Desinger Spotlight - FreeSpirit presents Eden by Tula Pink PLUS a Giveaway!

Want to know more abut Tula Pink? We sat down with Tula to discuss her newest FreeSpirit collection, Eden. Enjoy!

CONGRATS to Jenny from Fort Wayne, IN for winning! Tell us what you think would be a fun "Tula" collection - do you have a theme or animal you would like to see in her fabric? Comment below and you could win a Fat Quarter bundle and 3 yards of Crouching Tiger fabric from her newest collection, Eden! 

Designer Spotlight - Joel Dewberry

September is all about another great FreeSpirit designer - Joel Dewberry! Along with being incredibly down to earth and kind, he also loves to create beautiful, eclectic modern fabrics that are perfect for just about anything you might want to create with fabric. 

We paid him a visit in late August to pick his brain and are excited to share with you what we found throughout the month.

The view from Joel's home studio.

But first, a bit about Joel's background! 

In 2000, Joel graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design from Brigham Young University. During his studies there he cultivate an appreciation and love of all things tactile. Following his design training, he pursued a brilliantly exciting career in brand development and corporate identity in the Northwestern United States. His attention to detail, quality craftsmanship and respect for design antiquity posed him as an outstanding talent among his peers. After acquiring more than 10 years of brand development experience in a wide variety of industries including the home and textile market, Joel realized his ultimate reward by launching his own textiles brand, Joel Dewberry Eclectic Modern, in May 2007. 

Sneak peek of Joel on-set.

As a prolific designer, artist and craftsman, Joel is thrilled to express his passion for design on the medium of fabric. Joel's superb sense of harmonizing an eclectic mix of design styles into a cohesive collection has drawn him respect and attention as it delivers a modern yet timeless style. 

Website - joeldewberry.com

Facebook - facebook.com/pages/Joel-Dewberry-Eclectic-Modern/115421281875959?fref=ts
Instagram - instagram.com/joeldewberryfabric

So, stay tuned for giveaways, videos, and great posts about one of your favorite designers and don't forget to check our Facebook and YouTube pages, along with our Instagram page, for more great stuff about Joel! #DesignerSpotlight #iamafreespirit 

Designer Spotlight - FreeSpirit Presents New Bedford by Denyse Schmidt

We visited Denyse at her studio in Bridgeport, CT during a steamy week in July to talk with her about her newest fabric collection for FreeSpirit called New Bedford. We'll be sharing the videos later this month, until then, keep reading to learn all about the inspiration behind the collection. 

A glimpse of the New Bedford collection spread out for handmade bundles on Denyse's work table.

New Bedford is inspired by the romance and adventure of 19th century sea-faring life, with a touch of 20th century seaside summer fun! New Bedford evokes a slow stroll on cobblestone streets, salty air, a favorite iced treat, and a quilt on a bed in a room with a view. 

Nine enchanting patterns in three refreshing color-ways  – sun, sea, and sorbet – will transport you to a time and place of limitless possibilities. Embark on your own creative adventure – billowing curtains, flirty skirts, captivating quilts or elegant dresses – New Bedford is as versatile as your own imagination!

New Bedford Quilt FREE Pattern Download 

Designer Spotlight - See Denyse on YouTube

Remember how we mentioned that video shoot with Denyse in our last post? Well the video's are all finished and ready for watching!

Listen and watch as Denyse talks about her inspiration process, her newest collection for FreeSpirit called New Bedford, and why she is a FreeSpirit. 

Don't forget to leave a comment on our 10 Fun Facts post telling us what you have in common with Denyse to be entered to win 10 yards of New Bedford fabric!

Designer Spotlight - Amy Butler's Bright Heart Collection Video

Amy Butler's newest FreeSpirit fabric collection, Bright Heart, is beautiful and mixes so very nicely with her previous collections. We asked her to tell us more about the collection during a recent visit with her and as promised the video where she tells us all about the inspiration behind and details of the collection is below. Enjoy!

Take a peek at all of the designs in the collection on MakeItCoats.com and share with us which are your favorite and why!

National Quilt Day - March 21st

Celebrate National Quilt Day - March 21st!

We are all about Quilts and Quilting here at FreeSpirit!

Check out our Pinterest board dedicated to Quilts, Quilts and MORE Quilts!

 We also have many quilt patterns to download for FREE on makeitcoats.com!

In 1989, the Kentucky Heritage Quilt Society organized a "Quilters' Day Out" on the third Saturday of March to celebrate the rich tradition of quilt making in Kentucky. In 1991, the NQA officers were so enthused with the concept and success of "Quilters'Day Out" that they voted to take it to a national level.

