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Inside This Issue — Spring 2008

Winter 2008 CoverBrighten Up!

After a long cold winter, spring has come, bringing with it colorful new fabrics and designs. In keeping with the season, the staff of Fabric Trends has selected a wide assortment of brights, florals, and stripes to tempt even the most discerning fabric lovers. From Patti Carey's creative Flower Girl quilt (just perfect for a young girl's room) to Virginia Robertson's May Baskets (pieced batik blocks with a touch of appliqué, there's something for everyone and every taste.

We also have expert advice from some of the best quiltmakers around. For those of you who are overwhelmed by color choices, best-selling book author Joen Wolfrom shares her tips and techniques for planning a visually stunning quilt. Joen's method is so easy, you'll want to start designing your next project right away! What about organizing and using up your fabric stash? Quilt shop owner Pearl Louise Krush has lots of good ideas on that subject!

Have you noticed a proliferation of paisley? It's enjoying a renaissance, so quilt historian Patricia Cummings takes a look back at the design's roots‚ which appear to have originated in ancient Persia. You'll be intrigued to learn that British soldiers stationed in India eventually introduced paisley to Europe, where it became a fashionable trend!

Whether you make our quilt designs with the fabrics featured or whether you choose your own, we hope you'll find inspiration and ideas from this brand new issue of Fabric Trends and a way to brighten your world in time for spring!

Laurette Koserowski
Editorial Director

Patterns  

Diana's Garden
Quilt designed by Debby Kratovil for Blank Quilting
Chantal fabric designed by Diana Mancini

Bloom where you're planted! Big bright florals on the focus fabric cry out for large block centers, while the vivid tones of the surrounding floral and leaf prints further emphasize their beauty. A striped border print fences in the garden‚ and frames the quilter's work of art!

BEGINNER
Finished Quilt Size: 46" x 46"
Finished Block Size: 20" square
Number of Blocks: 4 (2 Block A, 2 Block B)

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Diana's Garden
Summer by the Lake

Summer by the Lake
Quilt designed by Pat Forke and Debbie Stojanik for Marcus Fabrics
Pieced by Sally Shimek and machine quilted by Brenda Hallmark
Bleeker Street fabric designed by Michele D'Amore

This classy, sophisticated mix of Jacobean florals, polka dots, and paisleys in cool shades of teal and green is so versatile that it can be used in a contemporary city apartment (as the name Bleeker Street implies) and also on the porch of a summer cottage by the lake!

INTERMEDIATE
Finished Quilt Size: 67-1/2 x 79"
Finished Block Size: 8" square
Number of Blocks: 50 (10 Block A, 20 Block B, 20 Alternate)

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Remembering Woodstock
Quilt designed by Benartex Design Team
Woodstock fabric designed by Isadora Phoenix

Here's a groovy quilt that any baby boomer would appreciate! Lively prints reminiscent of the Woodstock era take us on a journey down memory lane—back to the '60s and '70s when hot colors, bold paisleys, and big flowers were popular in fashion and pop art.

BEGINNER
Finished Quilt Size: 49" x 57"
Finished Block Size: 9" square
Number of Blocks: 9 (2 Block A, 2 Block B, 5 Alternate)

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Remembering Woodstock
Mint Julep

Mint Julep
Quilt designed by Pine Tree Country Quilts for Windham Fabrics
Dargate Lavender & Mint c. 1830 fabric designed by Margo Krager

Love of fabric and history was the motivation behind the production of Windham's Lavender & Mint c. 1830 collection. First printed over 175 years ago, swatches of the original designs were discovered in the treasured nineteenth-century Dargate book, which contains over 2,100 vintage fabric samples. The shades of mint green and lavender used in the reproduction fabrics are authentic period colors. Overlapping blocks between strips of trailing vines and lilac sprigs give this quilt a traditional elegance.

INTERMEDIATE
Finished Quilt Size: 61" x 72"
Finished Block Size: 6" square
Number of Blocks: 21 (12 Block A, 9 Block B)

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Flower Girl
Quilt designed by Patti Carey for Lyndhurst Studio (a division of Northcott Silk, Inc.)
Bubbles & Blooms fabric designed by Beverlyann Stillwell

The cheerful colors, jazzy flowers, and bright circles in this bed-size quilt were designed to brighten a young girl's room and to attract the next generation of sewers and quilters. Who could resist the colors and motifs in these fabrics‚ and the fun involved in combining them into a creative one-block quilt?

