Quilt Market Report Spring 2014

-jaime

Amber and I just returned from 4 whirlwind days in Pittsburgh to attend the 2014 Quilt Market! This is a trade show where we get to see and order all the upcoming fabric lines, meet the designers and authors, get inspired by new quilts, and brainstorm ideas with other shop owners. We are always so inspired to sew after we go to Quilt Market! Here are our top picks for new and exciting fabrics coming up.

April Rhodes in her awesome booth!

Art Gallery Fabrics has a new Limited Edition division they have launched. April Rhodes, Sew Caroline, Sara Lawson are the three new designers for these collections, which we love! All of these limited releases include voile and knits in addition to quilting cottons. April Rhodes' Arizona fabrics will be here later this month. Her booth at quilt market was stunning, displaying her very cool collection.

Next at Art Gallery, we met the charming Caroline Hulse of Sew Caroline. Her bright, poppy collection Gleeful will be available in July, for cheery summertime sewing.

Sew Caroline in her sweet booth!

Thomas Knauer was at market to promote his new book, Modern Quilt Perspective. The "12 patterns for meaningful quilts" each have a really interesting story and concept behind their design. We were able to see the quilts from the book in person and chat with Thomas about the story behind each one. We are thrilled to host him in Denver this November for a book signing event so stay tuned to find out the details.

Mr. Knauer signing books in his awesome booth!

Speaking of new books...Tasia of Sewholic was there from Vancouver! Tasia was promoting her new book, Sewtionary. It was so great to meet her--look how cute her top is out of her newest pattern, the Belcarra Blouse! Sewtionary is an awesome resource book that every sewist will want to have in their library. We can't wait for it to get here in early July.

Tasia of Sewholic - isn't she cute?!

We recently featured the new American Made Brand fabrics on our Instagram (@fancytigercrafts), but we have to show you again because they are so exciting. These are new cotton solids from Clothworks that are entirely grown, spun, woven and dyed in the USA. Modern quilter, Heather Jones is the spokesperson for this new fabric and has made some beautiful quilts out of it already. The icing on top for this sustainable fabric is a very affordable price point. These should be here this June.

Heather Jones!

Violet Craft has a new collection for Michael Miller, Brambleberry Ridge. Oh man, did we love this. The mix of sweet florals, geometrics, and woodland creatures were all highlighted with metallic ink - so precious! Her upcoming quilt pattern features paper pieced animals and birds - I am going to make a hawk pillow stat. Brambleberry Ridge will be here this July.

A new Violet Craft quilt pattern on the left and a detail of a print from Brambleberry Ridge on the right.

Alison Glass was debuting her newest collection for Andover, Handcrafted. This collection was really different from anything we saw at market. Alison designed these prints using the traditional wax-resist method of making batik fabric, but they have a look that is all Alison Glass. All these fabrics will be hand-printed and therefore completely unique with no yardage exactly the same. This printing method also means the fabrics have a lovely hand that will lend itself well to both garment and quilt-making. Alison's booth was inspiring with her lovely quilts and embroidery.

Us and Alison Glass in her awesome booth

Some of Alison Glass' amazing quilts. Those are her new fabrics draped on the chair...

We loved this new quilt design by Alison Glass, Timber.

You know how we feel about Nani Iro around here. It's no surprise that we are in love with Naomi Ito's newest collection. These dreamy prints will be here in June, but Amber and I were able to come home with 1/2 meter bundles so we can sew up quilts before then. We can't wait to show you what we make...

Ok, the moment you've all been waiting for...Cotton and Steel! Yes, we saw it! Yes, it was amazing! Yes, we ordered it all! Yes, we love them! It is just as awesome as all the hype would suggest. This new division of RJR headed by none other than Melody Miller is so great and you are all going to be sewing with it this summer. Start planning, people. There are 123 bolts of delicious fabrics coming our way this July in quilting cottons, voiles, and linen/cotton canvas. Are you ready?

OMG!

The ladies of Cotton and Steel from left to right: Alexia Abegg, Melody Miller, Rashida Coleman Hale, Kim Kight, and Sarah Watts

Highlights from the Cotton and Steel booth

We will be implementing a new uniform policy where staff at FTC can only wear this print from Alexia Abegg.
Just kidding, but seriously you guys!! 

Quilt Market Fall 2013 Report

Amber and I just returned from Houston Texas for the fall Quilt Market. This is where we get to preview and buy new and upcoming fabric collections! We were able to meet all sorts of fabric and pattern designers, chat with other shop owners, and get completely inspired by all the amazing things happening in the fabric industry. Here is our report of the most exciting things we saw this fall.

The people over at FreeSpirit and their parent company Westminster Fibers have a lot of amazing designers on their roster. Amy Butler, Anna Maria Horner, Parsons Grey, Ty Pennington, Tula Pink, and Denyse Schmidt all have new collections that they were debuting at market. So much awesome stuff! Anna Maria Horner's new line Dowry is scheduled to be released first (any day!) and we love it. Dowry is classic, beautiful Anna Maria Horner style and we ordered it all. Her booth featured an amazing inspiration wall for Dowry and of course, tons of color!