The first National Quilting Day was observed in 1992 and since then it has grown into a global celebration for all quiltmakers and quilt lovers. Helen Storbeck, one of the founders of National Quilting Day, wrote in The Quilting Quarterly, "Groups of quilters were encouraged to hold special events, publishers and shop owners were invited to sponsor promotions especially for quilters and it quickly became a grassroots endeavor with quilters in every part of the country participating.  In the first year of National Quilting Day, quilters in other countries asked to participate. They were welcomed with open arms. As our feelings of a community network has evolved to include a world community, it is only appropriate that quilters and quilt lovers everywhere united to give recognition to the special art form."

There are countless ways to celebrate National Quilting Day.  Find a few suggestions here. 

Inspiration for Parson Gray's new collection... Empire

 

 

The 5th fabric collection by designer David Butler for FreeSpirit fabrics under his brand guise Parson Gray, EMPIRE reflects David’s ongoing exploration of global design and richly muted jewel tones. Modern interpretations of ancient weavings, architecture and folk art from Japan, China, and India combined in hand-drawn elements create a story across three distinct color palettes. These three palettes are designed to work in harmony with each other, and also with past Parson Gray collections Vagabond, World Tour, Seven Wonders and Curious Nature. The Empire collection includes both cotton and flannel prints.

 

Flannel prints ONLY available in US.  Patterns available on www.makeitcoats.com

 

Inspirtation behind Anna Maria Horner's Pretty Potent Collection

 

I’ve always considered sitting in front of a plant with a pencil and paper the best drawing class you can take. Looking to nature for inspiration and instruction on beauty is an old and welcome practice in all forms of making art. Using the natural world for healing is perhaps even an older practice. In my Pretty Potent collection, I drew inspiration specifically from plants and flowers that are often used for healing. While they possess properties to heal our physical bodies, the very beauty of the plants themselves seems intended to be a balm for the soul. Potent and pretty. The duality enchanted me. The three palettes of quilting cotton carry a healthy dose of color.

 

Quilt pattern available on www.makeitcoats.com

 

Lovelorn from Jenean Morrison

 

Unrequited love is a fantastic subject for art, evoking a bittersweet quality in life which can move us  more than a purely happy story. A hint of sadness seems to make life’s sweet things that much sweeter: colors are more vibrant, flowers more beautiful, shapes and lines and forms are more interesting and evocative.

 

So here’s a collection full of the artifacts of love -- flowers, interweaving lines and forms which mimic the way one’s life can be interwoven with another’s– these images and colors are meant to recall love in all its splendor. And if love and passion are unrequited, then these talismans of romance are perhaps more potent in their isolation as recreations of the interiors of our hearts and souls, physical manifestations of the sensation of being ... Lovelorn.

 

Quilt project available on www.makeitcoats.com, Dress - McCalls pattern; M5882 OOP.

Beauty Queen by Jennifer Paganelli

A Beauty Queen always gets flowers so I wanted big colorful bouquets, and to infuse lots of color and give her a bouquet to remember. How about a Beauty Queen quilt? Something to celebrate the Beauty Queen in all of us. I always reach for saturated color and greens, blues and pinks are high on my roster of color choices. But it was primarily the florals and the way they would interact with the two  dimensional designs that got me most excited. We have our wonderful crisp stripe and you can choose to go vertical, horizontal, and every which way to create the most dynamic of quilts, apparel and home decor products. I also included a border print that jumps around and gives it all that party vibration and a wonderful chain link for tying it all together.

 

Patterns available on www.makeitcoats.com

 

Quilting Changes Everything

By Jennifer Keltner

Executive Editor, American Patchwork & Quilting Magazine

Quilting Changes Everything…that’s the tagline you’ll find on the spine of every issue of American Patchwork & Quilting magazine and the name of a column that regularly appears in our magazine since 2010. 

But more than that, Quilting Changes Everything is our mantra. It describes the impact and the joy that quilting brings to the lives of those that share our passion for this craft.

Quiltmaking is powerful. In our everyday lives, we are subjected to so much technology that is new and different –that we sometimes overlook the power of creating a beautiful object that can be enjoyed every day for its design, it’s individual elements.

When you make something, you put a part of yourself or your surroundings into it. THAT piece of yourself makes up the most important part of the finished project. Each of us, I’m certain could think of project we created with our hands that helped us through a joy or a struggle in our hearts—a happy addition, an illness, a challenge.

And what we see when we look at that item, whether it is complete or not, isn’t just the pieces or the handiwork…but the story behind it. And often the most interesting thing about a handmade object is its story. It’s what we share with one another when we talk about it. Where we were, what was happening in our lives at the time, who we were with when we worked on it.

Those are the stories we share in our Quilting Changes Everything column. Stories of our staff making and donating pairs of pillowcases to local homeowners in conjunction with Rebuilding Together.

