Introducing Charms, my new fabric collection for Kokka! Another collection with three prints in double gauze cotton and three prints in cotton/linen blend. And a metallic gold colorway!
This collection will debut at Fall Quilt Market in late October and should be shipping to stores shortly thereafter. Contact Seven Islands Fabric for wholesale ordering information in the US. If you’ll be at Market, come visit me in booth #656/756.
It’s that time again! I’ve just started sewing samples for Quilt Market. Here are some peeks at my next collection for Kokka. If you own a fabric shop, feel free to email me for more photos or contact Seven Islands Fabric (in the US) or Nunoya (in Europe) to pre-order.
I’ve had some distractions lately:
Don’t worry. No kitty was harmed in the making of this photo! My older daughter wanted to adopt a black cat when she found out that they have a difficult time finding homes due to superstitions. This little guy is named Lionel to go with our dog, Peabo. It’s been over a year since our 17-year-old cat Kiki died and I miss her so much. And you know, I wanted to invite more chaos into my life!
How far do your quilts travel? Quilting and technology have converged to create an online sewing community that allows us to find inspiration, share our process, and get instant feedback on our ideas. Recently, I realized that my finished quilts were stacked in a closet while my photos and blog posts continued to reach people. It made me question whether the finished object or the digital image was more important.
We take photos of quilts as they are pieced together, on our laps while we stitch, or with our children and pets snuggled up on them. We share the image and it becomes a digital object, a separate work of art created during the process.
Sarah Phillips of Intown Quilters and I are hosting an activity in the Makers Tent at the Decatur Book Festival this weekend so we decided to expand on the idea of image sharing to create a collaborative digital project where everyone will create their own quilt block, photograph it, and share the image through social media. Then we’ll compile the images into a digital “quilt” that we’ll share online.
How can you participate?
Begin with two 10” fabric squares and create a half-square triangle block. One fabric square should be a neutral white or linen while the other piece may be patchwork, hand-dyed, embroidered, or made with any other creative technique you’d like to use. Or you can simply choose your favorite fabric. Then take a photo of your half-square triangle block and share it on social media with the hashtag #instaquilt. We’ll then assemble the photos and share the collaborative digital quilt both here and through social media.
Add your block to flickr here, pin it to Pinterest, share on Instagram, post to Facebook, or share it any way you choose.
And for those who are willing to contribute their finished block, we’ll sew them together and make a quilt to be displayed at Intown Quilters. You can drop your block by the shop or even mail it. Please note that we may cut down the blocks if necessary to make the quilt a manageable size. We’d like to get all of the entries by the end of September, so make a block today!
If you live near Atlanta, come sew with me and Sarah Phillips from Intown Quilters at the Decatur Book Festival this weekend! We’ll be in the Makers Tent on Sunday at 3pm. We’ll have fabric, sewing machines and other supplies so that you can make an #instaquilt block with us. But don’t worry if you can’t make it; anyone can participate in the project!
For instructions to make half-square triangles, click on the image below for a .pdf excerpt from my book 1, 2, 3 Quilt.
I made a couple of samples using my new Framework fabric and solids below. Of course if you use the technique above, you’ll have two blocks so you can start a quilt. And if you’re just photographing it for the project, the block could really be any size. Let’s make an #instaquilt!
Here are a couple of online shops that currently carry the full collection of my new Framework collection from Kokka:
Click here to see the full collection with images and print names. And some other online shops that carry a selection of my fabrics:
Imagine Gnats (double gauze)
Other Etsy shops
I’m sure I’ve missed some shops, particularly those outside the US. So please leave a comment if your shop carries my fabric! Wholesale information in the US can be found at Seven Islands. In Europe, please contact Nunoya.
More experimenting with blocks in my Framework fabric, mixing double-gauze cottons, quilting cottons, and linens. I think I’m actually going to try a basic courthouse steps pattern instead of any of these log cabin variations. But I will definitely mix the Framework prints with neutrals.
Also, if you haven’t done so already, you might want to read this post from Abby Glassenberg regarding Aurifil’s social media marketing. I commented on her post and also posted some of my thoughts over on The Long Thread Facebook page. I think that this is an important issue to discuss as a quilting community.
In our current age of ubiquitous social media, how we conduct ourselves online is a reflection of who we are, whether we feel it’s an accurate depiction or not. As someone who struggles with how much I should communicate via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, I am keenly aware that we never fully know a person based solely on their online interactions. It’s a difficult world to navigate and I’ve got no clue how I’m going to guide my daughters through this maze.
While I’m encouraged that Aurifil may change its social media marketing practices, I also hope that in this process we will remember that tweets, posts, comments, and status updates are meant in fact to be social interactions. We should perhaps give the same care and consideration that we use with people in real life.
