In The Beginning Fabrics was showcasing a number of contemporary fabric lines at Spring Quilt Market this year. Known for their artistic print collections, In The Beginning has recently released a line of solids called Modern Solids. The collection has 40 colors from crisp grays to vibrant reds and oranges to soft blues and was the highlight of their booth.

The fabrics are yarn-dyed rather than whole-cloth dyed. This means that the threads that make up the fabric are dyed first and then two different colors are woven together. This gives a more subtle coloration which adds a glow to the fabric that is not usually seen in solids. The booth featured the curtains in the background as well as two quilts made from these fabrics. The fabric itself has a lovely feel to it – it’s slightly heavier than the shot cottons from Westminster Fibers, but not too heavy.

Another modern basic collection is Dit Dot, which is a grouping of small tonal dots in a variety of colors. These little dots are great for blending with prints or solids and are perfect for when you’re looking for something with a little bit of movement. This collection has 21 colors, and here are a few of my favorites. I am especially loving the shades of aqua and green that are popular right now, but the neutrals are also great.

Moving on to prints, In The Beginning designer Lida Enche has a new collection called A Garden For Olivia, which was inspired by her daughter. Lida has a lovely painterly style and a keen sense of color which translates into lush fabric designs. A Garden For Olivia is Lida’s third collection and features large dahlia-like flowers, smaller fluffy blooms, adorable birds and some fun textural pieces including a free-form dot and a geometric tonal. There are three main colorways; a fall-ish teal and rust combination, pale golds and greens, and striking darker blues from royal to teal.

Finally, another favorite In The Beginning designer, Julie Paschkis, has a new collection called Bohemia. Julie has designed many lines for In The Beginning and usually includes a fun panel in her collection. Julie’s art is very folk-inspired and has an eclectic, fanciful feel to it. Bohemia is full of prints with animals, flowers and organic patterns in an earthy yet bright color scheme. The panel in this collection is adorable – there are six animals surrounded by pretty flowers on a black background. I love all of them but I am particularly obsessed with the squirrel in a jacket! The coordinates include a medium-scale multi-colored floral print, a smaller four-petaled daisy in a grid fomration, and various tonal designs. The tonals have some beautiful floral designs (I love this rust on gold and teal on mint version), as well as cute basic dots and a neat diamond print. Julie’s other collections have all looked beautiful on fabric and I think this one will be no exception.

In The Beginning’s Modern Solids are available in stores now, but all of the other collections will be coming later this year. Check out In The Beginning’s website to see more images from each of these collections.

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Becca Jubie is co-owner of Quilt Sandwich Fabrics on Etsy and also works for In The Beginning Fabrics. She has been quilting for over 10 years and is obsessed with fabric! Becca lives in Seattle, WA, and is on the board of the Seattle Modern Quilt Guild. She occasionally writes about her creative pursuits on her blog, The Becca Jubie Project.

The Spring Quilt Market was a wonderful experience and I am delighted to share my observations with the True Up community over the next few weeks! First up is Monaluna, which specializes in 100% organic cottons. The brand debuted two collections: Raaga, which is available next week (early June 2013) and Free Range, which will be available at the end of the month (late June 2013).

Raaga is a sophisticated collection with 12 gorgeous patterns. Each pattern is exciting and unique on its own, but the magic happens when the flowers, peacocks, geometrics and medallions are pieced and paired together. The collection comes in a vibrant, yet feminine color palette of pink, red, green, turquoise and orange. This collection is truly irresistible and is sure to be a favorite!

Free Range was inspired by life on the farm and features fun motifs such as sheep, chickens, farm houses and tractors. There are 11 adorable patterns in this collection, which are perfect for a whimsical sewing project with a little country charm.

For fall, Monaluna is introducing a collection of organic knits, as well as a few new sewing patterns which will showcase knit fabrics. The sewing kits have been very well-received and they already have two new collections in the works.

