|
It's been a moment since sharing since life has been so busy! 2024 has been a whirlwind and one of my highlights has been a trip to Paris with my lovely daughter (AMAZING!). Lots of house project too. But I've been having so many happy times lately that I've been soaking them up and not worrying too much about posting to social media and blogging because I sometimes need to be more present in the moments of my life. I bet you understand! However, I am super happy to share more info about SUPERBLOOM! And the fun of Quilt Market. The next post will focus on the new cross stitch with this group. Oh, all the stitchy fun!  A couple years ago I did the Wild Blossoms collection with an ombre print of wildflowers that took up the entire width of the fabric, 42", selvage to selvage. There are so many beautiful wildflowers out there and it seemed time to do a sister collection with some other wild beauties. Meet my sister collection, SUPERBLOOM.  "A superbloom is a rare desert botanical phenomenon in California and Arizona in which an unusually high proportion of wildflowers whose seeds have lain dormant in desert soil germinate and blossom at roughly the same time. The phenomenon is associated with an unusually wet rainy season."- according to the contributors to Wikipedia. All I know is driving through the areas of California at certain times can be an explosion of color, if you time it right. That is quite SUPER! And colorful.  I have a mix of poppies, black-eyed Susans, coneflowers, asters and scruffy little blooms that I have no name for, going across the fabric on the entire 42" width, selvage to selvage. This time we have TWO colorways of the width-of-fabric print. The backgrounds are either the "pastel" version with lighter pinks and peaches and lavender color, or the "jewel" tones of deeper purple, red, and indigo.   My main single flower is the red Poppy. My first collection for Moda Fabrics was Poppy Mae and this brings back those big bright blooms with a scale change and some updates. Coordinating fabrics include a print of makeshift vases like watering cans and pitchers to use as flower display, a posy party watercolor print, coneflowers tossed, scribble stripes, a leafy print, butterflies flitting among the tiny leaves and 8 colors of Dotty Thatched as pretty blenders or backgrounds.  Color families are the creams, pinks, red, purples, blues. It is fun to mix periwinkle and dalia and freesia and indigo or group cream, soft pink of carnation with lively fuchsia.  Also coordinating with the group are the blender prints of 8 colors of Dotty Thatched!   I was excited to create some quilt projects that can utilize the WOF print. I designed 4 new quilt patterns: Gathering Wildflowers, Centerpieced, Fiona's Daisy Chain and Turn Signal. Gathering Wildflowers uses fat quarters or 1/4 yard cuts with the ombre print and a background fabric to make a wall/lap size quilt. A perky row of flowers sits upon the ombre print, in honor of the colorful mix of florals. All the quilts use traditional piecing (not foundation paper pieced). Moda is kitting the dark background version.   Fiona's Daisy Chain looks at what it is like to cut that big ombre print up into squares to be used within a background of an Irish chain quilt. You can still arrange them to get the ombre effect or stagger them for a scrappier look. You can also use squares from a Layer Cake in the spaces that are shown with the ombre print. By selecting corner fabrics in the 9-patch that are closer to the background, a daisy flower emerges for the chain. I had a lot of fun playing with the colors on this one and could not decide which one to make. So why not make them all??   Centerpieced is a table runner of 40", 60", or 80" in length, depending on the size you need for your table. Little 3" blocks run down the center of this runner, letting big borders of wildflowers be a good size and color contrast. I've used a 5" square Charm Pack for the center blocks. I recommend using 1" finished triangle paper for these blocks. That makes the little blocks easier. The backside of these runners is the perfect place for the "Makeshift Vases" print.   And the final quilt is the most modern of the designs: Turn Signal. This is a Jelly Roll quilt using 2 1/2" strips that turn and have strong direction. They are set off with panels of the ombre print on the top left and bottom right. I used the darker prints for the left and lighter prints on the right. I also think this would be striking as only one vertical half as a wall quilt, hanging in a high ceiling area or vaulted ceiling or above a fireplace.   There are cross stitch projects too but that will wait for the next post. It is hard to express how touching it is to go to Quilt Market, year after year, and see familiar faces and friends from afar. I enjoy my time with Moda Fabrics and we have some meetings and do some goofy things. The other designers are delightful and I consider myself extremely lucky to be a part of this "family."  Time with designer friends is a treat!  I was also very excited to meet Emily Van Hoff since my daughter introduced me to her fabulous sculptural quilted pieces on instagram. I am so glad Moda has partnered with her to make her Groove collection.   Some of my favorite people to see at Market? The women from the mill in Korea who do such an amazing job at bringing our artwork into reality!  My booth! Can you say FLOWERS? That is Superbloom in full bloom!   I had a lot of fun meeting Linsee of The Quilt Spot. She does sewing themed jewelry that is wonderful! I am working on a design for a really cool round cross-stitch friendly medallion she carries that I hope to have at Quiltcon!  