Did You Know… 10 Facts about Anna Maria Horner

Tell us if you share any of these facts with Anna to be entered into win 10 yards of fabric from her new Folk Song collection!

Congratulations to Jessica who also shares the love of coffee with Anna!  Stay tuned for more great giveaways from our other amazing FreeSpirit designers!

Designer Spotlight - Anna Maria Horner Folk Song Collection & FREE projects

Anna Maria Horner shares in her own words her inspiration behind her newest collection Folk Song.

Answering some very earnest enthusiasm for two beloved collections, I am so pleased to re-introduce favorite prints from Good Folks and Little Folks in an assortment that I named Folk Song. The harmonious gathering of these two print collections also inspired a reworking of the Square Dance panel print into a new feature floral called Minor Chords. Folk Song is an essential fourteen-piece collection all printed on FreeSpirit's smooth and illustrative quilting cotton- a very exciting change for the Little Folks prints that were originally available only as cotton voile. The color-saturated yet sweet style of this group is punctuated with my signature palette and hand-drawn style, making these prints a keepsake ingredient in endless handmade items for generations to come. - Anna Maria Horner

Visit our site to view the entire Folk Song collection

Patchwork Carryall

Sweet Medley Folk Song Quilt

Folk Dance Quilt

Designer Spotlight - Anna Maria Horner on YouTube!

Learn more about Anna Maria Horner as she shares her inspiration and insights into her fabric collections!

Designer Spotlight - Anna Maria Horner

NEW from FreeSpirit!  Each month we will be highlighting one of our amazing FreeSpirit designers using video, photography, infographs and a profile that includes our “Did You Know… 10 Facts about our FreeSpirit Designer”.  This month we are celebrating Anna Maria Horner!  Anna's newest collection, Folk Song, is hitting stores this month!  

To many the Anna Maria brand means color & inspiration in the form of craft, sewing, 

needlework, books, and friendly how-to. Since 2006 her ever-growing library of fabrics has delighted and adorned creative souls around the globe. She has been the face (or rather the hands as she likes to think) of Janome Sewing Machines since 2011.  As of 2014 Anna Maria is also the founder and proprietor of Nashville's Craft South.  Craft South will open the doors to its permanent location in the Spring of 2015.

There have been varied stops on her path to here, but a common element in all of her work, whether fashion, quilting or fine art, is a passion for the language of color. She continued to realize her point of view in many disciplines and they began to form a dialogue, one bettering the other- promoting growth in her design range. Somewhere around 2001, her fascination with taking an idea through all the necessary steps from her sketchbook to a store shelf sparked the momentum to create a brand. Anna Maria's fresh perspectives within traditional markets and her vision of being surrounded by the work of her own hands has led her to partnering with dozens of manufacturers to design homewares, gift items, textiles, authoring three sewing books, and publishing a continuing collection of sewing and needlework patterns. In recent years her focus has intensified in the craft and creative industry where her heart has always been.

Anna Maria and her husband, Jeff, make their home on a rambling and not overly maintained two acres of happiness in Nashville. Their seven children range in age from 19mos to 23. Together they embrace both the charming wonders and the imperfect moments of raising a large family. She is inspired daily by the spontaneity and tempo of it all.

Share with us what you love about Anna Maria Horner!

Watch as FreeSpirit Fashion Fabrics come to life!

Embrace a personal fashion style with fabrics by three fabulous FreeSpirit designers. If you haven’t transitioned to sewing clothing yet, now is the time to create something wonderful to wear!

Zandra Rhodes’ distinctive cotton fabrics reflect her memories with frilly flowers, zigzag stars and meandering wiggles that can be magically sewn together in a myriad of ways.

Anna Maria Horner inspires us with beautiful voiles, rayons and knits in prints that are a balm for the soul. There is something for everyone, from sweet to sophisticated.

And Heather Bailey offers rayons and voiles that allow you to make a statement with a vintage vibe. Her modern colors and prints combine for easy, confident style.

Click here for the projects featured in this video.  Visit the Discover section for loads of more free projects and patterns featuring our FreeSpirit designer
s and fabrics!

Tips for Sewing with Knits from FreeSpirit

Anna Maria Knits!

 

As the name might imply, Anna Maria Knits, is an essential grouping of color and form that perfectly suits the style and function afforded by the versatile jersey cloth. Each of the designs was derived from various collections, but all re-imagined as a group to offer a little something for everyone, ranging from sweet to sophisticated. Some of the simplest and most stylish fashion forms are created from jersey knit, and Anna Maria Knits provides a diverse group of designs well suited for casual tees, sassy leggings, charming dresses, inventive skirts, and more. Each of the three colorways inspires multiple mix and  match opportunities and gives the modern sewist confident choices to easily translate her favorite looks into home sewn projects.

Both Knit dresses are Anna's own pattern - Lemon Drop Dress (PTAH22)

 

Pretty Potent Museum Tunic

 

Pretty Potent Museum Tunic made in Voile from Anna Maria Horner's new Pretty Potent collection!

This a pattern from Anna's blog.

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 and the flannels, voiles and rayons are all colored specific to their many uses.

Pretty Potent Rayon Dress

The Socialite Dress made with Rayon fabric from Anna Maria Horner's new Pretty Potent fabric collection.  This is a pattern from Anna Maria Horner (PTAH01).

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 and the flannels, voiles and rayons are all colored specific to their many uses.

Pretty Potent Flannel Pajama Set

 

From Anna Maria Horner's new collection Pretty Potent... Pretty Potent Flannel Pajama Set!

Simplicity 1504

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 and the flannels, voiles and rayons are all colored specific to their many uses.

 

New FASHION fabrics from FreeSpirit!

The first Fashion fabric collections launching is Pretty Potent & Anna Maria Knits from the very talented Anna Maria Horner!

 

 

Pretty Potent features Rayon, Voile and Flannel

Anna Maria Knits features Knit

 

 

Two beautiful pieces made by Anna using her new fashion fabrics!  Stay tuned for more project and pattern ideas from FreeSpirit and Anna.