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Through her e-courses, private coaching, and daily blog, Michelle Fifis mentors textile designers who want to improve the professionalism of their work and make more money in their businesses. Learn more about her work at Pattern Observer.

Alongside Cloud9 Fabric’s booth (Part 1 | Part 2) was designer Rashida Coleman Hale’s inviting booth, featuring her two Cloud9 lines Tsuru and Koi. (Rashida previously designed three lines for Timeless Treasures.)

Rashida’s booth walls were papered with pages cut from old books, letters, and telegrams, with her business card artfully washi-taped at intervals to the walls.

Turns out this distinctive look was a happy accident. The family member who was constructing her booth had an emergency and was unable to complete the planned booth, so Rashida arrived to find that all she had were stark white walls. A trip to Portland’s Scrap, a creative reuse center, yielded the ephemera that she arranged as a backdrop to her fabric-covered furniture and projects. It was great fun to peruse the vintage patterns, sheet music, and advertisements and Rashida said they were fun to read through in the rare moments when the booth was quiet.

The footstool and chair covered in her Tsuru fabrics showed up from Portland’s Modern Domestic just two days later — they belonged to a staff member who was lucky enough to get a super-cool upholstery job.

Rashida’s new line Koi ships in July.

Three of the fabrics will be available in both quilting cottons and voile.

Rashida’s line Tsuru, which means crane in Japanese, is available now.

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Linzee Kull McCray is a writer and editor with a focus on textiles and crafts. She’s a regular contributor to Etsy’s blog and to Moda’s Cutting Table blog, a contributing editor at Stitch, a columnist for Quilt Country, and her work appears in American Patchwork and Quilting, UPPERCASE, Quilt Sampler, and other publications. When she’s not writing, sewing, or knitting, you can find her rowing on the Iowa River. Visit her blog Pearl the Squirrel.

Earlier, we showed Cloud9′s summer 2013 collections, now here’s what’s coming in fall and winter, including collections several new designers. Dem Bones is Sarah Watson’s delightful take on human anatomy. “People are really excited about this because they can make something that teenage boys won’t be embarrassed by,” says Michelle. Accordingly, Dem Bones ties made an appearance in the Cloud9 booth. The fabric will be available in September.

Bark and Branch by English designer Eloise Renouf, author of the book 20 Ways to Draw a Tree, evokes the shapes and colors of late autumn and early winter. Available in September.

A line named with tongue firmly in cheek is Michelle Engel Bencsko’s Mad Mend. It’s an homage to textiles, replete with pins, thimbles, scissors, buttons and cross-stitched letters spelling out Make Do.

Leslie Shewring’s Palos Verdes, delicately colored florals and geometrics in voile, evokes the beaches she roamed while living in Southern California. They’ll be available in October.

Cape Town, South Africa’s Heather Moore (aka Skinny LaMinx) has a line, Up, Up and Away, coming out in November. It spins off the Free As a Bird fabric from her first Cloud9 line, Cut Out and Keep.

If you’ve got children, or grandchildren, or nieces and nephews, or any young friends, then you’re familiar with Margaret Wise Brown’s iconic children’s book, Goodnight Moon. Available in December, these designs stick close to the book’s original style.

And finally, Ed Emberley is back with Picture Pie. The line features flowers, foxes, fish, and Scribbles large and small, and will be available in January, 2014.

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Linzee Kull McCray is a writer and editor with a focus on textiles and crafts. She’s a regular contributor to Etsy’s blog and to Moda’s Cutting Table blog, a contributing editor at Stitch, a columnist for Quilt Country, and her work appears in American Patchwork and Quilting, UPPERCASE, Quilt Sampler, and other publications. When she’s not writing, sewing, or knitting, you can find her rowing on the Iowa River. Visit her blog Pearl the Squirrel.