The bubbly groups from JK Quilts, Oh Sew Sweet, What the Fabric?    And my own moment of Fan-Girling over the Primrose Cottage ladies! I saw Nettie and ran after her and met everyone else after. They are all so lovely! I am in love with their beautiful cross stitch designs!  The Moda overall booth was a Christmas wonderland theme. Lots of spirit and cheer everywhere. Don't you love those Moda peeps?    An elf even snuck into my booth!!  I was very excited to share some new cross stitch designs and the next post will cover those! I think I am still settling in from the trip and the excitement and all the adrenaline rush of each day. I hope you enjoyed seeing some of my Superbloom group, the quilts, and a little peek into Quilt Market days!  Superbloom will ship in April 2025 to quilt shops. Let your local shop know if you want them to order it (orders go in now for the mill). I'll be getting new patterns up in the shop as soon as possible. Gathering Wildflowers and Centerpieced will be up soon at RobinPickensInc.com or check your local quilt shop. Let the blooming begin!!
11 Comments
2022 is about ready to exit and I've got so much to share from the end of 2022! At the end of October, we finally had a Quilt Market in person again! I loved the time with folks at the Moda booth and being able to see shop owners in person again filled my soul with happiness! I do really look forward to Quilt Market every year. Nothing else really compares to in-person time with other designers, shops, and Moda. This year I also took some business seminars so there was good learning too!  I was excited to show my new line of Wild Blossoms, which features wild flowers of poppies, daisies, clover, Queen Anne's Lace, Bluebonnets and more. The line has a main print which spans the width of fabric, selvage to selvage, in a rainbow display of the flowers.   I revamped Jubilant Song with enough changes to retire it and rename the new version Joyful Trio. The one behind me has the width-of-fabric print going through the middle to make 3 columns of color. You can also use fat quarters of big prints in those sections. To the right is Bar Hop with long panels from the rainbow print and a Layer Cake or Charm Packs to make the smaller bars. On the chair are the NEW bias binding tapes made with Thatched fabrics! They come on a roll and are sold by the yard. A great way to have fast binding that matches with the Thatched widebacks (plus a few more colors).  What a surprise to see Josh Dunn in a shirt made up in Wild Blossoms (with the bees on the ends of the collars) and Jenny Brodeski in a fantastic swing skirt! Those Moda people do it up in style!  I also love to see the fantastic women from the mill in Korea. They make magic happen with the fabric.  Many thanks to all who stopped by. I was delighted to see so many shop owners from other countries and reconnect with many friendly faces. Speaking of friendly faces, I enjoyed time with my roommate Pam Selkirk AND her sweet Sophie bunny!   Wild Blossoms will be shipping to shops in March 2023. Look for the selection of yardage, precuts and new patterns!   For years, tulips have been my favorite flower. They have such elegant long stems and leaves. A group of tulip stems, with buds not yet opened, arching over in a gentle curve, creates a lovely sight. I’m fascinated by how they can be so pretty in the simplest of shapes with a single color, or have big multicolored and striped petals with ruffled and fringed edges. I am so happy to share some images of the new group coming in Spring 2022, Tulip Tango.  Imagine those flowers saying, “it is time to put on our flowing dresses and dance”. And not just any dance, but one where they are the star of the show in rich color and graceful, dramatic shapes. Big luscious blooms in the main prints show off on cream/linen, cranberry, olive/chartreuse green, princess pink and the dark shaddow gray.  The little dots that are in the backgrounds of the main prints also found their way into my Thatched backgrounds, making a new "Dotty Thatched" that has a little extra layer of whimsy and play. Those dots carry through into little bits of background in the paisley print, love butterflies with tulilps, tiny tulips and swirling leaves coordinates.    Here is a peek at the paisley print with arcs of tulips blooming inside the shapes. The swirling leaves, seen in the center of the tulip block above, mimics the graceful arch of stems and those long elegant leaves. I love using the swirling leaves on bindings where I cut it across the leaves to give an organic striped look to the edges of the quilt.  With tulip fabric, I had to design a tulip quilt! These blocks are my samples to try out my long leaves and stitch-and-flip blooms. I'll share more pictures in the next post of this Tulip Season quilt design. The other new quilts are called Tightrope and Criss Cross Kisses.  Normal mix of precuts coming: Layer Cake, Charm Pack, Jelly Roll, Mini Charms, Fat Eighth and Fat Quarter bundles. Each of my three new quilt patterns can use a Layer Cake vs the Fat Quarters or Jelly Roll they are specified with. And of course yardage for backgrounds. The Dotty Thatched in cranberry, shaddow, chartreuse, sprig, washed linen and cream match the color families of regular Thatched in those shades. That also means that the Thatched 108" widebacks of cream, washed linen and shaddow are a perfect match for quilt backings.   Tulip Tango will be shipping from Moda Fabrics to quilt shops in Spring of 2022, hopefully in April. Just in time for springtime blooming!
