Pure Sophistication

The collections we've shown you recently have showcased the bold, fun side of Kanvas. While we're all about playfulness and fun colors, Kanvas has another side, strutting down runways with sophistication and glamor. 

Allow us to introduce "Gilded Butterflies,"

made from the Touch of Luxe collection. 

Designed by Joanie Holton and Melanie Greseth,
this lap quilt is featured in the January-February issue
of Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting magazine.

Here's a closer look at a few of the rich, metallic gold-detailed Touch of Luxe prints. See the entire collection and find a free pattern here. 

Fleur Cream

Laser Gold

Wings Gold

Harlequin Cream

p.s. Have you entered the giveaway over on our Facebook page? Hurry; it ends on Saturday!

Under Construction

The classic nursery rhyme goes: 

What are little boys made of?

Slugs and snails and puppy dog tails.

Maybe so, but we know what little boys (and girls) love. 

Construction equipment.

Tools.

Our new line,

has it all. 

Dump trucks, cement mixers, bulldozers, road signs, 
hammers, wrenches and nails!

Click here to see larger swatches of the entire Under Construction collection from Kanvas.

Use it for kid quilts and pillowcases (the tire tread stripe would be the perfect cuff on a pillowcase!), or even large floor pillows for a play room or bedroom.

For some smaller sewing projects, check out the tutorials found at these links:

•  Round-bottomed storage bins from the blog Film in the Fridge. Great in any size for containing small toys.
• Toss bean bags from the blog Sugar Bee Crafts. Toss boards optional. You can use hoola-hoops or even circles of yarn or rope to set up an easy toss game.
• Lined drawstring knapsacks from the blog I Have to Say. Perfect for carrying around childhood "treasures" like matchbox cars, crayons, small rocks...

Houston...or is it the Hamptons?

Our previous post showed a few details from the Kanvas Booth at Fall Quilt Market, where the Lili-fied collection debuted. The show may have been in Houston, but the Kanvas booth, decked out in the pink and orange color story of Lili-fied, sported a vacation feel, mixing bright, contemporary blooms with patio furniture and a hammock! It's easy to imagine yourself relaxing on a cushioned chair, shaded from the sun by a beautiful umbrella, and sipping a cool drink while you admire the view of Long Island Sound.

Meet the creative genius behind Kanvas as they talk about Lili-fied, their Hamptons-inspired booth, and what's coming next!

Modern Color: Lili-fied

If you're looking for an early glimpse of bold spring color and stylized, modern designs, look no further than Lili-fied, a new Kanvas collection designed by Greta Lynn.

The collection comes in cool, crisp blues and greens:

And sizzling hot pinks and oranges:

Lili-fied filled the Kanvas booth at Quilt Market in October, bringing home a first place award.

The collection has been attracting fans ever since, and it's now available in quilt shops. We asked Greta to talk about her new fabric line and the inspiration behind it.

How did you come up with the idea for Lili-fied?
I am always following the trends for fashion and home furnishings. I love to merge the two together. I was inspired by the color feeling and pattern play of  70's fashion designers. Maria Kalinowski (of Kanvas) and I always love to brainstorm and come up with new themes and ideas, and this was definitely a theme I wanted to do.

Tell us about the color palettes you chose.
I  used two different color stories of bright, fresh and clean colors for this collection. The first uses pinks, fuchsia, orange and an accent of green. I mixed these colors with white to give it a modern look. For the second color story I went for a cool feeling, using turquoise, aqua, blue and lime.

What is your favorite print in the collection?
My favorite print would have to be Bella Flora. It is a large scale floral design with a geometric element added in. It's my favorite because it is very versatile. 
When I was designing the line I pictured quilters and home sewers using it in many different ways. It mixes fashion, home furnishings and quilting, for example:  We made a dress out of it and we used it on the walls of our booth at Quilt Market. 

Bella Flora, one of the prints in Lili-fied,
was the backdrop of the Kanvas booth at Quilt Market.

Which print design did you start with?

I started with Paisley Daze, it is a paisley patchwork and I designed the rest of the group around it.

What do you envision this collection being used for?

I pictured Lili-fied being used not only in quilting, but I could see it being used to make dresses, accessories, beach bags and children's clothing, bedding, etc...endless possibilities.

Lili-fied in pillows!

Are you falling in love with Lili-fied? Wait until you see the free quilt patterns on our website. 
Use one color story at a time in a modern quilt, "Pixie Dust" designed by Stitched Together Studios.

Or mix the two palettes in "Royal Picadilly," designed by Diane Nagle.

Locomotion!

When you hear the word "locomotion," do you think of this?

We've got a whole new spin on Locomotion, and one that goes back further than catchy 1960s music. (But we love that too!)

A common refrain we hear from quilters is that it can be difficult to find good "manly" collections. We understand. It may be National Polka Dot Day today, but we're going to go out on a limb and say that flowers are the most common fabric motif out there (though dots may be a close second!). 

Whether you're sewing a quilt for a guy in your life or just want something not-so-floral for a den or family room, we think you'll like our classic take on trains:

Locomotion

From the steam engine and train stripe on the panel to the plaid, tickets, and tonals, this vintage-inspired collection has "timeless appeal" written all over it. 

 Here's the panel in the blue colorway as well. 

Click here to see the entire collection.

