Spotlight on our Elite Eight

We've hope you've been enjoying our version of March Madness as much as we have! The decisions have been tough, and the voting has been close, but you've narrowed the field from our original 16 fabric lines down to eight. 

Let's take a closer look at the remaining eight contenders, in alphabetical order.

Antoinette

Classic Jacobean designs by Michele D'Amore in a gorgeous chocolate and pink color combination. Don't miss the pencil stripes, tattersall plaid, and the double and triple print fabrics, perfect for borders and more.

Botanical Garden Balis

Rich, saturated colors in leaf and flower designs. Each fabric features a virtual rainbow of colors for a layered look, from coppers and golds to purples and greens. 

Ellie Ann

Romance is back with Eleanor Burns' collection, inspired by turn of the century English cottages. Delicate roses, wallpaper stripe, Victorian medallions and a patchwork print all come in three colors ways: mango, periwinkle, and classic pink.

 Keepsake Balis

Flowing vines and florals in a soft palette--you don't often see batiks done so well in pastels, perfect for the low-volume quilt craze going on right now! A few brighter colors complete the collection for added contrast.

Lili-fied

These bold and modern prints bring the beach to mind! Choose from an orange and fuchsia colorway, or cool blue and green. You'll love the big florals, stylized medallions, modern paisleys, and coordinating mini prints. 

Savannah

Nature at its finest in sketchbook form. These prints are reminiscent of pen-and-ink sketches and watercolor drawings, with some classic paisleys, florals and damasks mixed in, and don't forget the panel of ready-to-use floral blocks!

Somerset

This eclectic collection has everything from jumbo florals to cool stripes and geometric prints. It's a mixture of contemporary and classic prints that works, plain and simple. 

Sun-Kissed

Cool, colorful and contemporary. Leaves, sprays, florals, and oh-so-fun dotted circles set this collection apart. It's available in brights and black/white, as well as an oceanside spa-inspired palette of aquas, mocha, and green.

Remember, voting begins again on 3/26 on our Facebook page! Tell all your friends and be sure to cast your vote! 

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Let's Go Large!

Designer Ann Lauer of Grizzly Gulch Gallery used the Somerset collection by E. Vive in two of her newer patterns, Star Struck and Sew Classy. Today, she's sharing these quilts with us and talking about why the fabric works so well in them.

Star Struck by Ann Lauer

Sew Classy by Ann Lauer

So you're a lover of big prints?

I love large prints that are real showy. They're just so vibrant and exciting, and they even show off beautifully from a distance. Plus, the tonal supporting fabrics work so well with the focals. They create quiet time.

How did you use these big prints in your two patterns, Star Struck and Sew Classy?

Both of those patterns use a 10'' square of the focal print, which is big enough to truly show off the flowers. There's enough variation in the fabric design that I was able to fussy cut the squares differently—I didn't have to repeat the same flowers in a square over and over again.

Tell us about your design.

I used a Nifty Notions tool called the half rectangle tool. It's a very simple tool to use, and it created several elements in each quilt—that's how I made the black frame around the floral squares in Sew Classy, as well as the green triangles in the sashing. For a totally different look, I used the tool to make the blue star points in Star Struck. These two quilts look so different considering they are made up of many of the same elements. Between the focal fabric and the tool, you get a real showy quilt with either one.

What's one thing you really like about Sew Classy?

I love the jazz of the stripe in the border. And I think the black background is so striking on the focal print. Okay, that's two!

How about Star Struck?

It's a quilt without borders. I've been designing more like this. A bit more contemporary. The quilt looks difficult to make, but it's actually pretty easy.

We're pretty sure we know the answer already, but what is your favorite print in the Somerset collection?

The large floral. It's really striking, and it's such a nice combination of lots of varieties of flowers, but also enough negative space to let the design breathe. You can it in many different ways and you'll always see the background.

(Note: We left the rulers in on these swatches so you can see how large these florals truly are!)

Visit our Facebook page to see a video interview of Ann from Quilt Market.

Click here to visit Ann's website, Grizzly Gulch Gallery, and find the two patterns shown in this post.

Click here to see the whole Somerset collection.

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Hooray for 3000 Followers Giveaway!

Did you know? Our Facebook page recently hit the big 3-0-0-0! Thanks to all our friends who follow!

What better way to celebrate than by giving away fabric?

You will have up to three chances to win one of 3 fantastic fabric bundles! 

Somerset

In the Dog House

Tree Frog

You can enter to win one of these tempting bundles in one of 3 easy ways: 

(Notice a theme here with 3?!)

1. Sign up to follow the blog (right hand sidebar) and then leave a comment here, telling us that you have done so.
2. Sign up to follow the blog via email (right hand sidebar) and then leave a comment here, telling us that you have done so.
3. Like us on Facebook and then leave a comment here, telling us that you have done so. 

The giveaway will be open until Friday, March 8th at 11:59 EST. On Monday, March 11th, we'll announce the randomly drawn winners, here on the blog, so check back to see if it's you!

Good luck!

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