Today I get to share my newest fabric line for Moda Fabrics, SOLANA. It is based on sunflowers and warm, happy colors. When I designed this fabric, I had no idea how much I would need and enjoy working with this optimistic group of fabrics at this particular time.  Solana is a Spanish word for "the sunny side" of a mount or valley. This seemed like a perfect name for a group about sunflowers because they are always looking to the sunny side, always reaching up to that sunshine.  This collection feels like it celebrates simple pleasures. Ladybugs crawling on leaves, tall blooms looking pretty yet bold, linear illustrations of fanciful sunflower centers... It does remind me of being on family vacations in the summer, driving across country with the windows down and the warm air rushing at my face. I've included a painting of a rural scene in this collection that reminds me of those car trips and seeing miles of farmland and fields.  Solana includes 4 main colorways of cream/buttercup, green, peach/clementine, and pond and horizon blues. The large florals are accompanied by a criss cross ratan pattern, tall stalks, ladybugs, varietals illustrations, sunflower seeds, and of course more Thatched blenders. This collection will be shipping to quilt shops in October 2020.  A very exciting addition to the line this time are two PANELS! Each of these panels have a quote in the center and are a yard in width. Want to have some fun with free-motion quilting? Or add blocks for borders and make these the center of a bigger quilt? I can't wait to experiment more with these and share my progress with them!  The quotes are "Wherever life plants you, Bloom with Grace" (French Proverb) and "Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows. It's what Sunflowers do." by Helen Keller.  It's been a different experience to prepare for Quilt Market in a virtual way. Today I would have been back home, just arriving from a late night flight after seeing all you wonderful quilty peeps at Market. I miss that experience. It's like reuniting with family. But I am learning new ways of connecting with people over the internet and video. Speaking of video...this is what my dining room ended up looking like to make my market video! I'm still cleaning up...  I'll post more about my quilts with this group, as well as my progress with my panels. I hope you are all finding some sunny inspiration in your days and can look to the bright side! -Robin  Can you imagine a meadow with hearty, deeply colorful blooms like the red and pink sunset colors across the sky? This is what I thought of while I visited my mother last summer and we walked through the gardens. The coneflowers were in full bloom in the warm summer sun with their plump centers drawing in the bees and butterflies.   I love the proportions of coneflowers and those big full cones, full of nectar, and colorful petals that hang down with a lovely curve in warm red, fuscia and rich sunset shades. The flowers seem as if they are always looking up to the sky in anticipation of the happy sun or as a welcome for the bumblebees.   The beautiful shape of the coneflower inspired this collection and I couldn’t resist adding in those bumblebees- so plump and fuzzy, just like the flower centers! The fabric group also includes little drawings that show the coneflowers and bees in sweet illustrations or dancing within paisley shapes. Watercolor textures, sprigs of plants and sketchy oval dots compliment the lively group.    Painted Meadow has 4 colorways of cream, pinks, green and teal. It is available in precuts of Layer Cakes, Charm Packs, Jelly Rolls, Fat Quarter Bundles and Mini Charms. It was shown at the Kansas City, MO Quilt Market 2019 with Moda Fabrics and will be shipping to quilt shops in October, 2019.   Enjoy the sunset colors of Painted Meadow with coneflowers and the buzzing of plump bees as you feel the warm summer sun…   I've never been to Kansas City so I was really looking forward to visiting a new city, and being there with my husband and enjoying some BBQ and time away from the daily routine. Market requires numerous weeks of preparation so by the time we get there, I'm ready for a the excitement of the show and seeing lots of quilt people! And did I mention BBQ? Plenty of good eating on the trip! A whole day early (and no missed flights this time!) gave us time to rest, explore the city a little and get some sleep before the big set-up. Yup- barbeque was on the menu and it did not disappoint! braised and bbq'd everything and enjoyed the ambiance of the Power and Light district.  We stayed at the Marriot near the convention center, across the street in the older section that was renovated (the former Muehlebach Hotel). The rooms were lovely and renovated and the lobbies were elegant. I loved that we had the top floor so the ceilings were really high and the light was great! I had a great time taking photos of some of the quilts in the room before set up.  