You can also find the free pattern for Tailormade by Design's "All Aboard!" quilt here.

Tranquility Inspiration & Winners!

Today we're announcing the winners of last week's giveaway for bundles of two of Michele D'Amore's collections, Interlude and Bold & Beautiful. Before we name the winners, we wanted to show off a couple quilts made with Michele's Tranquility line. We think you'll love how the soothing prints shine in these cool quilts.

Here is "Pathways" by Tony Jacobson, a modern quilt using 16-patch blocks.

Tony's quilt can be found in the spring 2013 issue of Easy Quilts.

"Tranquil Paths" by Diane Nagle also uses Tranquility, pairing pieces of the preprinted panel with larger pieces of coordinates from the collection.

Diane's quilt can be found in the the February 2013 issue of Quilter's World.

*********************************************************************

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway! 

Using random number generator, here are the two winners:

 For the Interlude bundle:

For the Bold & Beautiful bundle:

Congratulations, Cheryl and Michelle! We're sending you emails to get your mailing addresses. 

Casablanca: Play it again, Sam!

It seems like everyone has heard of Casablanca. How much do you really know about this classic movie?

Casablanca is the largest city in Morocco, and it is the country's cosmopolitan, industrial and economic heart.

If you visit Casablanca, you can go to Rick's Cafe, which claims to have recreated the café of the same name from the movie.

The movie was released earlier than originally planned to take advantage of the publicity from the Allied Invasion of North Africa and the capture of Casablanca.

The film is based on an unpublished stage play called Everybody Comes to Rick's by Murray Burnett and Joan Allison.

European exiles and refugees comprised many of the extras and minor roles, which arguably added to the emotional impact of the film.

The entire movie was shot at the Warner Brothers studio in Burbank California, except for a few scenes shot at the Van Nuys Airport and some stock footage of Paris.

The song "As Time Goes By" by Herman Hupfeld was part of the original play.

Casablanca was nominated for eight Academy Awards in 1943, and won three: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Writing, Screenplay.

One of the lines most closely associated with the film—"Play it again, Sam"—is a misquotation. When Ilsa first enters the Café Americain, she spots Sam and asks him to "Play it once, Sam, for old times' sake." After he feigns ignorance, she responds, "Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By'." Later that night, alone with Sam, Rick says, "You played it for her, you can play it for me," and "If she can stand it, I can! Play it!"

Rick's toast to Ilsa, "Here's looking at you, kid", used several times, has been attributed to something Bogart said to Bergman as he taught her poker between takes. It was voted the 5th most memorable line in cinema in the American Film Institute's (AFI) 100 Years…100 Movie Quotes.

Six lines from Casablanca appeared in the AFI list, the most of any film (Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz tied for second with three each). The other five are:

•                "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."—20th

•                "Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By'."—28th

•                "Round up the usual suspects."—32nd

•                "We'll always have Paris."—43^rd

•                "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine."—67th

What is your favorite line or scene from the movie?

Trivia courtesy of Wikipedia.

Drama…romance…intrigue…

We're setting a sultry scene here, both for one of the greatest movies of all time and our new fabric collection …

The main stars:

Humphrey Bogart. Ingrid Bergman.

Exotic flowers. Spicy colors. Trendy coordinates.

The setting:

Rick's Café in Casablanca, Morocco, during WWII

Your sewing room, filled with these rich prints on quality cottons.

The plot:

A love triangle takes place amongst war refugees trying to flee to safety

Inspiration abounds: Should you make a bag? A quilt? Throw pillows? Both?

Cheryl of Mississauga, Ontario, used the Casablanca swatches 

from Mr. B's Preview Pack Club to stitch this tote bag. 

Beautiful!

Stitched Together Studios created this quilt, 

appropriately titled, "As Time Goes By."

You can find the free pattern for this quilt here.

What will you make from the Casablanca collection?

Sneak Peek and a Giveaway!

We've introduced you to Michele and a couple of her current lines, 

Urbanicity and Sun-Kissed. 

Now, how about a quick preview of what's to come? 

We're thinking:

Garden-fresh rose blooms

Inviting home dec color palettes

Coordinating stripes and dots

A gorgeous focal panel

And the final touch, pre-printed patchwork yardage with a modern twist

We're thinking: 

Interlude, Michele's upcoming line

A fresh twist on classic fabric patterns in decorator friendly hues

A sneak peek at Interlude by Michele D'Amore. Watch for it in quilt shops in April.

We're going to give away fat quarter bundles to two lucky blog readers!  One reader will win an Interlude fat quarter bundle and panel; the second will win a fat quarter bundle of Michele's Bold & Beautiful collection! 

Win this bundle and panel from Michele's upcoming collection, Interlude

Win this bundle of Michele's current line, Bold & Beautiful

Enter to win in one of three easy ways:
1. Sign up to follow the blog (see the Google Friend Connect button the right sidebar) and then leave a comment on this post, telling us that you have done so.
2. Sign up to follow the blog via email (see the button the right sidebar) and then leave a comment on this post, telling us that you have done so.
3. Like us on Facebook and then leave a comment on this post, telling us that you have done so. (If you already like us on Facebook, great! Just leave a comment HERE on the blog letting us know.)

The giveaway will be open until Friday, January 18th at 11:59 EST. On Monday, January 21, we'll announce the randomly drawn winner, here on the blog, so check back to see if it's you!