Tour our booth!

If your Facebook feed for the last few days has been filled with mentions of Quilt Market* and so-and-so's booth, and you're wishing that you could have attended the show, we can help! We've just returned from Houston and we're ready to share!

Your tour today: A look at our Fall Quilt Market booth in Houston, as well as the fabric lines and quilts/projects showcased in it.

A view of one side of the booth:

And the other:

And now the close-ups!

Left: "Indigo Stars" quilt designed by Tammy Silvers of Tamarinis using Bella Casa (download the free pattern here)

Right: "Bella Rosa" quilt designed by Terry Albers of Hedgehog Quilts using Bella by Ro Gregg (pattern available for purchase on Hedgehog Quilts website)

On the table in front, left: "Circles and Squares" quilt designed by Airborne Heirlooms using Cosmopolitan (download the free pattern here)

On the table in front, right: "Fabulous Frames" quilt designed by Airborne Heirlooms using the Elemental Lines collection (download the free pattern here)

"A Walk in the Park" quilt designed by Pine Tree Country Quilts using Ro Gregg's A Walk in the Park collection (download the free pattern here)

"Mesmerize" quilt embroidery design by Jayme Crow of Bella Nona using Fabri-Quilt batiks and Magnifico threads by Superior Threads (quilted by Marlene Oddie of KISSed Quilts) 

"Flags Forever" quilt designed by Airborne Heirlooms using the Bella Casa snack pack (download the free quilt pattern here). 

(Notice the jersey displayed by this quilt--displaying some hometown baseball pride as our Kansas City Royals played in the World Series during Quilt Market!)

"Bella Garden Stroll" quilt by Mara Quilt Designs using Ro Gregg's Bella collection (download the free quilt pattern here)

"Romance in Flight" designed by Larene Smith of the Quilted Button using the Who's Who collection by Ro Gregg (Check our website soon to download this free pattern!) 

"Windsor Woods Block of the Month" quilt designed by Pine Tree Country Quilts using Ro Gregg's Windsor Woods collection (ask for it at your local quilt shop)

"Monkey Wrenches" quilt designed by Airborne Heirlooms using the Shadows snack pack (download the free quilt pattern here)

"Asian Fans" quilt designed by Terry Albers of Hedgehog Quilts using Ro Gregg's Asian Fanfare collection (download the free quilt pattern here)

"Stonewall" designed by Donna Lynn Thomas using Marblehead by Ro Gregg (pattern available for purchase on Donna Lynn Thomas' website)

 A booth sample quilt made by our own Sue Linam using our Cuddle Prints Flannel, chenille style!

Birds in a nest! (Download the patterns here)

Meet our Magic Trees!
We wanted to create an organic, softly whimsical, magical garden feeling with these trees, so we had tiny birds and lights adorning the branches. We even had one nest with eggs in one of the trees. The idea continued through the booth with hanging birdhouses and stuffed birds in nests on the table (see below). The tree bases are wrapped with tubes covered in ruffles, and then we used ruffles on the thicker branches of the trees as well, and wrapped thinner branches with strips of fabric. 

And there's our booth! Thanks for coming along on the tour; keep an eye on the blog for more information about our new fabrics and patterns that debuted at Quilt Market!

*If you're wondering what Market is, twice a year Quilts Inc. holds industry-only shows for all things quilt related, and quilt shop owners see what's new and make purchases for their stores. The show floor is full of peeks at new fabric lines, quilting tools and machines, patterns, samples, and more...and don't forget a gallery section of show-stopping quilts on display!

All About Texture

Some quilts are all about color; others depend on texture to enhance the design. The Earthenware Tiles quilt, designed by Lisa Bassett, focuses on the patterns and textures of our Elemental Lines collection for interest. What a great design for the fall issue of Easy Quilts magazine--autumn is right around the corner and this quilt is sure to get you in the mood! We love how the earthy tones pop against the red wall in the photo from Easy Quilts below; the muted palette and eye-catching design would make a beautiful wall hanging in any home. 

"Earthenware Tiles" designed by Lisa Bassett and made/machine quilted by Heather Porter;
featured in Easy Quilts Fall 2014

Q. What attracted you to the Elemental Lines collection? Do you have a favorite print within the collection?

Lisa: I'm usually attracted to very bright colors, so I wanted to mix it up and work with a collection that is outside my preferred color palette. I think my favorite piece is 120-0251. I absolutely love the texture those spiky flowers create.

Q. Can you talk about how you came up with the quilt design?

Lisa: Our signature, if you will, is making quilt designs that look harder than they are. I started with an idea of a basic shape (in this case a square in a square) and played with ways to make a simple block look dynamic. Turning every other block gives the quilt nice movement. Plus, I included a little piecing trick in the pattern that makes it easy to sew two square-in-a-square blocks together without the usual bulk in the seams.

Q. Did you find it challenging to work in a muted palette? How did you make the palette work?

Lisa: As I said, I love working with bright and bold fabrics, so this was a bit of a challenge. Working on this pattern, I really had to focus on using the different textures to provide contrast in the quilt. Where I usually use colors to provide contrast (yellow and blue together, for example) I focused more on the different textures of tans and browns in the fabric. I did love having that nice black as the background, it really makes the lighter fabrics in the quilt pop. In the end I really enjoyed the neutral tones.

Q.  What do you like best about the quilt?

Lisa:  I love the way I pieced the square blocks together. Not to make it sound like bragging, I'm sure I'm not the first! I had fun putting this quilt together, it went together very quickly and easily.

Q. Can you talk about the machine quilting? 

Lisa: The quilt is very angular, so I liked the idea of using a quilting design that had some curves in it, to provide a little variation and movement. I decided to use an all over design to continue with the theme of a quick and easy quilt.

