Kokka Preview

Tags

fall quilt market, Japanese fabric, kokka, nancy wolff, world quilt show

While at Quilt Market, we purchased several new designs from Kokka…  so new, in fact, that I can’t find any images of them online. These new prints should be shipped from Japan next month, and we hope to have them by January.  The only good thing about waiting so long for them to arrive is that it’s going to be like Christmas all over again when we open up the box, as I’m sure I will have forgotten some of what we ordered.  As you can see, we loved the animal prints… we included owls, cats, and elephants (which I somehow neglected to photograph) in our order.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As for kid’s fabric, we picked up several half-yard pieces from Nancy Wolff.  Nancy is an designer who has a written and illustrated a few kids books.  This is her first line for Kokka.  We will have them for sale at the quilt show this weekend.  Whatever we don’t sell at the show will go online early next week.

Tomorrow, we’re headed down to the World Quilt Show at Palm Beach County Convention Center.  It’s our first show as vendors, so we’re particularly excited and a bit nervous.  We set up our merchandise this weekend at my parents, and hopefully it goes as smoothly as it did  And if you will attending, do stop by and visit us!

 

Coming Soon: Echino

Tags

animal print, echino, International Quilt Market, Japanese fabric

Our big purchase from Quilt Market was lots and lots of lovely fabric from Japan.  We especially fell in love with the Echino collection, designed by Etsuko Furuya.

Made from a gorgeous cotton and linen blend, which makes it a perfect weight for bags, purses, and well as clothing.

I’m envisioning making this quilt out of the Echino for next spring’s quilt shows.

Houston, Re-hashed

Tags

elephants, embroidery, handmade, houston, patterns, quilt market, valori wells

Here are the highlights from our first trip to Fall Quilt Market. My camera’s memory stick has gone missing, so I only had my phone to use for photos. My apologies for the grainy images.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Favorite New Textile Designer: Marcia Derse. Alright, I confess… My mom knows her work, but she was new to me. Her fabrics are modern and colorful and beautiful, some with a batik-like flavor. She also had sewn up her fabrics from her new collection in a cool grid, each square separated by a strip of organza. Stunning.

Most Well-Represented Animal: Elephants! Who doesn’t love these intelligent creatures, with their complex, matrilineal social system? I’ve got a hunch that in 2012, they might go the way of the “Put a bird on it” trend. Elephants were everywhere, from Karavan to Kiyohara to Cloud9 (in their adorable Ed Emberley collection). And we fell for it, too… buying super-cool fabric (green and purple elephants, to be exact, with a white background) as well as this cute embroidery pattern from Penguin & Fish. Can’t find any pics of our elephant fabric, but it will be shipping from Japan in December and we should have it in stock by January.

Most Heartwarming Moment: Yes, Mom was giddy as a schoolgirl when meeting Valori Wells, who was ever so sweet. Love her! We enjoyed her Indian-inspired collection, coming this winter, which even includes some soft jersey material which she has made into a cute skirt pattern.

Cutest Kit EVER: SkipStone Creative had such an eye-catching booth (her logo? I adore it)! What I LOVE most is their Guinea Pig Tooth Fairy stuffie. Fingers crossed that it will be arriving just in time for our first show next week, and we’ll put it up on the site just as soon as we can.

Best Meal: Beef Pho from Huynh Restaurant. Living in coastal Florida, I miss all the delicious Asian foods we loved when living abroad and in Minneapolis. The pho was perfect for a blustery and chilly night, especially as I had neglected to check the weather forecast and didn’t think to pack a jacket, long pants, or even closed-toe shoes. Duh.

Only negative was that we had seats in the dreaded windowless row in the back of the plane on AirTran. For this reluctant flyer, it was almost too much. Yuck. AirTran did manage to redeem themselves (we flew stand-by on the way back, and we managed to make it home 9 hours earlier than if we had used the tickets I had booked, and without any additional charges).

Have a wonderful Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

New Arrivals: Maman

Tags

Cloud 9 fabrics, Maman, organic cotton, sewing

Introducing the latest line from Cloud 9 Fabrics… the lovely Maman.  Inspired by the illustrations of Anne-Marie Bossaert, the grandmother of Cloud 9′s co-owner, Maman has a vintage, European feel to it.  And, as with all Cloud 9 Fabrics, this is printed on organic cotton.  With a few friends expecting babies soon, these fabrics are going to sew up into some gorgeous gifts!

Mom and I are heading to Houston tomorrow for Quilt Market.  It’s our first trip there, and to say that we are excited is an understatement.  We can’t wait to see all the new lines for next year.

