Hello, Repro! Barb Eikmeier's Manzanita Grove collection

Barbara J. Eikmeier is back with a new reproduction fabric collection! Manzanita Grove, her new line, features a large paisley-style iris print and a handful of appealing mini prints in coordinating colors. Gorgeous! 

Q. Tell us about your new Manzanita Grove collection.

BE: Quilt historians put these prints in the last quarter of the 19^th century. It’s a time period in quilt history that I’m particularly fond of, so designing this fabric collection is sort of a dream come true. It’s a reproduction red and green collection.

Q. What can you tell us about the iris print?

BE: This paisley-style print comes from a piece of antique fabric that I bought. It’s been reproduced close to the original with a little recoloring. The irises are pretty large—the flower is about 6” across. It works well for borders, of course, but it’s also really interesting when it’s cut up.

Q. Tell us about your reds and greens.

BE: The reds are called turkey reds, and the greens are poison or bottle green. I wanted some variation within the range of colors so that the fabrics worked well together. The darker green is probably my favorite—it almost reads as a solid with a bit of visual texture.

Q. You call this a red and green collection, but it has more colors in it.

BE: It does! I added the pink—quilt historians call it a double pink—because you see it in a lot of quilts from that timeframe. It also serves as a lighter red for quilt designs. The blue is called Lancaster blue, and I kept seeing it in quilts from the same time period. It’s quite bright, and hard to reproduce. The yellow—chrome yellow—might be one of my other favorites.

Q. Where did the Manzanita Grove name come from?

BE: In California where I grew up, there are Manzanita groves in the foothills between the Sacramento Valley and coastal range. They’re shrub-like evergreen trees with red bark. The colors reminded me so much of these fabrics.

Later this week, we'll be sharing Barb's Manzanita Grove Sampler and free quilt pattern! 

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