INTERMEDIATE
Finished Quilt Size: 72" x 88"
Finished Block Size: 16" square
Number of Blocks: 12

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Flower Girl
Opposites Attract

Opposites Attract
Quilt designed by Kathy Brown for Troy Corp.
Boys Will Be Boys Riverwoods fabric designed by Kathy Brown/Teacher's Pet

Who says you need fifty different colors to make a quilt? This striking design uses just two‚ bright blue and lime green. A variety of small-scale prints‚ including swirls, stars, and plaids‚ add interest to the overall project, which is fun and easy to assemble. You don't have to be young to enjoy this fabric collection by a former school teacher‚ just young at heart!

BEGINNER
Finished Quilt Size: 70" x 88"
Finished Block Size: 18" square
Number of Blocks: 12

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May Baskets 
Quilt designed by Virginia Robertson for Bali Fabrics
Batik Duets fabric designed by Princess Mirah Design

Celebrate the beauty of spring with Princess Mirah's exotic, batik designs—hand stamped and sun dried on the beautiful island of Bali. Soft, muted pink and yellow Log Cabin blocks subtly surround and complement appliqued basket and fan blocks in this positively glorious bed quilt.

INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED
Finished Quilt Size: 82" x 92"
Finished Block Size: 12" square
Number of Blocks: 36

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May Baskets
Fiesta Fiesta
Quilt designed by Laureen Neilly for P&B Textiles
Pop Parade fabric designed by P&B Design Team

It's easy to see how this lively little quilt got its name! The fabric colors and prints capture all the spirit and excitement of a fiesta‚ a celebration that encourages community spirit, art, and music through parades, pageants, and rodeos. So turn up the music, grab some fabric, and start creating!

INTERMEDIATE
Finished Quilt Size: 44-1/2" x 44-1/2"
Finished Block Size: 15-1/2" square
Number of Blocks: 4

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Dreaming of Spring
Quilt designed by Helen Weinman for Henry Glass & Co.
Miss Emma's Garden fabric designed by Anne Sutton

Welcome spring! Anne Sutton's Miss Emma's Garden collection has captured the look she loves—sweet, cottage-style prints. The soft color palette, combined with a variety of blooms and birds, coordinates beautifully for that relaxed cottage lifestyle. Wrap yourself up in Miss Emma's Garden and daydream about warmer, longer days!

BEGINNER
Finished Quilt Size: 64" x 80"
Finished Block Size: 16" square
Number of Blocks: 48

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Dreaming of Spring
Arrows Away

Arrows Away
Quilt designed and quilted by Cara Gulati for Sullivans International
Jumping Beans and Dancing Doodles fabric designed by Cara Gulati

Follow that arrow‚ arrows in every direction‚ and you'll see lots of colorful blocks! A kaleidoscope of swirls, stripes, and geometrics make this lively quilt perfect for a child's room, dorm room, or family room. The unique design requires only simple fusing and piecing‚ and a dash of imagination!

BEGINNER
Finished Quilt Size: 62" x 78"
Finished Block Size: 16-1/2" square
Number of Blocks: 12

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Spring Meadow
Quilt designed by Cate Tallman-Evans for RJR Fabrics
Painting Watercolor fabric designed by RJR Fabrics Design Team

Like a breath of fresh air, these watercolor fabrics bring the beauty of the outdoors inside so you can enjoy the colors of spring. Wildflower prints scattered on subtle rose, sage green, and sky blue backgrounds give this sweet, delectable quilt its windblown appeal.

INTERMEDIATE
Finished Quilt Size: 86" x 86"
Finished Block Size: 14" square
Number of Blocks: 25 (13 Block A, 12 Block B)

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Spring Meadow
Little Kimonos

Little Kimonos
Quilt designed by Jason Yenter for In The Beginning Fabrics
Shiki fabric designed by Kumiko Sudo

Oh, what to wear? How about a wardrobe full of luscious kimonos in shades of peach, green, and yellow‚—fresh and delicious as a bowl of rainbow sherbet? Each kimono showcases one of the fabrics designed by fiber artist and painter Kumiko Sudo. Kumiko's watercolor paintings of the four seasons, inspired by flower gardens in her native Japan, led her to create the gentle, fresh colors, graceful geometrics, and delicate motifs in this fabric line. Little Kimonos combines artistic and cultural Japanese memories with traditional American quiltmaking.

INTERMEDIATE
Finished Quilt Size: 50-1/2" x 63-1/2"
Finished Block Size: 12" square
Number of Blocks: 12

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Special Features

 

Issue Basics
Stashbusting Secrets by Pearl Louise Krush

Pillow Talk

Color: The Wow Factor in Quilts by Joen Wolfrom

A Brief History of Paisley by Patricia L. Cummings
  Editorial

Parting Shot

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