Post Revisited: Top 5 Favorite Fabric Designers

Back in 2011, I did a post about who my Top 5 Favorite Designers were.  Since then, I've definitely gone in another direction with my style and what I find interesting in quilts. I thought it might be interesting to see how my taste has changed four years later, and to find out how yours has changed too!

1. Tula Pink (Free Spirit)
This should come as no surprise whatsoever - some things never change.  I'm a Tula girl.  She has yet to put out a line I don't like.  I think the worst I have ever thought about her lines is ambivalence (Bumble). My favorite piece du jour?  This floral from her new line Elizabeth:

I now own 2 yards of this.  That green though.  

2. Masha D'yans (Clothworks)
Another mainstay from my 2011 post.  I love her artwork; it's whimsical without being campy and has a beautiful painterly quality.  Her work goes to show that watercolors don't have to be quiet and delicate...they can be bold and expressive too.

Right now, I am playing with the panel from her line, Friends in While Places...What sold me on this?  THE LEMUR.

3. Michael Searle (Timeless Treasures)
What earned Michael a guaranteed spot in my Top Five?
This:

I love it so much I have already posted about it here. 

And this:

Yes, two pieces is enough to make it to my Top Five.  I own several yards of both. There are other designers who do dinosaur themed fabric, but not a single one has an eye to realism like he does.   I look forward to see what prehistoric awesomeness he thinks up next.

4. De Leon Design Group (Alexander Henry)
De Leon does one of my very favorite recurring lines - Folklorico. There have been many, many pieces to Folklorico over the years and new ones keep coming out.  As a matter of fact...I just got some more pieces of it (Sunday Stash for May 3, 2015)

We all know the sugar skulls they did, they've been everywhere.  But there's more than that.  La Catrina and Frida Kahlo, anyone?

Lucha! Lucha! Lucha!:

Well done, De Leon.


5. Kaffe Fassett Collective (Rowan) 
Okay, the great shin kick incident aside...Kaffe, Brandon Mably, Martha Negly and the other come and go designers in the Kaffe Fassett Collective do some really wonderful work. You know my love of strange color and pattern combinations, and they get it right for me.

Like this:

Kaffe Fassett, Shoal Fish

And this:

Brandon Mably, Lazy Daisy

They do have more subdued colors and designs...but where's the fun in that? ;-)

Honorable Mention:  Liberty of London
$42 per yard?!  Holy Sh.....
I have a soft spot for Art Deco style.  Look at this beauty:

So who are your some of your new favorites, and who have fallen from your Top Five?

Stash Sunday: Sometimes I Forget I Order Stuff

After I got my new job, I decided to reward myself in the way any quilter would...with fabric.

There was a delay in it getting here, so naturally I totally forgot I had ordered it.  So boy was I surprised when it was sitting there at home! Four pieces, lucky me!

Weee!!!

Dinosaurs by Michael Searle (Timeless Treasures).  The selvege has dino feet on it. 

Folklorico by De Leon Design Group (Alexander Henry) I didn't see the mustaches when I bought it, but hey.

Moonshine by Tula Pink (Free Spirit).  I am loving the red!

More Folklorico by De Leon Design Group (Alexander Henry)

Did you get any sweet pieces this week? 

WIP Wednesday: Tula Pink's 100 Modern Quilt Blocks

Well, after months of collecting and stalling, and after a stressful week at a new job, I decided to finally get a start on my Tula Pink project - 100 Modern Quilt Blocks.

I was inspired by a (non Tula Pink) quilt on Pinterest that was done up in red, coral, teal, navy, turquoise and white and I LOVED it.  So that is the color theme for my quilt. 

 I have one block to go on the crosses/pluses section, then I'll be on to the squares.  Some are high contrast, some aren't, none of them are trimmed or anything...I haven't chosen a sashing or anything yet, either

 

This is yet another one of those that I'll pick up and put down a lot, and that I am no rush whatsoever to finish...just one I'll work on when I need some decompression time.

One Bajillion Blue

I thought I had already taken pictures of, and posted this....but I didn't!  So Sam (click her name to check out her blog, Diary of a Mad Fabriholic), this one's for you!