Cloud9 Fabrics is a company that seems to have grown tremendously since their first appearance at Market in 2009. The booth was constantly busy, as owners Michelle Engel Bencsko and Gina Patastico shared their new offerings with shop owners. Despite its higher price point, the demand for organic fibers seems strong, and Cloud 9 definitely sets a high standard, with both modern, edgy looks and the sweetest of children’s designs. They’re also becoming known for partnering with classic children’s book illustrators — this year it’s Mo Willems, the author and illustrator of Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!. In celebration of the book’s 10th anniversary, Cloud 9 is issuing fabric with designs from this kid’s classic. “People are so excited, we get call almost daily asking when this fabric will be out,” says Michelle. (The answer—as early as next week!)

{ Bags on the right made from Mixteca by Eleanor Grosch – out now }

In June, Michelle’s Bauhus-inspired line IHaus will be available. She’s updated the look with a bit of texture, a nod to the weaving done in the Bauhaus’s weaving workshop:

GeoCentric II takes on the past and present. “We’re reprinting some oldies, but goodies,” says Michelle of three of the designs (printed on 7 oz. canvas), which are reruns of the most popular designs from the past GeoCentric line, while three others are new designs in new colors. They’ll be available in June and July.

Michelle calls San Francisco designer Lisa Congdon’s line The Land That Never Was “a sophisticated, technicolor fairy tale.” Familiar to many for her Collection A Day blog and book, Lisa’s also know for her hand lettering, which appears in the line.

Fanfare Flannels designed by Made by Rae’s Rae Hoekstra will show up in August, just in time for stitching up winter items. Portland was chilly and this fabric felt so soft and cozy I wanted to wrap myself up in it right then.

Cloud9′s Fall-Winter 2013 collections and Rashida Coleman-Hale’s Koi will be featured in the next posts.

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Linzee Kull McCray is a writer and editor with a focus on textiles and crafts. She’s a regular contributor to Etsy’s blog and to Moda’s Cutting Table blog, a contributing editor at Stitch, a columnist for Quilt Country, and her work appears in American Patchwork and Quilting, UPPERCASE, Quilt Sampler, and other publications. When she’s not writing, sewing, or knitting, you can find her rowing on the Iowa River. Visit her blog Pearl the Squirrel.

Happy Memorial Day! Lots of big sales, but some are today only, so hurry! – Kim

Bloomerie Fabrics: Mega May sale – up to 50% off Color Me Retro, Fox Hollow organics, Tapestry, Marmalade, Posy, and more. Free shipping on U.S. orders $150+. (end date unknown)

Britex Fabrics: 20% off linen fabrics. (online only, through 5/31/13)

Connecting Threads: Memorial Day Sale – 40% off patriotic fat quarter fabric samplers and 25% off thread sets (through tonight only, 5/27/13). 30% off batting (through 6/17/13)

Contemporary Cloth: 25% off orders with code 25off. Exclusions: Tsuru, Simpatico, New Arrivals, Coming Soon, Fiber Artists + Clearance Category. (through 5/29/13)

Crafter’s Vision: Extra 35% off all sale fabrics. Free U.S. shipping on orders $30+, International customers get 10% store credit of product total (after all discounts and coupon codes). This discount will be automatically applied to your account and available for your next purchase. (today only, 5/27/13)

Cucerie: Free shipping (today, 5/27/13 only). $8/yard Art Gallery Solids (through 6/1/13).

Delta Patchwork: Special of the Month – 10% off all 108″ quilt backs (through 5/31/13). Always free shipping in contiguous USA for orders $40+.

Denver Fabrics: 15% off all fabrics on orders $50+ – type “15% Off” in the comments section
of the order form. Note that this discount will not show up on your online order, but will reflect in the amount that you are charged. (through tomorrow only, 5/28/13)

Drygoods Design: Domestic orders $35+ always ship free.

eQuilter: 40-70% off all clearance categories. (through 6/2/13)

Fabric.com: 15% off orders $75+ with our code HAPPY1 (through 5/28/13). 15% off Michael Miller Fabric and Stripes, Chevrons, Polka Dots and Paisley Fabrics (through 5/27/13). Always free shipping on orders $35+.

