In case you missed the news, True Up now has a Fabric Design Forum to support the book and hopefully be a community hub for aspiring and working fabric designers worldwide. I’ll periodically post hot topics here so the left arm knows what the right arm is doing.

Lots of pretty cool people — including some familiar names! — are introducing themselves.

What is the best thing to design a fabric collection on/with?

What are industry standards for color?

Surface Design e-courses are getting lots of love.

How does one learn to use a Wacom tablet?

Illustrator: Should I take the plunge?

A Surface Pattern Design Guild has started up — it’s in the Bay Area but open to designers worldwide.

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• Printsource’s Top 10 Print Ideas for Spring/Summer 2012
• A Field Guide to Fabric Design
• Process-Palooza!
• Interview With Aurora Fox, Student at the California School of Professional Fabric Design
• Whipstitch Fabric Design Weekend

Tags: color, e-courses, fabric design forum, illustrator, surface pattern design, tablets, wacom | Category: True Up News

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I’m very excited to be back after a season off. Sorry to say there will be no Sale Alerts this week, but I’ll make it up to you with all kinds of Market Goodness starting Tuesday or Wednesday next week. And in the meanwhile, I’ll be posting to Facebook and Twitter as much as humanly possible. See you there!

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• Fall Quilt Market 2011: Cloud 9 – Happy Drawing by Ed Emberley
• Fall Quilt Market 2011: Kokka – Daisy Chain by Prints Charming
• Fall Quilt Market 2011: Lecien – St. Ives by Sarah Fielke
• Fall Quilt Market 2011: Robert Kaufman – greenSTYLE
• Fall Quilt Market 2011: Kokka – Misc.

Tags: Fall quilt market 2011 | Category: Quilt Market, True Up News

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Hot topics in the forum this week …

Introductions. Breakin the ice.

What Kind of Color Printer? It’s handy to have a large format color printer in your home studio to proof designs.

Inkscape vs. Illustrator Folks want to know if the (pricey) Illustrator is appreciably different from the free, open-source Inkscape.

And P.S., Amazon is showing that the book is delivering in 1-3 weeks … woohoo!

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Tags: fabric design forum, forum | Category: True Up News

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The book is coming very soon! I made forum to serve as its companion, a place to go to ask questions about fabric design, to share your work, to find new resources and inspiration, and to be whatever else it morphs into. Once the book is out I plan to post downloads there, like free patterns, a screenprinting exposure test file, and more. Thanks very much to my early adopters — signups and postings have gone smoothly so far, so I’m ready to open it up to the world! Please sign up, introduce yourself, and let me know if you encounter any issues.

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• A Field Guide to Fabric Design

Tags: a field guide to fabric design, fabric design, forum, meta, surface pattern design | Category: The Book, True Up News

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Kimberly of The Fat Quarter Shop invited me to create a Blogger’s Choice Fat Quarter Bundle, and of course I said yes! I have to admit it is something that I’ve always wanted to do. It was inspired by the wonderful, simple, vintage 4- and 9-patch quilt squares like these that you find at flea markets, the ones that make you feel that sweet kinship with the anonymous quilter who made them. I tried to pick all vintage-inspired prints. The colors were drawn from this pillow by pikkuwares that I’m obsessed with.

The bundle will be featured in February 2012 but should be available as early as January. Thanks, Fat Quarter Shop, for the opportunity!

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Tags: birch fabrics, cloud9, dear stella, fat quarter bundles, fat quarter shop, fat quarters, lori holt, pam kitty morning, riley blake designs | Category: True Up News

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Introducing Theodore Jones Kight, born Monday, July 18, 2011, at 1:52pm, and weighing in at 9 lbs, 10 oz. The delivery was such a cinch compared to our first that I’m still a bit shocked by it all! We got home Tuesday evening and have started our transition to being a family of four. Theo looks a little bit like a turtle, and a whole lot like his big brother (who, by the way, is benevolently concerned for his little brother’s welfare but won’t come near him). And of course we’re totally enamored.

So, posting will be a bit sparse around here for a couple weeks, but I’ve got a few great guest posts and blog tours lined up, and will be checking in when I can. Thanks so much for hanging with me!

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Tags: baby, meta, theo | Category: True Up News

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I just wanted to thank you all for sticking with me, and of course to the fabulous sponsors past and present who have made it all possible.

