Designer Spotlight - See Dena on YouTube!

We took a trip out to California recently to hear first hand from Dena how the beautiful fabrics and patterns she creates come to life. She shared her home with us for the day and openly chatted about her newest collection (Sundara Oasis!), her inspiration process, and why she loves designing fabric with FreeSpirit.  

Check out the three videos below to hear more and get a glimpse at how her inspired home, studio, and lifestyle comes through in all she does! 

Want to know more about Dena's fabrics? You can find her designs at http://freespiritfabric.com/ and more fun ideas for how to use them in projects of your own on our Facebook page. Tell us what you love about Dena's designs in the comment section.

Using Flannel as Quilt Backing... from Kitchen Table Quilting

We just have to share this very informative blog from Kitchen Table Quilting.  Parson Gray's flannels collection will be launching this June!

Click here to read Erica's recommendations and reviews for using Flannel as Quilt Backing.

Paw Prints by Kathy Davis

We love our pets! Paw Prints is the ultimate tribute to our favorite four-legged friends a whimsical glimpse into the universe of cats and dogs in cheerful shades of red and lue with accents of chartreuse and nature inspired neutrals.

In this playful world, Dalmatians frolic against a canvas of “spots.” Fire hydrants and dog bones are tossed with balls and paw prints, while cats nap amid hearts, fish and the message “I ♥ my kitty.” Sweet puppy and kitty faces are “awww”-inspiring. Paw Prints is a lighthearted and fun collection of fabrics just right for your next special project.

Rosey By Tanya Whelan

Pretty, soft, playful and innocent are the words that describe Rosey. Sweet little roses, floral paisleys, cherry blossoms rendered in gentle reds, blues and pinks make this collection feel both fresh and cheerful. Rosey would be wonderful for new mom gifts like diaper bags, changing pads, bibs and of course quilts for all ages.

For a good cause

It seems that some things touch everyone's life in one form or another. Family member, friend, friend of a friend and even yourself, Cancer knows no boundaries.

As quilter's we love to give back in many ways whether by making the everlasting treasure of a quilt for someone or just using our time and talent to help those less fortunate. In the true spirit of quilting and giving, mark your calendar for January 15 and join the Fiber 5K Fight Cancer .

Now, you don't have to put on your running shoes and brave the cold. You can join in the fun as part of Fiberart For A Cause's virtual race by helping the cause reach its goal of donating $5,000 to the American Cancer Society. Every dollar donated moves the race 1 meter closer to the goal. Better yet, the more money raised the better your chances of winning some fabulous prizes, including FreeSpirit Fabric!  Drawings will be done at each milestone; at the 1K ($1000) mark, 2K ($2000) mark, etc., plus a Grand Prize drawing at the Finish Line. Simply follow the donation link on January 15, donate and watch the little red shoe on the race route.

According to Race Director, Virginia Spiegel, "Fiberart For A Cause likes to have fun while raising money to fight cancer, so, of course, there are going to be more "race" details revealed as January 15 draws closer. 100% of donations are given directly to the American Cancer Society through Fiberart For A Cause. Fiberart For A Cause has already donated more than $230,000 to the American Cancer Society thanks to the generosity of fiber artists and patrons."

Sleep n’ Read Travel Pillow, the perfect hideaway for every kid’s treasures

 

 

Imagine a secret hiding place for your most treasured goodies.  Any child would love to stow away a favorite book, toy or stuffed animal in our fun Sleep ‘n Read pillowcase.  This fun and easy to make gift is perfect for the kids at daycare, neighborhood children or your nieces and nephew.  Ours features FreeSpirit Green House Flannel by Erin McMorris, warm and snuggly.  Make one or a dozen and don’t forget to hide a treasure inside!  Click here to get started!

Coming soon!

The latest designer collections will be on display at Quilt Market next week. The buzz of excitement gets louder and louder every passing day. Before the show opens, we'd like to give you a peek at some of the collections we'll be showing off. Today, it's the latest from David Butler.