The Fabric Fairy: Free 1/2 yard of Asian themed cotton knit in either blue, pink, or yellow with orders $50+ before shipping. Email contact@thefabricfairy.com to choose which color. (through today only, 5/27/13)

The Fabric Stash: Memorial Weekend Sale – get 20% off your entire order using code MDAY – includes sale items, $6 fabric section, even pre-orders of Heather Ross Briar Rose bundles! (through 5/29/13)

Fabricworm: Memorial Day Sale – 30-60% off select fabrics (through 5/28/13, 8pm PST). 10% off bundles (through 5/30/13 8am PST). Always $5 off your purchase of $50+ with coupon code linus5. Always 10% off orders $100+ with code bulk10.

Fat Quarter Shop: 50% off Bungle Jungle by Tim and Beck for Moda Fabrics. 30-50% off 100+ fabrics from Wilmington Prints. 50% off Schoolies from Clothworks Fabrics. Visit the Sale section for tons more. (while supplies last)

Hancock’s of Paducah: Free shipping on U.S. orders $40+ and international orders $150+ with code 88554224. Limit two battings per order. (today only, 5/27/13)

HoneyBeGood: Happy Birthday Bash! All Children’s Prints 15% off with coupon code KIDS. Saffron Craig’s Valley View 20% off with code VALLEY. Sara Lee Parker Textiles 10% off with code SARA. Daisy Janie New Leaf 15% off with code NEWLEAF. Nancy Mims Prints 15% off with code MIMS. Coupons can be used more than once but cannot be combined in the same order. (through 5/31/13)

Jones and Vandermeer: Echino, Alexander Henry Ghastiles, Liberty Japan, and Dear Stella in the sale section. Always free shipping on orders $60+, or $5 flat rate otherwise.

Lark Cottons: Modern Madness sale continues on Fat Quarterly’s competing collections: Simply Color and Architextures. Receive 20% off these collections with code madmod1320, 25% off with code madmod1325 when your cart totals $64 or more, 35% off with code madmod1335 when your cart totals $200 or more. Cart total is based on all fabrics in cart, not just those from eligible collections. As collections are eliminated from the Modern Madness competition, they will be dropped from the sale. (end date unknown)

Lowpricefabric.com: Memorial Day sale – 20% off storewide. (today only, 5/27/13)

Mad About Patchwork: Celebrating five years in business with lots of fabrics $5/yard! (end date unknown). 10% off Regal Spectrum bundles and yardage (through 5/31/13). Free shipping in Canada on orders $150+ and free worldwide shipping on patterns, not including clearance patterns.

Marie-Madeline Studio: 20% off all fabric , trims, buttons, sewing patterns, and studio scrap bags. (through 5/30/13)

Mary Jo’s: 5% off orders $100+. (through 5/31/13)

nido: Melody Miller’s Ruby Star Spring $13.20/yard. Includes the record print in two colorways (while supplies last). Always free shipping on orders $50 + or just $5 for all other orders.

Pacific Fabrics & Crafts: 20% off in-store and online with code MD2013. (today only, 5/27/13)

Pattern Crush: Memorial Day Free Shipping sale – pre-orders included. US orders $5+ only, use code MEMDAY. (through 6/4/13)

Pink Castle Fabrics: 30% off everything in the store under 5 yards with code SKINNY30. (end date unknown)

Pink Chalk Fabrics: Free shipping on U.S. orders $50+ $5 off each flat rate envelope (and select First Class Packages in between) for Canada and International destinations. (through 5/31/13)

Quilthome: 25% of orders $175+ with code QHMEM25. 20% off orders $100 with code QHMEM20. 15% off orders $65+ with code QHMEM15. 25% off all currently in-stock Jenean Morrison fabrics, Modkid patterns, and Patty Young fabrics with code QHJMPY. (through 5/28/13) One coupon code per order.

