Anything Goes!

 Ann Lauer says that her newest collection, Anything Goes, is reminiscent of a grown-up coloring book. The black and white prints are so much fun, but then you see the red, lime and blue and realize that the name is true--Anything Goes! We asked Ann to tell us about these playful prints. 

A sampling of Anything Goes prints, fresh off the bolt! 

Tell us about Anything Goes.

I may just love it the best! I love black and white; I think they are classy and timeless. The black and white prints are designed to go from light to dark with smooth transitions in scale and value. And adding color just makes it fun. Where the color is added, it’s watercolor. Instead of stamping the color, they’re blended and shaded, which adds depth.

We’re not surprised the line includes a stripe!

The stripe was planned out to have four repeats across the width, so it can be used for a quilt border with minimal waste, whether you choose the flower section or the stripe, or both. It’s also great fun to fussy-cut, and to use a quarter square ruler on, like in the Squares By Golly free download pattern.

Tell us about some of your other favorites.

I’m crazy about the big print. The flower centers are the same motif of the Playful Discs print. I love the way the shards of color are in the black and white leaves. Those same shards show up in a few different prints. And the background in this big print—there’s a ton of action—squares and circles in two sizes. You can cut the big print anywhere and create something wonderful.

We reused the squares and dots from Poppy Panache because they were so popular, but we added in new colors. I think the multi squares is a terrific blender. It adds just a touch of color—it’s pretty on its own, in blocks, or in borders. It brings so many colors together.

Playful discs is my favorite among the black and white prints.

What makes this line so unique?

The black and white prints flow so smoothly, and you can add in bright color to make it playful. You can add tons to make it wild and crazy, or you can just choose one accent color--either lime, red, or blue--to work with, which I think makes the collection seem bigger, with more options.

Can you share some of the patterns that feature Anything Goes?

It works great in bargello quilts. When you cut up that huge print into slivers, you get just enough color to make it really interesting.

 

"Freefall;" one of several bargello quilt patterns

"Afternoon Delight"

"Just the Right Angle"

"Steppin' Out - Stripe"

 And of course there's the free quilt pattern I designed that is available on Benartex's website, "Squares, by Golly."

Click here to download the free quilt pattern.

Click here to see the entire Anything Goes collection. 
Click here to visit Ann's website and see her Anything Goes patterns and kits.