Stories of young women like Sarah Ely, who made a pillowcase for her friend Kristen Kirton (in a hospital halfway across the country)—and discovered the world of quilting by making a pillowcase

And the thousands of quilters just like her who’ve changed the lives of so many by making and donating pillowcases as a part of the American Patchwork & Quilting One Million Pillowcase Challenge. Click here for more information

And even simple stories about the time a Brownie troop took up the learn-to-sew challenge and the joy that resulted from their efforts. 

For most of us, we’ve crossed the line. Quilting isn’t just something we do, it’s who we are. We are quilters! We are passionate about not just what we make, but for whom we are making things. Think about those things in your life for which you would say “if I lost that it would be irreplaceable.” Do you say it about something that has great monetary value—or is it more sentimental? Chances are, those things you picture are the handmade treasures you own. And what animates us, is the stories we tell ourselves and others about those pieces. The quilts and other items we create are narratives of our lives—connected with our thoughts, special events, and distant memories. And that’s why for me (and I suspect, many of you)….quilting changes everything.

Worldwide Quilting Day!

 

Worldwide Quilting Day is a worldwide celebration of of everything about quilting.

It connects devoted quilters and the shops that support them,  Worldwide Quilting Day will be held on March 15, 2014 with special events, depending on your shop. Each store is able to participate in their own way, with or without being a Toolkit Shop.

For more information on what is happening in your area, contact your favorite LQS and ask them to join in the celebration!

Worldwide Quilting Day is brought to you by the team at The Fabric Shop Network.

My Ansonia

I grew up in the heart of New England in the 60’s and 70’s, surrounded by dusty mill towns that had fallen on hard times. This in part explains the soft spot I harbor for old industrial cities that have seen better days. I love the familiar factory housing, the historic brick mill buildings and the towns that grew up around them — all seemingly lost in another era. Once thriving and bustling, these places and buildings seem full of possibility and opportunity to me. (Luckily, I’m not alone in that view; many are now being revived for new uses!)

 

 
Ansonia is one such town along the valley of the Naugatuck River in Connecticut, near where I now live. The entire valley was an important center of small industry many years ago. Factories in Ansonia made clocks, copper, and textiles.

 

 

 

When I start work on a new fabric collection, I gather vintage and antique fabric references that I transform through color and redrawing; inventing my own version of history and fashion. I love to juxtapose unexpected styles and scales to make something that resonates with another time period, but also feels new and fresh. The story starts to come together in this stage, though it’s when I start coloring the drawings that things really fall into place.

                                                Kentucky Stripe, in Mossy.

                                         Psycho Swirl, in mushroom

I started to think beyond the town itself, and became curious about the Ansonia Hotel in New York City. Built by William Earle Dodge Stokes, (an eccentric heir to a copper fortune and major shareholder of the Ansonia Clock Company) the residential hotel was grand, luxurious, and unconventional. A farm on the roof delivered fresh eggs daily to residents, and a fountain in the lobby had live seals. Despite trend-setting technology (it was the first air-conditioned hotel in NYC!) and elegant details like fresh linens three times a day, the Ansonia was always considered “Bohemian” due to its Upper West Side location. The hotel attracted celebrated, fashionable adventurers and artists of all types, and had its share of scandals and excitement.

 

Eventually, the hotel succumbed to financial difficulties and fell into disrepair. Residents fought off demolition, and in the 60’s and 70’s it became a scene of artistic and gay culture.

 

And now the collection slowly starts to come together, in fits and starts. Because I am a visual person, the designs themselves come first and the story evolves from there.  (The creative process is mysterious, and I have found it best to let it do what it needs to do and try to stay out of the way!)

 

Ansonia is a celebration of contrasts. The grand, old-world glamour of a graceful waltz meets the wild bohemian charm of the tango. Ansonia evokes a mix of art and industry, historic elegance and trend-setting unconventionality. Operatic hot pinks mix with earthy taupes and deep chocolate browns (Mushroom), and psychedelic-acid citron greens whirl with lush, bold blues (Mossy). The effect is pure drama – the exuberance of fresh discovery juxtaposed with the nostalgic beauty of a bygone era.

 

Spoolish is a quilt design I have long had in mind to create as a pattern, but hesitated because it would require so much cutting. Luckily, FreeSpirit solved that dilemma by offering it as a PRE-CUT quilt kit! Spoolish has 612 pre-cut triangles, and ALL the fabric you need to make a twin-size quilt front. How awesome is that?!!

 

I love designing quilt patterns for each of my new fabric collections. Here &There is my latest addition to our DSQ Pattern Collection. The design was inspired by the back of an 18-wheeler I glimpsed, driving on the highway. I love how modern and graphic the design is, and how beautifully and simply it showcases my Ansonia fabrics. Plus, it’s a fast and easy quilt to create, suitable for both beginners and experienced quilters alike. I love when inspiration presents itself so clearly!!

