DECEMBER 2014
News and Trends from International Quilt Market
From anniversaries to apples…
OUR BREAKDOWN OF FALL
MARKET TRENDS
Another Quilt Market has come and gone, but the new product buzz (and the smell of those food court taco salads!) is still lingering in the air. With no shortage of fab new fabrics introduced at fall Market, we’ve got plenty of ground to cover for our post-Market eInsider. But before digging into textile trends, we’d first like to acknowledge a Market trend of a less tangible quality.
This year, it seems, is one of important anniversaries for businesses in the quilting industry—including Quilt Market itself, which celebrated its 35th year at the recently concluded Market in Houston.
Robert Kaufman’s Kona® Cotton Solids—a collection whose surge in popularity in recent years can be largely attributed to the Modern Quilt movement—celebrates is 30th anniversary this year. Hoffman California Fabrics marks its 90th year of business this year, and Brewer Quilting & Sewing Supplies is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Those are some impressive numbers!
Equally impressive were the number of fresh faces, new companies, and designs on the show floor this year. As in previous Markets of the last few years, the Modern Quilt aesthetic was ever-present, but we also observed what we felt were a greater number of both traditional and traditional-based patterns (including simple triangles…which were everywhere!).
UPCOMING SHOWS
2015
International Quilt Festival/Chicago
March 26-28
Classes begin March 26
Donald E. Stephens Convention Center
Rosemont, Illinois, USA
International Quilt Market/Minneapolis
May 15-17
Classes begin May 14
Minneapolis Convention Center
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Quilt! Knit! Stitch!/Portland
August 13-15
Classes begin August 13
Oregon Convention Center
Portland, Oregon, USA
International Quilt Market/Houston
October 24-26
Classes begin October 23
George R. Brown Convention Center
Houston, Texas, USA
International Quilt Festival/Houston
October 29-November 1
Preview Night October 28
Classes begin October 26
George R. Brown Convention Center
Houston, Texas, USA
For information on these or any other Quilts, Inc. shows, visit www.quilts.com
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SOUTHWEST MOTIF
One of the more obvious trends we noticed—a modern interpretation of the Southwest motif so popular a few decades ago—popped up in fabric collections across the design spectrum.
Following her popular Arizona collection (introduced at spring Market), designer April Rhodes introduced her newest for Art Gallery Fabrics, Wanderer, which features several prints that take as much inspiration from the Southwest as the collection’s predecessor. Among them, “Serape Fervor” offers a contemporary take on the traditional blanket-like shawl, while “Dreamcatching,” “Temple of Asiaq,” and “Temple of Allanque” lend their focus to motifs of a Native-American inspiration.
Wanderer by April Rhodes for Art Gallery Fabrics
The new Morning Walk collection from another Art Gallery designer, Leah Duncan, features a far less literal interpretation of the Southwest theme, but contains elements that can certainly read that way. Inspired by her return to Austin, Morning Walk includes prints like “Cacti Field,” “Desert Needlework,” “Bare Nopal,” and “Mojave,” all of which capture the essence of a near-but-not-quite-desert city.
Morning Walk by Leah Duncan for Art Gallery Fabrics
Among the designs in Riley Blake Designs’ upcoming 2015 Knits collection (arriving in March) is the thoroughly Southwest-inspired “Aztec” print, available in three color combinations: Black (high-contrast black and white), Teal (soft teal on a gray-blue background), and Hot Pink (vivid pink, teal, and salmon).
Aztec print from Riley Blake Designs
For her first collection for Windham Fabrics, designer Heather Givans offers up a playful depiction of an interesting theme…Succulents. This truly unique collection includes prints featuring succulent plants (including several varieties of cacti), text on “How to Care for Succulents,” a border print featuring a row of succulents and a sky of stars, and small geometric, floral, and leaf patterns.
Succulents by Heather Givans for Windham Fabrics
PAINTERLY PRINTS
Another trend we saw among new fabric collections introduced this fall were designs with a painterly quality, particularly in terms of floral prints.
The new Sunday Morning collection from Dear Stella contains several prints—“Sunday Morning,” “Impressions,” “Mosaic,” and “Aquatic Stripe”—that look like they could have been snatched from the canvas of an Impressionist painting in terms of both form and color, which skew pastel.
Sunday Morning from Dear Stella
Likewise, the Berries and Blossoms collection by Peg Conley for Clothworks features large-scale water-color-like florals and foliage, and additional monochromatic interpretations of the large prints. The collection features warm yellows, greens, oranges, and blues, as well as hints of gray.
Berries and Blossoms by Peg Conley for Clothworks
There are a variety of new designs from Michael Miller’s Spring Fling collection featuring painterly florals, including the sweet and candy-colored “Tallulah,” “Cordelia,” and “Delia” prints. But it’s the company’s Painterly collection that offers a truly literal interpretation on the theme. The collection includes prints featuring paint palettes, brushes, paint splatters, spots, and stripes in three colorways: Primary, Retro, and Happy Tones.
Painterly from Michael Miller Fabrics
TEXTURAL PRINTS
Michael Miller is also responsible for one of our favorite upcoming collections—Hashmark—a vibrant mix of flowers, stripes, and circles that takes its name from the gridded, textural element adding interest to each print. Hashmark is available in “Gem Tones” (gorgeous jewel tones), “Sorbet” (bright pastels), and “It’s a Girl Thing” (feminine pinks and purples).
Hashmark from Michael Miller Fabrics
We’re also big fans of the Woven prints from Camelot, part of their Mixology line, which includes solids and small prints that can be easily coordinated with their other collections. Like Michael Miller’s Hashmark, the Woven prints are great for adding visual texture without adding actual textured fabrics.
FRUITY FABRICS
Camelot has also recently added a collection sure to please both your eyes and your nose (yes, you read that correctly…nose). Their Scented collection features adorable and fun fruit, food-themed, and abstract prints that are also, well, scented. Among them are “Peachy Peach” (which smells like peaches), “Lemon Zest” (with lemon scent), and “Strawberry,” which smells like—you guessed it—strawberries.
Scented from Camelot Fabrics
Andover is also offering up their own “fruity” fabric with their colorful and graphic Juicy collection. It may not be scented, but you can practically taste the apples and cherries. Included are prints featuring rows of mod pears and apples, stripes of strawberries, and simple, but cute cherry/dot patterns. Juicy also includes coordinating stripes, dots, and text prints (which read like a list of fruity descriptive words and dishes).
Juicy from Andover Fabrics
Fruit also plays a fun and integral role in the new Small World collection by Rae Hoekstra for Cloud9 Fabrics. Among the bright, cheerful prints are three—“An Apple a Day,” “Lemon Drop,” and “Oh My Darlin’ Clementine”—featuring Hoekstra’s playful and modern take on the fruit motif. The collection also includes an eclectic and awesomely random mix of fruit trees, houses, hot air balloons, windmills, dachshunds, rain clouds, and umbrellas.
Small World by Rae Hoekstra for Cloud9 Fabrics
And now, having traversed the fabric landscape and covered everything from desert plants to dachshunds,
we’ll call our post-Market trends report officially a wrap!
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Houston, Texas 77063
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Telephone (1) 713.781.6864
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e-mail: shows@quilts.com
News and Trends from International Quilt Market