The Artist UnSEWn Series presents Posy by Amy Reber

Crisp mornings in the Pacific Northwest with dew drops kissing the grass, majestic evergreen trees reaching for the sky, the smell of salt in the air when on a ferry in the Puget Sound and rugged, white-capped mountains that seem to hug you from every angle, are the framework for the place I am proud to call home.

Some of my fondest memories growing up in Washington are the times spent in the yard of my childhood home.  Even as a young child I can distinctly remember being aware of its beauty, and I

always felt we had the best yard around! The sheer size of the yard made it an incredible place to play. In addition to size, it had a stream, a bridge and waterfalls which added so much to the hours I played outside with my twin brother and our friends, ah the 1970s!

As an adult, looking back, it was truly a masterpiece of color, design and inspiration.  Willow trees, dogwood trees (my favorite flowering tree to this day), cherry blossoms, purple irises, azaleas, rhododendrons, roses….I could go on and on.

But what makes it so special for me is that this richly-hued landscape was entirely the handiwork of my exceptionally talented mom. Donning her rubber boots, which are a must in WA, and with her basic metal watering can, spade and shears, she’d lovingly tend to the leaves and blooms of her treasured garden nearly every day, rain or shine.  

The pride she took in cultivating such beauty and joy was really inspiring and it has very much influenced the designs I create as an artist. Though none of the designs in Posy are directly taken from the garden of my childhood, they do reflect the vibrancy and joy that mom’s garden evoked.

Color is incredibly important to me and the original palette for Posy are the Rosa colors with the bright red, yellow, green and black. The yellow is a special homage to the yellow rose bush that my mom took with her from her Mom’s garden when she and my father retired to the San Juan Islands where she has created a new garden that my children now enjoy and will  -  I hope - one day remember with fondness just as I remember the garden of my youth.

As I think about quilting and how designs are created and color schemes are formed, I think of how my mom planned her organic quilt of sorts. She took great care in considering color, placement and plant size and much like quilters love to shop for fabric, my mom gets the same joy out of shopping for the perfect flower or shrub to add to her “outdoor quilt.”

The Artist UnSEWn - FreeSpirit presents Amy Butler's Splendor

Premiering a new fabric collection is always exciting for me because it’s the first time I get to share the story with my friends in my creative community. Up until now, I’ve been living with the ideas, inspirations and creations behind the scenes for months so it’s a bit surreal & wonderful to get to share my journey out loud. My inspirations are always a mixing of real life experience and some fantastical imaginings because this is the place to do that as an artist. The story unfolds from my early collage pages and sketches to the time I work with Sheila and friends in my studio to bring the ideas to life in sewn projects and then in Dave’s photography, and ultimately in the experiences my friends have in sewing with the material. I think it’s the collaborative energy in it all that makes me super happy! Splendor is primarily a quilting collection so when I began musing about my pattern ideas and stories, I wove together a combination of some of my exotic travel experiences over the past few years with my love of Mother Nature. The best creations come from what I love, and it’s the beauty in the world that I try to capture through elements, textures, conversational images and flowers that weaves it all together for me. When thinking about a quilting collection, I like to combine a balance of designs that work well together in a quilt story. I often have one or two more dramatic show stopper prints with a mix of textures, scales and complimentary designs that give a quilter the ability to mix it up and still have their quilt be cohesive. That’s how I think when I select fabrics for my projects. Some collections I will have 3 color ways or color stories, but for Splendor I opted to have just two so I could enrich the mix of prints to offer more options for someone creating with the fabrics. 

My first color way is called Mystic with highlights of coral and strawberry red and undertones of grey and charcoal with some tell tale pops of magenta and turquoise of course! 

My garden is always a muse for me and I took these palette shots to illustrate how I weave in the colors around me into my color stories. This is a good place to note my juxtaposition of prints.. not only do I want there to be a lot of interest within each print but I want the quilter to have many options for creating powerful flowing block layouts. The organic edges of a flower are striking against the geometry of directional arrows and small linear textures.. all working together to create interest and balance. 

And my Celestial color way celebrates that same design balance with indigos, blush and goldenrod highlights. When I land on my final color ways, my goal in mind is to be able to share two distinctly different color stories that are strong on their own but also can compliment each other. 

The Clematis Quilt below, created by Stacey Day, is a great example of color play between 2 different palettes. For me, I want the projects I feature and highlight in my photo shoots to celebrate the best use of my vision for the collection and to give quilters and sewists creative confidence to explore and stretch beyond their comfort zones.  Which is why I love collaboration with friends to see what they would create with my prints to expand on what I can offer in inspirations. It's super important for me that people connect with the line and feel inspired and empowered. I definitely have a way of relating to what I create but I know there are millions of options and to explore as many ideas as possible is not only fun but it stretches me too. 

And every collection is blessed with fur baby love! This is Tutu our little female. Our cats adopt everything that comes into our house.. quilts and people. If you visit me there is not a shortage of love from either one. 