Let my Ansonia fabric inspire your trailblazing creativity, and lead you to find inspiration everywhere.

XO, Denyse

 

Botanique by Joel Dewberry

Welcome couture décor. This chateau inspired collection of elegant lifestyle fabrics brings a fantastic flavor of French florals, crisp geometrics and an ethnic Ikat into harmony. Gather a bouquet of these vibrant fabrics for your own fresh interpretation.  Click here for Joel’s Botanique Quilt.

Forest Hill by Erin McMorris

Forest Hill is a new collection reflecting a walk in the woods on a sunny summer day.  With woodland scenes ripe with forest fruit and flowers, these prints mix elements of nature and abstract pattern in three mixable palettes.  Click here for the Erin's Forest Hill Quilt.

A day devoted to your local quilt shop!

Saturday, January 25 has been dubbed Local Quilt Shop Day.  It is THE day worldwide when quilt shops should be celebrated. This means, it’s the perfect day for you and your friends to patronize your local quilt shop!

 

So much occurs behind the doors of your local quilt shop.  It is more than a place where you can buy fabric and become inspired.  It is a place of fellowship! Aren’t some of your closest friends someone you met at a class or event at your local Quilt shop?

It is a place where you can learn about the latest quilting technique, a notion or two which makes your creativity more fun and easier or the latest and greatest in fabric collections or sewing machine technology.  It’s a place where your kids can sign up for a summer camp, engage in the life skill of sewing all while learning resourcefulness and reinforcing math skills.

It’s a place where you can expand your creative horizons, become proficient at a craft you love and share your knowledge and handiwork with others who will ohhh and ahhh over the wonders of transforming flat fabric into something three-dimensional.

It’s a place where they know your name, your story, your family’s hopes and dreams.  More importantly, it is a small business which sustains families that live in your community and often gives back in simple and meaningful ways. 

Did you know that according to NFIB and American Express Research, this year, consumers who were aware of Small Business Saturday (November 30, 2013) reported spending $5.7 billion with independent merchants on the day, an increase of 3.6% from a strong $5.5 billion in 2012? 

So won’t you join the celebration on January 25? Show your support and love for your local quilt shop owner who thoughtfully considers your sewing and quilting dreams when she opens his/her doors. Who knows you want the perfect fabric, to make the perfect quilt which will bring your family fond and loving memories for years, perhaps decades to come.  Click here for more information and get out and shop!

Learn more about FabShop's Worldwide Events!

Sweet Lady Jane by Jane Sassaman

 

The inspiration behind Jane Sassaman’s Sweet Lady Jane Collection.  You’ll be tickled pink by Jane’s pretty FreeSpirit collection. Light-hearted and achingly optimistic, Sweet Lady Jane is a refreshingly romantic bouquet of feminine floral patterns in lively pastel colors. This season Jane applies a delicate hand to her characteristic graphic style, which includes several delicious jewel toned patterns that will play beautifully in a crisp and clean modern stash.

 

 

Announcing our True Colors Blog Tour

Cyndi Lauper had it correct when she sang about True Colors, “Your True Colors are beautiful, like a rainbow.” Now, FreeSpirit Fabrics has launched a new designer-driven mixer collection, with the same name, meant to serve as the perfect print complement to any quilting or sewing project.

Entitled True Colors, these initial print mixers or stand-alone fabrics were designed under the artful eyes of some the best known designers for FreeSpirit: Joel Dewberry, Anna Maria Horner, Heather Bailey and Jenean Morrison.  The prints and palettes are true to each designer’s unique signature style and play upon the fresh, modern, trend-right aesthetic of FreeSpirit.

Of course, each designer has his or her own interpretation of what is True to his or her heart when it comes to color and design.  Click here to spend some quality time with Anna, Jenean, Heather and Joel as each tells you what color means in their lives.

The FreeSpirit True Colors 100% cotton fabrics are designed to mix with any print fabric and especially each designer’s own fabric collections and other FreeSpirit fabrics – past, present and future. 

We put this to the test by enlisting some of our blogger friends, challenging them to make their True Colors shine through with fat quarters, design rolls, charm packs and yardage from each designer’s collections.  Please join in the fun of our Blog Hop and see how their True Colors are created into ideas to inspire your sewing and quilting . . . especially with FreeSpirit Fabrics!  Plus, they may each have something special to share if you visit and comment.

1/20	Sew4Home
1/21	Stitchery Dickory Dock
1/22	I'm A Ginger Monkey
1/23	The Sewing Loft
1/24	Ellison Lane
1/27	Dairy of A Quilter
1/28	Material Obsession
1/29	Craftsanity
1/30	Stitched in Color
1/31	Craft Buds
2/3	JayBird Quilts
2/4	100 Billion Stars