways of fun retro-looking graphic flowers, text message word bubbles and emoticons – so today. Black is Erin’s favorite color way.

It’s no wonder the graphic design of word bubbles captured her attention. Erin is a student of textile design who attributes her own “moxie” to the fashion houses and textile studio’s she worked for upon graduating from the University of Cincinnati and the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. While over the years her style has changed with her designs, more oriented for surface design she still enjoys fashion work. Her fashion work gives her anonymity and the opportunity to try different styles and categories.

The big question is did her love for designing for textiles and fashions begin with her own sewing prowess? “Not likely,” says Erin. Using her grandmother’s old sewing machine, Erin began her crafty career sewing items for her dolls, graduating to a wrap skirt for Girl Scouts. She confesses she was desperate to finish and wear the skirt. “I’m pretty sure that even though it was brown floral that I looked like a rock star. But I’m thankful there are no pictures to confirm or deny.”

Erin’s sewing is not her primary strength however she likes to make thing for friends who are astounded by the idea of doing something by hand. While she will always point out a flaw in her sewing, most people are thrilled and amazed to receive something made by hand. So, with her new fabric and her sewing skills revealed, what does Erin hope consumer’s will see when they touch and see Moxie? “I hope they have the moxie to make everything that can possibly be made in fabric and then remake it again in another color way!”

To learn more about Erin, visit her at www.erinmc.com. View her new collection Moxie in the Preview Gallery at www.freespiritfabric.com.