Q. What do you envision the quilt being used for? 

Lisa: Since it is a small quilt, I think it would look great being used as a large wall hanging. 

Find the entire Elemental Lines collection here.

Learn more about Relatively Creative Patterns designers Lisa Bassett and Heather Porter here.

Purchase the kit for Earthenware Tiles here.

Find Easy Quilts magazine here.

Design Your Own Palette: Home Dec Prints

We had so much fun sharing the bright and summery mix and match prints the other day that we're back with more of the same, this time featuring some of our more home dec style prints, both those with a traditional and a contemporary feel. 

Let us know what you think of these!

Main print: Bella

Coordinating prints (clockwise, from upper left):

Marblehead

Lauren

Elemental Lines

Piccadilly

Main print: Elemental Lines

Coordinating prints (clockwise, from upper left):

Mesa Verde

Bella Casa

Marblehead

Tweet

 Main print: Windsor Woods

Coordinating prints (clockwise, from upper left):

Lagoon

Marblehead

Christmas Basics

Batiks

See our mix and match bright palettes here.

Make Home Decor Hues Work for You

Neutrals are always high on the list of home decor hues, but how do you make them sparkle?

The key is a fabulous quilt design, such as the Elements quilt designed by the ladies of The Quilting Hen and featured in Quilt Trends magazine. The rich coppers, silvers and chocolate browns play off a creamy background in this multi-block design.

"Elements" by Diane Arganbright and Patricia Sue Nelson; machine quilted by Shawna Crawford;
featured in Quilt Trends summer 2014

Q. What attracted you to the Elemental Lines fabrics? Why do you think it works so well for a bed quilt?

Patty Sue: The rich, earthy tones of this collection immediately made me think of my Mom, who loves browns, and my Grandma, who loved gray. It is truly a collection that captures both of their personalities and fabric preferences. The elegant yet rustic look of these fabrics definitely belong in a quilt on a bed in a cabin or on a wood four-corner poster bed.

Q. How many different blocks are in this quilt? How did you come up with the layout?

Patty Sue: There are two blocks in this quilt. One of them is pieced as a half block and added to the sides of another block. This adds a new twist to a standard quilt block pattern. The border blocks are a smaller version of the blocks in the quilt center.

Q. What do you like best about the design?

Patty Sue: I like the combination of the pieced blocks and the whole fabric squares. This is a very nice size twin/full quilt that can easily be converted to queen by adding the block border to the sides of the center, making this a very versatile pattern.

Q. What was the most challenging part of designing or making this quilt?

Patty Sue: Designing this quilt was fun. The most challenging part of this quilt was the 36 hour deadline to get it cut out and pieced for the magazine!

Q. Can you tell us about the coordinating pillows?

Patty Sue: The pillows are the large and medium size of the same block pattern from the center of the quilt. I just used scraps from the top to make them and followed the block cutting and piecing directions from the quilt top.

Q. How is it machine quilted?

Patty Sue: The quilting is very elegant and ornate, which adds a nice classy touch to the quilt. The large feathers in the center cream are an eyecatching and very pleasing touch. Our long arm quilter, Shawna Crawford, did and outstanding job, as usual.

See the entire Elemental Lines collection here.

Find the kit for this quilt project here.

Find this issue of Quilt Trends here.

Come tour our booth!

Welcome to our little virtual tour of the Fabri-Quilt/Paintbrush Studio booth from Spring Quilt Market in Pittsburgh! 

We'll give you an overview and then get in close at some of the details so you can see the fabric and quilts featured.

From the aisle:

The chair covers are made from Imagine This! fabric. If you look closely, you can see the paint palette-shaped tables, echoing the Paintbrush Studio logo.

 A view from the opposite side. That's the Fabulous Frames quilt featuring the Elemental Lines collection right in the middle--you can find the free pattern here.

A view from the corner--love the ruffled skirt made out of the indigo prints from Bella Casa!

That's the Circles and Squares quilt using the Cosmopolitan collection on the back wall (find the free pattern here!).

And hanging off the top edge? A tote made using green cowhide with a touch of Cosmopolitan. And the yellow behind the tote? that's cowhide too! More on the cowhide to come...you'll love it!

The Designing Duo's Imagine This! played prominently in the booth--in addition to the chair covers, you can see one of Linda Carlson's quilts using the fabrics draped over the table here.

And a few more hanging on the wall, as well as some bags and purses. 

 A good look at the free pattern quilt, also named "Imagine This."

Rolls of our vibrant batiks displayed on the wall. Have you seen them? Check out all 70+ colors and designs here!

Remember Piccadilly from this post? Here it's used in a trendy patchwork vest.

We even had a garden growing--our "Snack Packs": packages of pre-cut 2-1/2" wide strips. What a bouquet those would make!

And finally, we introduced a program we're really excited about: an upcoming Block of the Month club featuring the new Windsor Woods collection.

Here's a photo of the BOM quilt; make sure you ask about it at your local quilt shop!

We hope you enjoyed this brief tour of our Quilt Market booth!

Elemental Lines

Have you paged through any home decor catalogs lately? It's all about texture. And rich earth tones. Subtle, yet beautiful.
We've got both right here, in our new Elemental Lines collection. 

Which one do you like best? They're all frame-worthy, we think.

So much so that the free pattern we're offering on our website uses just that concept. The "Fabulous Frames" pattern by Airborne Heirlooms uses 3 mottled prints to frame large pieces of the Elemental Lines fabrics--the perfect showcase!

"Fabulous Frames" by Maria Pate of Airborne Heirlooms

Download the free pattern and see more of the Elemental Lines collection here.
Fabrics available in your local quilt shop.