There is a lot to look forward to in the next year, and I can’t wait to tell you about it all. But in the meanwhile, I wanted to thank all you readers with a big giveaway! I have been holding on to a bunch of fabrics from Fall Quilt Market and have never gotten around to giving them away. For your chance to win, just tell me in the comments which prize package you’d most like to win.

#1: Layer Cakes of Sherbet Pips by Aneela Hoey and Modern Workshop by oliver + s: This package represents the modern side of Moda. These two much-anticipated collections are just now out in stores, and I expect this package will be hotly contested!

#2: Layer Cakes of Max & Whiskers by Basic Grey, Chrysalis by Sanae, and Lily & Will II by Bunny Hill Designs:: I’d say this represents the softer-yet-still-modern side of Moda. Oh, wondering what Layer Cakes are? They’re packs of 10×10″ squares, usually containing all the prints from a single collection (most of these have doubles of several of the prints). And they each sell for $30-40 retail in the U.S.!

#3: National Nonwovens Super Sample Pack: I love National Nonwovens — they were founded in 1905 and continue to operate in the U.S. (which is rare for textile mills these days). They supplied felt to the army in WW1 and to poodle-skirt makers in the 50s. This pile represents pretty much all their different kinds of felt — 100% wool, wool/rayon blend, bamboo, and high-quality acrylic — in all their newest colors. Pieces range from fat quarters to charm squares to smaller samples.

#4: Fat Quarter Pack of Sweet Divinity by the Quilted Fish for Riley Blake Designs: Amanda Herring’s first collection for Riley Blake! It comes with a pack of cute crocheted flower appliques, part of Riley Blake’s Sew Together line of trims and embellishments that coordinate with their fabric collections.

#5: Three charm packs of Piece O’ Cake Designs‘ fabrics for Robert Kaufman: Two of Daisies & Dots and one of their not-yet-released Summer 2011 collection, Treasures and Tidbits. (I took the photo thinking Treasures & Tidbits was not even in the sneak peek stage yet, but you can see it all here.)

#6: Two layer cakes of Darling Clementine Cotton Lawn from Timeless Treasures: I love this collection, and two packs (each containing 17 10×10″ squares) should be enough to make a quilt like the one in this post (sooooo soft!).

HUGE thanks to all the companies who donated these fabrics, and thanks again to you for reading, commenting, and contributing over the years! Again, just let me know the ONE package you’d most like to win, and I’ll use my fancy random winner-drawing WordPress plugin to keep drawing names until all the packages are spoken for. I’ll keep the giveaway open till next Friday, April 22 (noonish Central), and yes, this is open to readers worldwide.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

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Tags: anniversary, birthday, Giveaways, meta | Category: Giveaways, True Up News

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Oops, I’m a day late for the month-long Celebrate the Boy fest hostessed by Rae and Dana. But, of course, if you have a boy, celebrating them is a 24-7 thing. I’m destined for a lifetime of all-boy, all the time celebration — that is boy #2 waving at you up there! I’m 23 weeks now, due in early July, things are going well, midsection expanding rapidly, big brother is super excited. The only bummer is that I will be too far along in late May to go to Spring Quilt Market — doctor’s orders. Hopefully all you exhibitors and attendees will take lots of pictures and let me share them here so True Up can continue its tradition of providing a virtual Quilt Market.

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Tags: boys, meta | Category: True Up News

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10. Digital Fabric of the Week: Samarra Khaja Goooooo digital! Go Samarra!

9. Welcome to True Up 3.0! My new design gets mixed reviews.

8. Preview: Far Far Away II by Heather Ross

7. Digital Fabric Printing Comparison Chart Updated! Aaaand it needs a newer update now!

6. Preview: Soul Blossoms by Amy Butler

5. Project Runway Digital Fabric Printing Episode Roundup Well, YOU try designing a fabulous print in an hour!

4. New Old and New New European Fabrics Looks like you guys love European fabrics. Noted!

3. What Is UP With All the Copying Lately? Three designers ripped off within the span of a week or so. The Helen Dardik-Kokka thing had a pretty happy ending, though.

2. Process-Palooza! My roundup of several designers’ process posts.

1. Liberty of London Fabric Source Guide Maybe it’s unfair to make this #1, since it’s a page and it’s linked from the top menu bar, but it’s definitely the most popular content I posted all year. I’m looking forward to the Spring 2011 collection …

What would you like to see on True Up in 2011? Let us know in the comments!

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Tags: lists, top 10 | Category: True Up News

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