Sew Fresh Fabrics: has marked down all their fabrics to less than $8 a yard – plus buy $35 or more in the Etsy shop and get a free shipping code for US customers or a 10% off coupon for international customers at the new store (good on a future purchase). (end date unknown)

Sew, Mama, Sew! is closing up shop (but expanding the blog and forum) Remnant Packs–equivalent to approximately 2.5 yards of fabric are $15 for prints and $12 for Kona solids. Interfacing is 40% off, and all Patterns 50% off with the code 50PATTERNSFINALE. (end date unknown)

Sew Modern: Awesome goodies in our EPIC SALE section including some FQ bundles, The Red Thread by Marisa and Creative Thursday, Sweetcakes by Riley Blake, and more — all 20-40% off! (while supplies last)

Uberstitch: 15% off all listings in the shop. (through 6/2/13 11pm EST)

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Get the Sale Alerts emailed to you weekly! Simply visit this link to have the sales delivered to your email. Use this link for your RSS feed reader. (If you’re already subscribed to the True Up feed or get all the posts by email, you don’t need to change anything; the sale alerts will still be included in there.)

Shops! If you’re tweeting about a fabric sale, please add #fabricsale and I’ll seek them out to add to this post.

Alyssa Thomas of Penguin and Fish has been one of my favorites since I met her at her first Quilt Market, three years ago. She was one of the very first to show modern embroidery patterns at Market and her whimsically wonderful, frequently oversized designs of critters quickly caught on—they’re simple enough for new embroiderers, but so charming that they’ve captured the interest of knowledgeable stitchers, too. She’s since jumped from being a newbie to designing organic fabrics for Clothworks, to signing copies of her new book Sew and Stitch Embroidery.

“We’ve made embroidery the star of the sewing projects,” says Alyssa of the designs that incorporate embroidery floss and yarn and the sweet critters she’s known for. Her favorite project is a quilt featuring a human-sized octopus. “When you pull it up to your chin, it looks like your head is on top of the octopus’s body,” says Alyssa. Alyssa and her husband Jon were a cheerful presence in their Market booth. Look for Sew and Stitch Embroidery (published by F&W Media) later this month.

Alyssa Thomas’s third and newest organic fabric line for Clothworks is Critter Patch. The fabric imagery retains the hand-drawn feel of Alyssa’s embroidery images, and the focus fabric is a veritable peaceable kingdom of friendly foxes, squirrels, owls and hedgehogs. So sweet!

{ Cotton Garden quilt pattern by The Pattern Basket - download the project sheet to use the pattern with Critter Patch here. }

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Linzee Kull McCray is a writer and editor with a focus on textiles and crafts. She’s a regular contributor to Etsy’s blog and to Moda’s Cutting Table blog, a contributing editor at Stitch, a columnist for Quilt Country, and her work appears in American Patchwork and Quilting, UPPERCASE, Quilt Sampler, and other publications. When she’s not writing, sewing, or knitting, you can find her rowing on the Iowa River. Visit her blog Pearl the Squirrel.

Andover designer Mo Bedell got hoots and hollers when it was announced that she won Best New Exhibitor at the show. Full Moon Lagoon, Mo’s first collection with Andover, takes you to that happy place on the beach where you frolic alongside of seahorses and jellyfish and breathe in the smell of fresh flowers and sea foliage. She plays with fresh colors combos including citrine and aqua, eggplant and fuchsia, and offers a range of scale in her prints, including a 23” cheater panel. Bubble Beads, which comes in five colors, is destined to become a classic. Full Moon Lagoon is available now.

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Michelle Freedman is an Oregon-based designer and author whose work has been featured in a variety of sewing and quilting publications. She is the 2013 president of the Portland Modern Quilt Guild. Read about her creative endeavors on her blog designcamppdx.blogspot.com.