When we get back next week, we have several new arrivals to add to the Sundara Fabrics website, including funky Blue Q bags and of course, the Maman fabrics.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Diamond Mountain Quilt

Tags

1001 Peeps, fabric, Lizzy House, quilts, sewing

I just picked up our final quilt from the awesome ladies at the Sew and Quilt Shop, who yet again did a masterful (and affordable) job at quilting our top.  We still need to add binding, but once that’s completed, all of our “big” projects will be done for our first quilt show next month!

We used Lizzy House’s Diamond Mountain pattern from her book, 1001 Peeps: Five Magical Projects.  We love the 1001 Peeps fabric line, so we were excited to find this book on Lizzy’s blog.  This quilt itself was pretty challenging, but it has turned out to be a beautiful centerpiece for her fabrics.

Inspired by the stories from 1001 Arabian Nights, this fabric line is super-cute, and not just for kids, either!  I especially enjoy all the whimsical “peeps” – including genies and camels.  And the blender fabrics are sophisticated enough to be used on their own.


Unfortunately, I discovered that my memory stick is missing when I tried to take pictures of the quilt with my “real” camera.  My iPhone will do in a pinch, but I’ll take better pics when the binding is done.

Enjoy your day!

 

Featured Products: Pintuck Shoulder Bag

Tags

bags, Cloud 9 fabrics, Japanese fabric, sewing

All the items needed to make this beautiful bag are this week’s featured products.  Designed by Miho Takeuchi, this Soleil Pintuck Shoulder Bag pattern sews up into one of my very favorite (and most complimented-on) bags.  Easy to cut out and sew, this purse can be created in an hour or less. Inazuma’s purse handles are a perfect compliment, or you could make your own.  I’m partial to Olympus’ Soleil fabrics for this project, but I think this would also look really cool in one of the fabrics from the Miscellany line.

In other news, I just bought our plane tickets to Houston for Quilt Market at the end of the month.  It’s the first time we’ve ever been to Market, and we are really looking forward to it, especially meeting with Cloud 9 Fabrics.  I just got some samples from their new Maman line.  So beautiful… especially if you love love retro-inspired prints!

And don’t forget, we are offering free ground shipping for US orders for the next couple of days!

Straight from Delhi

Tags

block-printed fabric, floral cottons, India, paisley, sewing

Our long-awaited block-printed fabrics have arrived!  Picking these designs was a long and stress-inducing process, as my mom and I chose the blocks and the colors (and anyone who knows me can vouch for my indecisiveness).  So pleased to see how well they turned out!

It will be a few days before we get them up on the Sundara Fabrics website, as we have to photograph them, write descriptions, and all that fun stuff.

And once they are up, I promise to share with you the steps the amazing craftspeople used to create these!

Floral Kalamkari Fabric

Tags

cotton, crafts, fabric, India, kalamkari, sewing

Kalamkari, a fun tongue-twister of a word, is a style of Indian fabric.  Persian for “pen” and “work,” kalamkari  have been in demand for centuries. Originating from the south-eastern coast of India, European merchants would purchase kalamkari (also known as chintz to the English) on their way to what is now Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Phillipines.  Spice traders in the islands of South East Asia preferred to exchange their wares for these fabrics.  Around this time, kalamkari was also exported to Persia where they gave the name for these painted fabrics.

Traditional kalamkari designs were first drawn on a cotton background, then colored with vegetable dyes.  Today, artisans block-print the material, then use the kalam to add detail. The hand-made nature of kalamkari guarantees that there are no two pieces exactly alike.

With a look that ranges from the exotic to traditional, I’ve been noticing kalamkari prints everyone.  Pottery Barn uses them in their home bedding and Sundance has a line of pricey quilts that lends itself to the style.

Our kalamkari can be found here.  Priced around $5.00 a half-yard, these warm-toned fabrics would make gorgeous accessories or clothing for this time of year.  Don’t forget that we are offering free ground shipping in the continental US until the 15th of October!

Info on kalamkari came from Indian Textiles, by John Gillow and Nicholas Barnard.

Cheers!

We have lots to celebrate!  Sundara Fabrics’ website is up and running! We’re offering free ground shipping (with a minimum order of $25) anywhere in the continental US until October 15.

My mom (and co-owner of Sundara Fabrics) retires this week.  We drove over for her retirement dinner on Tuesday night.  It was really fun to see her friends and co-workers, some of whom had taught my sister and I when we were small, for the first time in years. Change is always hard, and I know she’s leaving her job with mixed feelings. She’s always been full of energy and ideas, and Sundara Fabrics is a perfect compliment for her talents and background.

Cheers, Mom! I’m excited to be working with you on your next adventure!