If you're wondering about his inspiration, read on. Vagabond features 7 prints across 24 fabrics that bring more of designer David Butler's folk-modern sensibility to the quilting and fashion world. With a broad range of richly muted jewel tones and deep grey hues, Vagabond explores the hand-drawn inspiration of travels into the back streets and high deserts of the middle east, and the rich rainforest jungles and temples of Indonesia. The two worlds are brought together with an exciting, sophisticated layering of prints that harken to lush markets, buzzing cities and rich adventure travel. Although the colorations are unique, each print in Parson Gray's Vagabond works in tandem with his past collections Curious Nature, Seven Wonders, & World Tour. The adventure continues!

Jenny Doan from Missouri Quilting Company shares with you her Merry Go Round quilt featuring FreeSpirit Wish by Valori Wells charm pack.  One 5" charm pack and some solid white FreeSpirit Designer Essential solid is all it takes to make this awesome quilt.  This quilt is also featured in the Fall issue of Quilting Quickly with Jenny Doan magazine, on sale now!

Cluck, cluck . . . too cute for words! Fowl Play by Luella Doss

Have you noticed that chickens and roosters are dotting the decor landscape lately? Well, not to be out done our own Chicken expert, Luella Doss, revived Fowl Play, coming in August to your favorite quilt shop. In the meantime, if you have not liked us on facebook, today would be the day. Visit our facebook page, like us and comment on these chickens. Tomorrow we will select one random commentator to receive a 20 piece fat quarter pack of Fowl Play. Cluck, cluck go . . . you gotta' be in it to win it! Enjoy!

Verna Mosquera Giveaway!

We hope you were inspired by the story of how Verna Mosquera developed her book. While her tips are what she learned about herself while writing this book, they (the tips)are relevant for just about anything in life. Whether you are thinking about changing your career or want to step outside of your sewing comfort zone, Verna tells us to believe in ourselves, ask for what we want and shows us we can do anything we set our mind too.

So now, push yourself to a new sewing technique or try something you have never done before. Comment below about how Verna's Tips inspired your sewing, quilting or crafting and we will send one randomly selected commentator a copy of Verna's book as well as her 30 pc. fat quarter from FreeSpirit Billet-Doux, her newest collection. Deadline for commenting is Monday, July 8. Happy 4th of July!

Precut Patchwork Party is full of fun, modern projects!

Thank you to FreeSpirit Fabrics for asking me to be a guest blogger. I am so excited to tell you about my newest book for Creative Publishing International – Precut Patchwork Party. As the tag line says on the cover of the book, it’s full of “modern projects to sew and craft with fabric strips, squares and fat quarters”.

I have been a huge fan of FreeSpirit precut fabric bundles for a long time . I often pick them up with absolutely no idea of how I will use them. The colors and patterns just look so pretty all together in a bundle.

There are lots of patterns and ideas available for using precuts charm squares, strips and fat quarters to make quilts. But I wanted to design a collection of projects for this book that were everything but quilts. So Precut Patchwork Party will show you how to make a variety of home dec projects, as well as wearables, accessories and gift items. I’ve included lots of basic sewing information, tips of working with precut fabrics and several of my favorite sewing techniques like fabric rick-rack and rosettes that can be made from folded precut strips.

Here is one of my favorite projects from the book:

Tisket Tasket Fabric Basket (Insert photo of baskets.)

Fabric strips from Kathy Davis’ Blossoming collection are used to make these woven fabric baskets. Make a few to organize your spools of thread and notions in your sewing room or use one to hold a casserole dish (and sew a coordinating lined napkin with a couple of fat quarters).

The beauty of working with bundles of precut fabrics is that they are coordinated by color or theme or designer collection and all the fabrics work well with each. Mix and match as you like. You really can’t go wrong. And sewing with precuts is really easy - lots of straight sewing. All the projects in my book utilize the standard sizes of precuts so you can get started right away with very little time spent cutting fabric (not everyone’s favorite part of any sewing project).




Elaine Schmidt



The projects in this book are perfect for a new sewist as well as someone who has been sewing for awhile. They all are constructed with very basic sewing techniques. Anyone who makes quilts and wants to do something new with their stash of precuts will find inspiration. So next time you can’t resist buying those beautiful bundles at the quilt store, know that there is a lot you can make with them, other than your beautiful quilts.

Editor's Note: Tell us why you love to sew with precuts and we will select on random commentator to win a copy of Elaine's book along with a set of precut bundles so you can get creative the minute you win. Winner will be drawn on Monday, February 18.