My friend Sujata Shah from The Root Connection and author of Cultural Fusion Quilts graciously quilted this beautiful small quilt top using much of Splendor and some nice

dusty solids and some older Amy prints. She has a great eye for design and I love the depth she creates with the combos of solids, textures and florals. I also think she

did an amazing job celebrating that big juicy floral called Double Fault Flora. 

My friends Heather Jones { 2nd from top } and Suzy Williams { 3rd from top } created these fabulous blocks after inviting them to create with Splendor! I love Heather’s minimal use of two prints and a solid and featuring her Fly Away quilt pattern. She downsized her master quilt into this mighty powerful block. And Suzy’s confident, whimsical use of solids with a mix of Splendor is playful and fun! 

Another big focus for me when I create a collection is to think of the multiples uses for a print. For myself, I love to both quilt and make garments and accessories. And I know there are many schools of sewists with many needs stitching with my fabrics because of their beauty but also because the inherent quietly of our FreeSpirit fabrics makes it super versatile. There is enough sheen and drape to make some striking bags and garments and of course the finished hand on a home made quilt cannot be matched. You can see my Native Folk print is used successfully here at a quilt backing.. I often create designs that can be cut up or featured in a variety of ways and this one crosses over nicely.

Here is the same print in a new color way detailed out with machine quilting on my Newly updated Gypsy Sling PDF pattern. Again, you can see how successful this print is as an accessory design. 

And then used here as a perfect border print for my Bohemian Wrap. 

My buddy and fellow FreeSpirit designer Tina Givens www.sewtinagivens.com created with my Native Folk print in her Meri Tunic dress pattern. Another completely fresh approach to stitching with the same design. This really excites me! 

And Native Folk used in my " work in progress” loosely inspired from my free Hapi Quilt pattern . Sheila and I are making good use of my Splendor scraps in the studio and stealing every moment we can to build out this fun wonky design! This is a satisfying project to work on because it’s so organic yet the colorist in me likes to play within the harmonies of a color way. The strips are foundation pieced and mistakes are welcomed because the design just gets more and more interesting. That’s how I like to quilt.. organically, like making a painting. 

In the end the launch of a collection is a HUGE celebration of creation and collaboration. I am always proud of the end product that I work hard to make the best it can be with my power team at FreeSpirit and Susan, Dave, Sheila and my local sewing friends. These are the many hands behind the scenes bringing a line to life.  I want to invite you to come play with Splendor and join my fun Pinterest Splendor Contest! You can learn more about it here. And join me on my social media pages and share your favorite Splendor experiences. I’m most excited to see what you create! Enjoy and much love! 

XO Amy FB/IN - @amybutlerdesign TW - @AmyButlerDesig1

The Artist UnSEWn - FreeSpirit Presents Tanya Whelan's Rambling Rose

"Hygge is in the Air"

Tanya Whelan's Rambling Rose

You may have heard the term "hygge" a lot lately. It seems to be everywhere this year and especially this time of year. Hygge is a Danish concept that is often translated as coziness in English. From what I understand it basically just describes a feeling or atmosphere where the small, simple things in life like warmth, good food, family and friends are appreciated and celebrated. Though the Scandinavians undoubtedly do coziness incredibly well, I think every culture and perhaps even every person has their own version of what makes for coziness and warmth in a home. Maybe it's a New England cottage by the sea on a snowy day with a roaring fire, or a little log cabin in the mountains with pot belly stove, or even a walk up brownstone apartment in New York City with a perfect little Christmas tree with it's twinkling lights that represents a refuge of warmth and coziness to you.

Tanya Whelan's Rambling Rose

For me, where ever I happen to be, quilts have always brought home the feeling of coziness. I loved the quilts I would see in antique stores when I was growing up. I loved the bright colours and floral patterns pieced into intricate designs. But I especially loved the idea that these beautiful quilts were put together over time using leftover fabric from worn clothing or feedsacks out of necessity and that they were made by hard working women to keep their families warm and safe. I loved the quilt that my mom made in the seventies out of leftover fabric from sewing projects. Though she always intended to, my mom never got around to actually quilting it. The top was pieced and tied to keep the batting in place but it made no difference to me as a little kid. It simply made me feel safe and warm. Years later I wrapped my own baby boy in that same quilt. Similarly the baby quilts my mom made for each of my children still bring me that sense of warmth and love. As does the perfect pink, expertly hand quilted quilt my grandmother made me which kept me warm in my first apartment New York City as a young adult.

Tnaya Whelan's Rambling Rose

I think all of my fabric collections are inspired by my love of homeyness, of coziness, of hygge and this newest collection, Rambling Rose, is no exception. So, at this coldest time of year I just want to wish you lots of hygge and lots of snuggling under that perfect quilt.

xoxo

Tanya

Inspiration behind Tina Given's Riddles and Rhymes Collection

My new fabric collection for children captures a dreamy fairy land of friendship fairies, giant birds with crowns in the sky and floating castles. Bubble balloons lift elephants up up and away. Warm and huggable bears, bunnies and unicycle girls are on their way to the soiree in the sky.