I used one single block (I know, I had 100 to choose from and I only chose one, lol) from Tula Pink's 100 Modern Quilt Blocks

This wonderful book that I need to make more blocks from

I chose Number 77, because I thought it would be neat to make a larger block from 4 of these blocks.

I wanted to alternate lights and darks to get an optical illusion...And I needed to get rid of blue scraps.  So I chose 50 light blues, and 50 dark blues and when to town.  There are only 100 different blues here, but after all that picking, and cutting, and piecing, and pinning, and pressing, and assembling....it might as well have been one bajillion.  Hence, one bajillion blue.  

 

Right now the quilt is on display in the shop as a sample for the book.  The walls are pretty high (very tall ceiling) so from down here I know the picture isn't all that great....but you get the idea :-)  And no, your eyes aren't deceiving you....it does lack a binding. 

Another International Quilt Market Anecdote: Nancy Zieman

It's been a while since I made any real effort to write about what I saw and did at Spring Market this year, but lately at the shop one story has been thrown around more than usual in the form of either John or my mom busting my chops about it.  Not in a bad way, don't worry, but I'll get to that...It's kind of funny!

But it seems like as with any celebrity in any field, when you meet them in real life their star shines even brighter for you, or they get knocked down a notch or two.  For those of you all that have been reading this blog for a while, you might remember how I met Kaffe Fassett at Fall Market in 2011.  To paraphrase, he kicked me, noticed, looked at me, didn't say a word and then was extra snooty with people when he was in his booth signing books.  Looks like as his notoriety in the quilting world grew, he got too big for his britches and the rest of the quilting community peons like us. By contrast, his partner Brandon Mably was really friendly and fun to talk to, but for me, Kaffe unintentionally knocked himself down a peg or two for me.

This year, I met Tula Pink (who was very friendly and talkative), Verna Mosquera (also very nice) and Nancy Zieman.

John and I took a Schoolhouse class from Nancy, and it was fascinating to see her in person.  Sure, I'll admit I was a little star struck by thee Nancy Zieman.  I remember sitting there with mom when I was really little watching her show...and being a little kid (4ish or 5), slightly scared by her facial paralysis.  Once it got explained to me that she had an illness that caused it, I was cool with her. But I remember her show from the early 90s.  She's the one person I remember from quilting fame as a kid.

As we were walking around Market, John got to meet  Nancy face to face.  I was elsewhere, but according to him she was warm and friendly. He said that she told him she liked him because, and I quote, he looked like her kids.

I met her on the last day of Market in her booth.  I told her that I used to sit with my mom and watch her show and "help her quilt" by cutting up her scraps, and how nice it was to meet her.  Obviously Nancy was totally done with being friendly for the day because she delivered a gem of a response.  I swear to God, she just looked at me, expressionless and said, "How nice for you."  No smile, no thank you, or nice to meet you or I'm glad you have a nice memory of my show...just "How nice for you."  Looks like someone else has gotten a little too big for her britches too.

Meeting a few of the biggies of the quilting world has sure been an interesting experience!

Top 5 Favorite Quilt/Fabric Designers (in no particular order)

Even if you're a new(ish) quilter, after a while you start to know what you like. Over and over again you'll be drawn to certain patterns and fabrics, and again and again you'll realize, "Hey! Thats whatserface!" I'm starting to find that's the case for me. Over and over again I'm drawn to designs from the usual suspects, and a couple unexpected people too! So I'll share my (current) Top 5 Favorite Quilt/Fabric Designers (in no particular order). Who knows, you may find you're a fan too and didn't even know it! :-) Oh, and each person's name is in fact a link to their respective websites.

5. Masha D'yans

Masha is my favorite designer (not who you though it was going to be, huh?). She's from St. Petersburg, Russia and her work is mostly watercolor. Her artwork is just...well, beautiful, silly, sassy, sweet. For me I think it's the unusual blend of harsh line and gentle brushstroke and powerful buildup of soft color. It's really energetic and she has got a gift of capturing the both whimsy and depth in one fell swoop. She does more than just fabric, she also does cards, gifts, and clothing. I hope she gets more into doing fabric, I only know of 3 lines from her.

