London Fashion Week is in full swing right now with designers showing their collections for the upcoming Spring and Summer 2010 season.
I’ve been browsing through some of the collections from the shows and a few pieces have really popped out at me.  There are some prints that seem to have been directly inspired by quilting patterns!  In fact, not just at one show, but several designers have created fabrics with strong geometric designs and patterns.
Nicole Farhi used a strong square print for some of her dresses:

I’ve seen some art quilts, made with batik prints that have a similar feel to …read more

Last week my daughter had a painting day with her fiber artist friends.  They met at one member’s home and made a fun day.  Would you call this a “modern” quilting bee of sorts?
They did their fabric painting using gelatin.  Beth made several pans of colorless gelatin to take with her.
Then they spread paint in various designs and even non-designs over the gelatin and pressed the fabric onto it.  These then dried.  She now has numerous circles of delightful color and design to create with.
At home, she made smaller circles and is doing the same with it, creating numerous colored …read more

QuiltingAndPatchwork.com
THURSDAY THIRTEEN

Nowadays, quilters and fabric artists use many types of fabric, depending on whether the item they’re creating is useable/wearable art or something they hang on the wall. 
Here are some fabrics used today and yesterday. Some may be named because of their content while others by the design.  Some you may decide to try; others may bring back memories of quilts of yesteryear.

Cotton
Polyester
Linen
Linsey-Woolsey
Silk
Satin
Velvet
Burlap
Rayon
Polyester/Cotton
Gingham
Calico
Terry Cloth

Do you have something else you use?  Do you have a favorite fabric?  How do you use it?
(Amazon image)
(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen

QuiltingAndPatchwork.com
 Dating fabrics, old and newer, can be a fascinating project.  Do you have fabric, either in your stash or in quilts, that you wonder how old it is and where it came from?  
 I’ve come across fabrics, quilt pieces and whole quilts in my mom’s accumulations and those of my husband’s grandmother.  Checking out those fabrics can provide family history and that of an era.
One of the books my daughter uses is Dating Fabrics, A Color Guide 1800-1960 by Eileen Jahnke Trestain.  In addition to color pictures of the fabrics, there is information about each era into which the book is …read more