Amy Butler's new collection, Hapi features Amy's bold florals and interesting geometrics. Her booth was bright and fun - we love the fabric wrapped, rustic god's eyes.

Tula Pink's new line, For Field won't be out until next spring, but it will be worth the wait. Ponies, bunny-dots, foxes and feathers grace the prints of this new line. Now you, too, can upholster your Louis XV chair in pink ponies!

Speaking of ponies...Sarah Jane's new line Wee Wanderer for Michael Miller Fabrics is a collection that perfectly captures any little girl's dream childhood. Lightning bugs and ponies frolic across the fabrics in beautiful hues of green, blue and pink. Perfection!

Birch fabrics is getting ready to release their highly anticipated collection of Charley Harper fabrics. We are hoping to get these in this month (soon!). We were excited to see things sewn up in them and even more excited to find they have added canvas, knits, and flannel prints to the quilting cotton collection - all organic cotton.

Leah Duncan has another beautiful collection coming out next year for Art Gallery Fabrics. We can't get enough of her unique illustrations and love the saturated green colorway she has in this new Meadow collection.

Ellen Luckett Baker has another collection coming out for Kokka. Garden features her bold graphic style on the cotton/linen canvas base we all know and love from Kokka. Her booth was adorable and we loved meeting her! Ellen has some inspiring projects for her fabrics in her books, 1,2, 3, Quilt and 1, 2, 3, Sew.

Just chillin' with Carolyn...surrounded by her beautiful work.

One of the collections we are most excited about is Carolyn Friedlander's Botanics for Robert Kaufman. Botanics features Carolyn's fine line drawn style in soft and bold colors. A few of the prints have a hint of metallic gold that is used perfectly. Get ready to sew with these fabrics in December and January.

the ladies of Cotton + Steel: Alexia, Sarah, Rashida, Melody,  and Kim

The talk of the market was the announcement of a new division within RJR fabrics formed by Melody Miller including herself, Rashida Coleman-Hale, Alexia Abegg, Kim Kight, and Sarah Watts called Cotton + Steel. Cotton + Steel will release their first fabrics next July so we don't have any prints to show you, but we know it is going to be awesome. Stay tuned to see what these ladies have up their sleeves for us. You can learn more by watching their awesome video here.

Look for all of these amazing fabrics and more to hit the shelves of Fancy Tiger Crafts in the upcoming months. Thanks, Quilt Market!

Portland Sewing Parties!

-jaime

While Amber and I were in town for Quilt Market we were able to go to a couple of awesome parties held for Quilt Market attendees! The first one was held at Modern Domestic, a sewing studio in Portland.

Modern Domestic had just expanded and their new larger space was beautiful and inspiring! Amber and I loved being able to chat with owners Lupine and Michelle about their shop and experiences.

Lupine, Amber, Jaime and Michelle

Sarai of Colette patterns lives and works in Portland and hosted a party at her studio for Quilt Market attendees with Amy Butler. Sarai's studio is in the renovated Ford Building--originally built as an assembly plant for the Ford Model-T, and now a home to creative offices and studios.

There were beautiful old windows that let in tons of natural light. Amy Butler had her garment fabrics on display and there were sewn samples of all of the Colette patterns.

Amber, Amy Butler, Sarai Mitnick and Jaime

We had a lovely time with Sarai, Amy and lots of other shop owners, fabric designers and pattern makers!

Thanks Portland ladies for showing us a great time!

Quilt Market Report Spring 2013

-Jaime

Oh man! Amber and I just returned from a week in Portland! We packed in all kinds of adventures which we will be blogging about this week, but most importantly, we went to Spring Quilt Market! Quilt Market is when we get to look at all the upcoming fabric collections, patterns and products. We ordered a lot of great things we are super excited about. The new lines you see here will be coming into the shop in the upcoming summer and fall months so stay tuned to our blog and facebook to be notified of their arrival. Here are some of the highlights:

Tula Pink has done it again! Another stunning collection, Acadia is due this September. Acadia features bright teals, purples, pinks and greens as well as raccoons! We loved her booth floor which echoed some of her print designs. She had tons of quilts on display to inspire us including the one from her new book, City Sampler: 100 Modern Quilt Blocks. 

Melody Miller was debuting her new line for Kokka which features 3 of our favorite things: linen, sparkles, and arrows. There will be dresses made out of this the second we get it in, I promise.

Rashida Coleman-Hale has a new line coming out this summer for Cloud 9, Koi. We ordered the whole collection, so don't worry. Also, there will be voiles...

We love Leah Duncan's line Tule for Art Gallery Fabrics. Leah was super sweet and we basically moved into her booth and just hung out there among her pillows and driftwood for three days. We ordered the full line and will be making everything out of it come August.