So what can you fit in two suitcases? Turns out you can fit: booth fold up boxes, seed packets, 6 quilts, 6 hangers, a quilted tote, promo flyers and clothes and toiletries for two people for 5 days. Not bad.  From a blank canvas to a quilted world! I had my three new quilt patterns, Beanstalk, Kyoto Steps and Picket on display, made up in my new fabric line, Painted Meadow. The three main quilts on the wall and left quilt ladder were longarm quilted by Marion Bott. Don't you love the textures? The Kyoto Steps on the ladder in teal and the pink and green Picket (seen in hotel room) were longarm quilted by Sally Corona at Corona Quiltworks.  For a little giveaway this time I got coneflower seeds (did I mention my new line Painted Meadown is based on coneflowers??) and made up seed packets. I hope the seeds made it all over the globe and into fresh dirt, ready to grow and bloom!  Sarah Huechteman made up a sample of the Beanstalk quilt for Moda and she made me a little gift with some of the leftovers of the Painted Meadow fabrics! How adorable is this little Bitsy Box?! The pattern is from Ticklegrass Designs. Precious!!
 What really makes market amazing for me is the time I have with the Moda people and the other designers. I am so grateful to have this experience and company to work with!
I had a great time seeing shop owners and visiting at the Moda party. Another market done and now its time to plan for the next one! Oh! And if you are wondering, Painted Meadow will be shipping to quilt shops in October 2019. Jelly Roll-friendly and quick to piece, this Showering Stars quilt is full of drama!  I knew with the Sweet Pea & Lily collection for Moda Fabrics (ships in Feb/March 2019) I wanted a quilt that used deep purple to enhance the theatrical nature of the purples in the prints. One thing I enjoy with this group is the purples are in both cool and warm purples. I needed to find the right deep purple to show off their splendor.  I have now fallen in love with Moda Bella Solid PRUNE 238. Its rich and vibrant and LUSCIOUS! Its the glorious deep purple/plum color as the background. Did I mention I bought a bolt of it? Not sure what I'm doing with the rest but I can't wait to use it as an accent to other prints.  But what would Showering Stars look like reversed, with a light background? I haven't made it this way (yet) but thought I'd give some computer inspiration for other colorways. I used a soft gray in the star points and dashes to let the colors in the star trails feel more colorful and sparkly.  And going all-out color with this turquoise background and light green star points. Completely different look but all of these are using the same Sweet Pea & Lily prints in the star trails.  This quilt was my main booth image at the Houston Quilt Market this past fall. It was fun to have such a different color play with this collection! One part I like is the greens and grays still transition through from previous collections.  Check your local quilt shop for the Showering Stars pattern, along with Sweet Pea & Lily fabrics! Patterns are also available at my online shop if your local shop is not carrying it.  Find a falling star and make a wish! And check back for more Sweet Pea & Lily quilts!    Sweet Peas are a lovely combination of elegance and simple delicacy combined with theatrical colors and rich tones. Purples make me think of royalty, drama and celebrations. Deep purple, lavender, warm pink and plum colors look luscious in these Sweet Peas, and feel special in their blend of sweetness and strength. Lily of the Valley with graceful hanging bells of little pops of creamy color add a charming mix to this collection, “Sweet Pea & Lily.”  Additional pink, plum and purple Astor flowers, fluttering butterflies, swirling leaves, tiny branches, ornate medallions, and sketchy lines all joined in the sketchbook and watercolor studies for this collection. The group celebrates the range of warm to cool colors of purples and how they play well with pinks and greens. There is still a touch of gray to balance the brighter colors, as well as to tie in with past collections. It makes me happy to remember that we often would call our daughter "Sweet Pea" (and sometimes still do) and I wish I had these fabrics when she was younger to make a quilt to go in her room with the cream and pink walls. But now, even as she has gotten older, she can enjoy the deep purples and greens and still likes all the lovely flowers!  Sweet Pea & Lily will be showing at the fall Quilt Market in Houston. I've been busy measuring, cutting, and sewing my new quilts to go with the collection. There are four new patterns I'll be showing soon! If you are in Houston for Market, come on by the Moda booth designer sections. I'll be in booth space 235 and look forward to meeting with you!  Precuts for this collection from Moda Fabrics include Fat Quarter Bundles, Fat Eighth Bundles, Layer Cakes, Jelly Rolls, Charm Packs and Mini Charms. The collection will be shipping to shops in March 2019.