My fairy tales don’t have poison, nor witches’ spells, wicked stepmothers or mean sisters… they’re filled with magical flights and floating clouds with crystal rain drops and feather light ships. My little creatures love to play, giggle and flit through the air, granting wishes and dreams.

 

Do you hear tinkling music with sweet rhyming whispers? A tiny piano and flute playing their riddles all the while the creatures dance in the air.

The Inspiration behind Verna Mosquera new Rosewater Collection

 

The rose has long been the symbol of love.  Timeless, alluring and majestic, it’s beauty has been celebrated for centuries. The simple fusion of a rose petals fragrance and fresh water are magical. Rosewater celebrates the classic beauty of the rose merged with the subtle changing shades of the sea. This collection is fresh and romantic. Its colors are reminiscent of those found in a seaside cottage set amongst a garden of roses. Coral pinks, ocean blues, fresh aquas and sunny yellows create a soothing palette. It is perfect for quilting, children’s wear and other home sewing and crafting projects. Sure to be a favorite of romantics everywhere.

Click here for the Rosewater Patwork Quilt pattern.

Color Therapy Block of the Month - Block #1

We are so excited to have Melissa from 100billionstars.com making and blogging each block from our Color Therapy Block of the Month! 

Visit her site to see block #1 and stay tuned for more to come!

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.

Quick & Easy St Patricks Day Wreath

 

St Patrick's Day is right around the corner and you need to spice your home up with a little décor. So check out this quick and easy wreath tutorial, that is fun to put together and may bring you a little luck! Enjoy and thanks to Melissa for sharing.

Inspiration behind Tula Pink's Fox Field Collection

Fox Field is Tula Pink’s newest imaginary adventure. This time she takes us on a horseback ride through tall grass fields overflowing with flowers and nature.  Combining vintage elements and a bright, modern palette, Fox Field is both fun and elegant. Along the way you will run into horses, bunnies, birds and even a fox or two. This newest collection is, as always, playful with an added touch of frivolity and the wonderful excitement that comes with finding out what’s just over the next hill.

Memory Lane by Nel Whatmore

Well, I am excited to have been asked to post on the Freespirit Blog! 

 

My new collection is Memory Lane, which I have just been designing a quilt for -- yesterday actually. I am lucky that I had three grandparents that lived until they were 103, 101 and 98, and so their influence on me and reflecting on times spent with them has given me many fond memories. I like looking back as well as forward as I feel older things have more soul and newer things fire my imagination. So Memory Lane was designed to be slightly retro and to be a collection of memories, from sitting in my Grandma's breakfast room, to visiting William Morris's house, Wightwick Manor, near my Mum’s, to doodling as a child and remembering the joy that brought me.

So many things can remind us of friends and family, from colour, smells, sounds to even sweets we haven't eaten for years. I love the fact that quilts remind people of the person who kindly spent hours making them. They are made and given with love and in effect say 'I thought of you'. This may be rather sentimental but I think it's true.

My daughter Polly is just 18 and will soon be leaving us and so I am already thinking of which quilt I will give her when she goes to college (hopefully if she gets, there I should add!). Although even when I was thinking about designing the Memory Lane quilt yesterday my thoughts immediately turned to her and what she may like. I guess in the same way that I carry memories of my grandparents and parents with me, I hope that little things like a handmade quilt will remind her of her family too.

 

When designing, as a painter, I always produce the initial idea in pastels, the medium I like the best. It is vibrant, messy and spontaneous and suits me just fine. I have to then do the repeats on the computer as to do it in pastel would be virtually impossible. So much of balancing a collection feels like balancing a painting. You always have to make it work as a whole rather like doing the perfect jigsaw puzzle! I've come to the conclusion that it's a lifelong challenge, as whenever I finish a collection and then start sewing and designing things using it I learn something more and realise how to improve the next collection.

 

These are two lovely Memory Lane Cushions I designed that have just arrived . They look great at the end of our bed!

Recently I’ve got into English Paper Piecing. I looovvve it. I’ve been making 8 point stars using Secret Garden my last collection. So I couldn’t resist making a star this time with more points so it makes a 3d star using Memory Lane. I think they’d make great and unusual bunting Or I just like this one hung on my wall as it makes me smile every time I see it. I’d really love to see what you do with Memory Lane. So find me on facebook and come and say hi!

 

Thank you for reading my ramblings on this rather grey damp day in Northern England. It's now time to get back to finishing my next collection and then play my music loud and do a bit of painting, I think! I hope you enjoy Memory Lane. It would be lovely to see what you make with it. I'd love you to let me know!    https://www.facebook.com/Nelpatterns   
https://www.nelpatterns.com

Warm wishes and happy sewing Nel x

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