Oh hey, April Rhodes. April was at Market buying for her shop in Columbus and she had a special surprise for us! A hot-off-the-press copy of her Staple Dress pattern. That's right - this awesome pattern (and hopefully more!) will be available in print, right here at Fancy Tiger Crafts this summer. Stay tuned...

Heather Ross is back! Heather Ross has a new line coming out with Windham which means domestically priced quilting cottons! Briar Rose is everything we could have hoped for a new Heather Ross collection and we absolutely love this rainbow quilt by Made by Rae. We can't wait to work with these bright, nostalgic prints come July.

Nani Iro gets us every time. We just can't resist her beautiful, dreamy, ethereal prints. The double gauze and thin linen canvas fabric bases don't hurt either. We ordered about a billion prints from her new line so we will be making room for these in late July.

Ellen Luckett Baker has another modern line for Kokka called Folk Modern. I'm obsessed with horses so this print may be my most anticipated print from market. SO GOOD!

I know this is the news you are all waiting for: yes, we ordered Pendleton wool fabric. Lots of it. It will be here in mid-August and of course, we will throw a little party to welcome it to our shelves. US made delicious wool goodness for all of your fall sewing needs. Dresses, skirts, pillows, bags, will now all be made in wool. Get ready.

There were a million exciting things and we ordered so many of them! Stay tuned to see when these beauties arrive at the shop and to see what we will be sewing with them.

Quilt Market Report Spring 2012

Amber and I just got back from Kansas City for the Spring Quilt Market! This is where we get to shop for all the amazing fabrics and patterns we carry here at the store. We also get to meet and talk to fabric designers, pattern designers, bloggers and other shop owners. It was super amazing and we were really impressed with the strength of the new collections. Here are some highlights:

Amy Butler has a new collection coming out this July, Cameo. Her booth was a beautiful mix of vintage with her bright prints forming a fun contrast.

Anna Maria Horner's newest collection for Free Spirit is Field Study due in August. Natural elements such as feathers, flora and fauna inspire these designs. We loved the life-sized crouching leopard decoupaged with fabric!

Can you believe this quilt?! The pattern for this strip-pieced quilt by Anna Maria Horner will be available as a free pattern for her Field Study fabrics through the Free Spirit website. I can hardly wait to make one - it was stunning.

We really love what's going on over at Cloud 9. This organic fabric company started out so tiny and is growing into the most adorable fabric company of all time. Their current and upcoming collections are awesome, and they keep working with amazing artists. We have Monsterz in stock now so here is some inspiration with these awesome baby quilts.

Seven Seas is another Michele Brummer Everett collection for Cloud 9 coming out this summer. More of her adorable drawings, but this time with a maritime theme. Those little boys shirts are too cute!

We were thrilled that Denyse Schmidt had her first ever booth at quilt market. Her booth was amazing and featured an inspiration wall for her upcoming collection, Chicopee. We went ahead and ordered the full collection so you are all set come August.

We also got to see all of her quilts from her newest book in person - talk about inspiration! Meeting Denyse was awesome - she was lovely and it was so magical to chat with one of our favorite quilters.

The buzz of quilt market was the new Liberty of London quilting cottons. Quilt Market was the debut of this new venture for Liberty and we think it's going to be amazing! Their first collection is called Bloomsbusy Gardens and each of the 11 prints comes in 5 colorways. We ordered a ton of it, so you can quilt with Liberty to your heart's content come late August. The Liberty quilting cottons will be much more affordable than their Tana Lawn counterparts, but you can expect the same great designs and colors.

Melody Miller had a booth! Yay! Her booth was a perfect picture of her unique, vintage-inspired style and highlighted her newest collection for Kokka, Ruby Star Vinyl.

We couldn't resist a photo-op with the lady herself!

Oh Tula Pink. So much awesome fabric and I can't believe this Gem quilt!! Tula Pink has another new collection hitting the shop in July called The Birds and The Bees. We love the bright colors, but mostly I can't wait to get my hands on it so I can make this quilt.

Here we are with Ms. Pink in front of this amazing Gem Quilt. Looks pretty good, right?

And now here are some sneak peeks from the land-of-all-awesome-Japanese-fabric, Seven Islands! There will be a new Echino collection coming out featuring birds and animals, our favorite. I couldn't get over the giraffes and owls in ornate frames and of course the hipster deer-in-glasses polka dot print. The zebras are looking pretty hot too. We ordered all of it and several laminates so don't worry - there will be plenty to choose from.

Fancy Tiger favorite, Nani Iro, has a new collection out as well. She is working with some new and different colors and designs that we are excited about.

Finally we will leave you with this double gauze tunic - we need to make this!

Lots of great stuff is on the way - we didn't even show you the new Lizzy House, Moda, Sarah Jane, Lotta Jansdotter, Bari J., Dear Stella, Blend or Alexander Henry fabrics! OMG so much awesome stuff to sew!