4. Patrick Lose

Patrick Lose is both a fabric designer and a pattern designer. He has several books out, and his speciality is fusible applique and seasonal designs. He does dabble some in clothing (mainly vests and jackets), but I think his strongest skill is with his quick seasonal projects. His designs are big and bold, whch make them both simple for beginners and really impactful to the eye. I absolutely LOVE his Santa, Rudolph and Pumpkin patterns! Okay, fine, the Pumpkin one really is my favorite. And of course, you know my feelings on male quilters...go Patrick!

3. Barb Tourtillotte

With the unfortunate exception of Muffin Tops ,I love her artwork too.  Okay, well, that artwork itself in Muffin Tops is good, but uh, I don't need to see an older version of myself in a bikini on fabric...ick. But her artwork is really quite beautiful. She's a little more traditional than I usually go for, in terms of her fabric themes. I don't usually gravitate toward florals or garden themes, but her florals are so, so well done. They're bright but delicate at the same time. What I think I like most about her stuff is her go-withs are always strong, either within the line or with something else, which honestly, cannot be said for all designers.

2. Sue Spargo

Sue Spargo is a quilter designer, no fabric. Before I talk about her work though, I have a funny/stupid little story about her (well, not her personally). Last July I was in an accident at an amusement park in Virginia that sent me to the ER with a back injury. After being pat on the head and told it was essentially nothing, I flew back home as planned and just dealt with it. Well the pain increased after a few days so I ended up going to the doctor here to be told, yeah, you're hurt (thanks, I didn't know) here's something to help deal with the pain. Welllllll I got put on pain meds and told that I needed to stay moving so I didn't prevent my back from healing properly. So I continued working at the shop. If you know me, then you know my opinion of pain meds - no thank you sir, I'll just have an Ibuprofen and I'll rub some dirt in it. One day at work I was in a lot of pain and I kept not taking my pain meds because they made me really dingy (and nauseous), but finally Mom got fed up with me not taking the meds and bugged me, and bugged me, and bugged me until I took them. I took them there and she had me stay just so she could make sure I wouldn't react badly to them and so I wouldn't drive (which I wouldn't anyway). Well, I was dingy all right. Since I went from moderately with it to not at all with it it, she had me put away patterns - a pretty fool proof job. Apparently, as I was putting away the Sue Spargo patterns, I decided that her last name fits the suffix "-head," to be used to describe a person who likes her work...much like a Jimmy Buffet fan is referred to as a "Parrothead." I guess I decided that as a fan of Sue Spargo's, I would then, if that rule stood, be a "Sparg-head." And that, kiddies, is why I hate taking pain meds. 

Well, it stuck. I'm a Sparghead! Her designs are bright, whimsical and fun. I'd say her style is folksy but with a contemporary touch - her work is anything but the dark, antique-y, tradional primitives we think of when we think of folksy. A few of my favorite pieces of hers are Greenbrier , Folklore and the Journey Quilt. I love the look of the bright wool. It just begs to be embellished. Hers are the kind of projects that I truly wouldn't mind working on for months in little bits as I have time. I find her style very freeform even though it is very clearly and meticulously planned out. Indeed, I'm a Sparghead for life! Oh, and did you know there is a Sue Spargo Quilt and Applique Design program that is compatible with EQ7? How cool is that?!

1. Tula Pink

Tula Pink is probably who you thought I'd name as my favorite designer (if you know me that is). True, she is very, very, very close! You may know her from her line Neptune, Plume, or Parisville. Her colors, the way she hides things in her designs...it's awesome! Her work is a little more contemporary, but with a touch of the traditional. I think what draws me to her work so much is the symmetry. Even if it's full of flourishes, it really is so well balanced and it just makes sense. It's whimsical without being disorderly, and my eye really enjoys that. It's also heartening to see a young designer really making it in the industry. What an inspiration! Oh, did I mention she has SHOES WITH HER FABRIC ON THEM?!



Well, now you know some of mine....now who are some of yours?