NEW American Pride prints!

Red, white and blue fabrics...as American as Bomb Pops popsicles!

Our new American Pride prints are filled with patriotic pride. 

A collage of patriotic motifs by Amy Calloway:

Bald eagles and Old Glory by Amy Calloway:

Flag stars!

Love this plaid!

And don't forget the panel:

Find the entire American Pride collection here and ask for it at your local quilt shop. 

A chat with designer Ro Gregg

Last week, we showed you Ro Gregg's two newest collections, Mountain View and Natural Beauty. Today we're revsiting those lines and sharing Ro's insight and inspirations on these lush, nature-focused fabrics.

Mountain View:

Q. Where did the idea for this collection come from?

In 2016, I attended the Pigeon Forge Quilt Festival in Tennessee and fell in love with the Great Smokey Mountain National Park. I began doing research on this region and wanted to create a comprehensive nature study of the trees, shrubs and flowers as well as its panoramic skyline.

Q. Tell us about the panel.

This 24" landscape panel is digitally printed from hand painted art. This process exquisitely captures a myriad of realistic details and a multi-tonal range of color.

It consists of several different scenes: the pond and river bed, the winding river, spring trees and shrubs as well as a timberline, mountain range and a spectacular skyline and sunset.

As an avid nature lover, the mountains always symbolized a calm serenity. Climbing mountains, you rise to a new heights, and it is almost a spiritual and mental rising.

Q. Tell us about the coordinates.

The coordinates are also digitally printed to keep the style extremely realistic. They vary in color and scale: all-over pebbles, flowing river water, panoramic trees, and a sunset skyline.

Q. Do you have a favorite coordinate?

The skyline sunset is my favorite pattern as it has a heavenly and serene feel about it.  The three different color palettes are diverse and vivid.

Natural Beauty

Q. Tell us about the panel. Why does in include vases, birdcages, butterflies, etc.? What inspired it?

I wanted to infuse romance into this panel by mixing lush roses with decorative vases and ginger jars as well as a profusion of color and interesting textures.

Also included are the pretty song birds in decorative cages, and of course butterflies.

Q. How did you come up with the color palette?

The colors are both soft and vivid: gentle corals and peaches, dark rich pinks, sprout greens, gray, sandy neutrals and a dramatic black

Q. What can you tell us about the different rose prints?

The focal print has the lush Natural American beauty rose, and the small roses and birds are a reduced version, using similar style roses on a smaller scale. The all-over abstract rose serves as a modern water color floral texture.

Q. Which is your favorite print?

My favorite print is the water color floral. It is fun and fresh and adds the needed color blocking for quilting.

Q. The tonal coordinates have such an elegance to them! Can you talk about their design?

The damask angel print is romantic and adds high light color. The tonal bird print has an art nouveau feel and brings subtle sophistication.

Q. What do you envision these fabrics being used for?

Bring the beauty of the outdoors inside with these romantic, nature-inspired prints by creating beautiful quilts, place mats, and wall hangings. The possibilities for creative decorating and quilting are endless as well as timeless.

Read the original Mountain View post here and see the entire fabric collection here.

Read the original Natural Beauty post here and see the entire fabric collection here .

A study in landscapes: Mountain View

Who needs a vacation when you can have a view like this in your sewing room?! 

Ro Gregg's new collection, Mountain View, is centered around a gorgeously realistic panel, packed with a sunset sky, distant mountains, detailed trees, flowers and bushes, and a gentle stream. 

The panel:

A close-up of all that beautiful detail:

Watercolor skies...

Detailed prints ideal for landscape quilts:

Marbled greens:

See the entire collection here and ask for it at your local quilt shop.

The cutest woodland creatures you've ever seen!

Our newest collection, Woodland Friends, features the art of Charlie Zabarte. These whimsical creatures--hedgehogs, raccoons, birds, deer and rabbits, are adorable sweet in a panel of 7" squares. There's also a printed border strip! 

We love the coordinates too--playful trees, a cool modern ring print, and dots and dashes, along with an allover woodland print. 

 Check out the intricate details in the panel blocks: 

The blocks have a variety of printed borders surrounding them:

A sweet hedgehog:

A gentle fawn:

What would you make with these prints? We'll be showing you what we did later this week!

See the entire Woodland Friends collection here and ask for it at your local quilt shop.

Home for the Holidays: Ro Gregg's Peace on Earth fabrics

The Christmas carols have been playing on the radio 24-7 since the day after Thanksgiving...it's officially the holiday season! This week we've been showcasing our holiday collections, and then starting next week we'll be sharing some quick and easy decor tutorials.

Here is Ro Gregg's holiday collection, Peace on Earth:

And the coordinating panel:

The collection also includes an apron panel:

We asked Ro to tell us about the inspiration behind her beautiful Peace on Earth collection.