Oh! One more thing for quilt shops! Excited that my quilt patterns are now being carried by both United Notions AND Checker Distributors! How did I not share this earlier? I was probably writing patterns and sewing and finishing calendars. But its never too late, right? This is the overview of the quilts I launched to go with my Dear Mum collection for Moda Fabrics at the Fall 2017 Quilt Market. And Dear Mum is in shops now!!  Left to right is Harlequin, Starlet, Equalizer and a refresh of Tokyo Terrace in Dear Mum. I thoroughly enjoyed working with the Robin's Egg blue/aqua color in this group and the Tokyo Terrace re-fresh was an idea I had rambling around in my head. It was a last minute decision to add that one in (because there is not enough sewing to do before market!) and I'm so glad I did. I wanted to use that lovely Bella Solid Dovetail with the mums and I love the warmth of that gray.   Here's my booth with the quilts I designed and the totes I made using Amy Sinabaldi's Riverside tote pattern. The quilt on the chair is from Tula Pink's 100 Modern Blocks book and I used my previous lines on it. Equalizer got to hang up in the sales area!  The beautiful applique quilt is by Barb Cherniwchan of Coach House Designs. She makes stunning quilts and kits.  A fun moment for me was meeting Tula Pink and taking this picture with her with my version of her City Sampler quilt using the 100 Modern Blocks book she made. I'm using all Poppy Mae and Blushing Peonies on this, mixed with solids.  And on the last day a bit of fun playing on the APQS Millie longarm! Drawing on fabric- oh yes! Market is wonderful for seeing new things and lots of inspiration.    Now that Quilt Market has passed, I'm thrilled that I can finally share my Dandi-Annie line for Moda Fabrics! The glowing golds and yellows have been warming up my office and brightening my days. This was a special collection to design because it reminds me of growing up and seeing the cheery yellow blooms pop up in our yard. As kids, we loved the simple happy flowers that could be twisted into necklaces and rubbed into our skin to make a lovely golden color. But even better than the yellow blooms were the mature puff balls of seeds. We knew our dreams would come true if we could blow the seeds off the stem in one breath.  After blowing the seeds off the dandelion stem, we would watch our seeds travel off in the breeze in a graceful dance. Hopefullness. Sunny days. Being a kid and finding the beauty in a what others considered a weed. Those are the memories and wishes wrapped up in the threads of Dandi-Annie. Little birds also pay a visit in this group, jauntily picking their own bouquet of dandelions. Flyaway seeds, some woven textures and plaid, and a lattice repeat that makes me think of cottage gardens...cheery coordinates for a happy group.  Warm colors fill the group with golds, pinks and greens and they are balanced with the cool of gray. The line still coordinates with the colors from my previous collections so I'm sure to try some mixing in of Blushing Peonies and Dear Mum and Poppy Mae. The more the merrier in the garden!
I hope you like Dandi-Annie as much as I do. I think its my favorite Moda group so far! It will be arriving in quilt shops in November 2018. Stay tuned for QUILTS! |
About ROBINDesigner of colorful florals and Thatched basics for Moda Fabrics . Modern to transitional quilt designer, cross stitch designer, sewist, crafter. I am proud to be a designer for Moda Fabrics!
Shop Robin's Designs
 I am an affiliate for Fat Quarter Shop and may earn a small commission through my links. Thank you for your support!
Check the March 6, 2017 Episode!
Categories
All
Archives
November 2025
© Robin Pickens Inc. All rights reserved. No images may be reproduced without permission.
|
RSS Feed