Andover brought their A-game to market along with a fresh new red and white logo featuring a circle with a lower case ‘a’. Along with a host of fresh new collections, the buzz in the Andover arena centered around a new Textured Solids collection and the announcement that Andover was unveiling an exclusive Downton Abbey Collection. The Andover design team worked closely with the show’s costume designer to create historically accurate textile prints inspired by the upstairs women of the series. Stay tuned for these turn of the (19th) century beauties to be reveled!

{ Textured Solids image from Andover’s Facebook page }

Just for Fun, by Marisa and Creative Thursday, is an adorable collection of prints filled with whimsical party-clad kiddos and animals riding on scooters, wrapped up in tiny gift boxes and floating by balloons. This follow-up to her popular collection, Locally Grown, is sure to keep her fans coming back for more! Her sweet illustrations, delicately outlined in black, are colored with a mix of pale pinks, grays and aquas and popped with bright bold kelly greens, reds and yellows. There was also a sneak peak at her collection Zaza Zoo, filled with swinging monkeys, parading elephants and pink zebras (oh my!) which will be available in December 2013. Just for Fun is available July 2013.

Kyoto Garden is Portland designer Lori Mason‘s first collection with Andover. Her prints are elegant and sophisticated and have a modern Japanese aesthetic. Colors range from rich indigos, chestnut, aubergine, and Chinese lantern reds to pale, poetic greys and neutrals. Kyoto Gardens is available June 2013.

Also debuting was Mineral Forest, by Lori Mason, a collection of vibrant prints which draw inspiration from the shapes, colors and textures found in rocks and minerals. Mineral Forest comes in three colorways: browns and neutrals, cool blues with lime green, and a warm pink and orange range. Available October 2013.

Thesaurus is a chatoyant collection of perspicacious prints by Thomas Knauer inspired by his love of multisyllabic words. The vernal prints have a flower-power vibe and come in three effulgent colorways. These prints will most definitely inspire a plethora of projects and multiple trips to the dictionary. Thesaurus is available now.

Catnap is Lizzy House‘s latest collection of modern prints with her signature Scandinavian flair. This time she woos us with smiling cats, butterflies and funny little mice. According to Lizzy, Catnap is inspired by her “love of home, cats and napping.” Catnap spans a wide range of color from deeply saturated darks to pale pastels. She plays with combinations of navy, aqua and whites; forest, kelly, mint greens and golden yellows; and browns with fuschia, pale pinks and orange. These prints coordinate perfectly with everyone’s favorite Pearl Bracelets which has over 25 new colors plus new range of tone on tones. Purr! Cat Nap will be available October/November 2013.

Sun Print is by Alison Glass, a crisp, modern collection of two-color prints which plays bright clear colors off whites and halftones. Included in this collection is a fun ‘typed’ text print and coordinating colors of Glass’s popular Bike Path, which debuted in her collection Lucy Penny. Andover plans to add more colors to the range offered for Bike Path in the future. Several of the prints from Sun Print also coordinate with Alison’s collection Field Day (images on Alison’s site here), a richly colored mix of Bohemian-inspired large and small scale florals. Sun Print is available June-November, 2013. Field Day is available June 2013.

Clover Sunshine, another collection debuting by Alison Glass, is full of bright happy colors and motifs which celebrate love, happiness and relationships (think rainbows, octopi and rotary phones!) The large scale prints coordinate with her paint-sloshed ‘Kite Tail’ stripe and the sure-to-be-a-favorite, ‘Snow Globe’ dots. Clover Sunshine is available July-August, 2013.

Kim’s Hand Dyes – Series 1 by Kim Schaefer is a new collection of modern, multi-hued prints based on Kim’s actual hand-dyed fabrics. The vibrant jewel-toned mix of soft-focused geometric shapes and stripes give the illusion of being highly textured. You will be surprised that they are not!

More Andover posts to come!

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Michelle Freedman is an Oregon-based designer and author whose work has been featured in a variety of sewing and quilting publications. She is the 2013 president of the Portland Modern Quilt Guild. Read about her creative endeavors on her blog designcamppdx.blogspot.com.