Q. Tell us about the panel. Why did you choose to feature a reindeer? 

Ro: Reindeers are Santa's helpers too.  They pull the sleigh and deliver the gifts all over the world. Deer are one of my favorite animals; as a child we nursed a baby fawn that lost its Mother.  I designed the deer to be festive with metallic scroll antlers, and I think the filigree in the borders emulates that feeling.

Q. Can you tell us about some of the prints? 

Ro: Festive Christmas balls and Rosewood poinsettias are showcased on a background of Harlequin damask.

Symbols of peace is a signature piece. The doves contain designs from Marblehead prints and other coordinates. 

Miniature metallic reindeer with festive medallions—such a perfect symbol of Santa's helpers. This is my favorite print from the collection. The doves and reindeer are flying around the night sky with the full moon and medallion-like planets. It just feels like Christmas Eve. 

Q. How would you describe the style of this collection? 

Ro: Traditional decorative christmas with an ornamental flair.

Q. Why do you like adding the metallic gold to the holiday collections?

Ro: I think metallic gold goes well with holiday celebrating.  It makes the patterns festive with its shimmer.

Q. How did the collection get its name?

Ro: I first came up with the theme "Peace On Earth" as a reflection of what we all wish for around the globe and how it is affecting all of humanity. Christmas is a peaceful, joyous season. The dove fabric actually has the word "peace" and musical notes inside some of the doves.

Q. What else makes the Peace of Earth collection special?

Ro: It works beautifully with the Glistening Christmas prints, many of which are included here, such as the winter wonderland of metallic trees and the North star shining bright. The colors work flawlessly together for holiday projects.

"Celebrate" by Mara Quilt Designs, the free quilt pattern available on our website, surrounds the panel with pieced ornaments and stars.

Download the free pattern here.

See the entire Peace on Earth collection by Ro Gregg here.

Windsor Park

We love what Terry Albers made for Love of Quilting magazine using the Windsor Woods collection! It's a perfect combination of showcasing the blocks from the panel alternating with pieced blocks that create a chain design. Read more about Terry's quilt, as well as her tip for accurately fussy cutting panel blocks, below.

"Windsor Park" designed by Terry Albers; made by Dick Albers; machine quilted by Mary Klein
Featured in Love of Quilting July/August 2015

Q. What about the Windsor Woods fabric line appeals to you?

Terry: Ro Greg's fabrics always appeal to me! I find the depth of color in her designs to be irresistible. They seem to shimmer without metallic accents.

Q. Talk about how you used the blocks in the panel.

Terry: Her panel blocks grabbed my attention right away. I love the intricate designs of the blocks and love how they all work together. They were the starting point and inspiration for my design.

Q. Favorite print you used?

Terry: After the panel blocks, I’d have to say that my favorite print is the tiny floral, followed by the leaf print. Both are delicate and intricate at the same time. The coloration is soft without being pastel.

Q. Why did you pick the block you did to alternate with the panel blocks?

Terry: This is one of my favorite chain-type blocks for tying special squares or focus blocks together.

 

Q. Tips for fussy cutting panel pieces?

Terry: I like to work with panels and some of them can be challenging to trim evenly. It wasn’t the case here but I always use the same technique. I draw a horizontal line and then a vertical line, intersecting them at the center point.  I then use my 12½” square-up ruler to trim the blocks evenly.

Q. Why did you choose the color coordinates you did?

Terry: I chose the blue for the chain to complement the background of some of the blocks and tie the whole quilt top together. I was able to incorporate the tiny floral and leaf prints into the frames while keeping the chain effect of the blue squares. I chose the green as the complement to the blue. When I first used the green as the larger square in the pieced block, it was okay but something was missing. The bright fuchsia was just the pop I needed to frame the center green square.

Q. Why did you use a small print for the outer border? Is the border treatment meant to mimic the center of the pieced blocks?  

Terry: While I often use a strong print for the outer borders, I wanted to keep the focus on the center of the quilt. The border combination was meant to mirror the center of the pieced blocks, framing the main design.

Q. What is your favorite thing about this quilt?

Terry: Definitely the colors! I love the depth of color Ro uses…it’s so rich.

Q. What do you envision using this quilt for?

Terry: I plan to keep this quilt by my favorite reading chair. The combination of the rich panel squares and the tiny prints of the frames is somehow peaceful and relaxing for me. The color combinations of the borders keep the look lively in my room.

Q. It looks like this quilt was a family affair, made by your husband, Dick?

Terry: My husband is a retired firefighter and paramedic. He is also a graphic artist and does all my pattern graphics. When I found myself incapacitated by shoulder surgery, he stepped in and made the quilt for me. He has lots of piecing experience and learned the techniques to successfully assemble a quilt top with sashing. He ended up testing my pattern at the same time. This was the first time his name appeared in print and he planned to show off his skills to his golfing buddies. He is a man of many talents and definitely has my back!

See the entire Windsor Woods fabric collection here.

Learn more about Terry and her designs here.

Find the kit for this quilt here.

Find Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting magazine here.