Opinions on newer fabric designs
 

What do you think of the new fabric designs. One series from one designer is all directional stripes. How are yu using the larger prints. Many don't appear to be coordinated designs (large medium, small, backgrounds) that we are accustomed to using.

i tend not to buy coordinated fabrics... i just pick and choose what is pleasing to me. this is one reason that i don't buy bundled fabric.

I am having a hard time with the new fabrics, the colors don't seem "true", but that will help keep me on the fabric moratorium.

I think the new fabric lines are designed to make you buy the whole collection because that don't go with anything ELSE. :(That is just my opinion of course. Do I like them? I do like some of them but to buy a whole collection of enough fabric to make a quilt is beyond what I am comfortable spending on a quilt top.

I only buy what I like and I have lots of that. I have no need to buy any more fabrics for quiet a while. If people don't like and don't buy it, it will go away.

What I dont like is how they make quilts that are so busy that you cant see the design. No background fabric just prints and they all blend in togather. Ive seen this in several quilt mags.
I like small prints and dislike orange fabric. Dont care much for very bright prints except for childrens quilts.
Fall colors are my favorites.

I am not a fan of the newer collections you speak of.. I typically like to work with smaller pieces for my quilts. It seems they are designing for large blocks for quickly done quilts, so you will finish and be back buying more fabric sooner.

The larger designs have their uses, I suppose, for stack and whack type quilts, fussy cutting, etc. But there aren't a lot of fabrics out there that grab me anymore, either.....

I don't like most of the collections, I like to find a fabric I like then find the matching fabrics I choose to go with it. I have not found to many new fabrics I like for quilts lately but some will make some cute bags.

I agree with Rose Marie about the bright busy prints all in one quilt. Gives me a headache to look at those. But I do love the modern quilt movement and have embraced the new collections wholeheartedly. Even those bright busy prints can look fabulous with judicious use and plenty of solids!

Let's face it, Quilters. We who have been quilting for years are familiar and comfortable with "our" fabrics. At our “age” we generally aren't as easily attracted to "new stuff".

Neither were the quilters of the sixties, seventies, and very early eighties when the "new prints" that weren't calicoes began to come into the market place. But those designs prevailed, and great, interesting, award winning patterns and quilts began to draw in more and more quilters (probably many of you who are reading this post.)

Now we are going through yet another "resurgence" in the industry....and I'd venture that, after nearly 30 years it's about time. Especially if it draws in a whole new generation of quilters. We were the ones who carried it forward beyond our mothers/grandmothers; now the new ones will do that for us.

Just like long skirts, or platform heels, or short jackets instead of blazers, or SUVs over station wagons, we eventually adapt and accept, and our "eye" gets used to seeing the "new stuff". Choosing to jump in and use it alot may come hard when we are "used to" making certain kinds of quilts, agreed. I haven't done it yet. I know many of you haven't either. But like the old expression, "I'm married, I ain't blind!" for men, I'm a senior but I ain't "OLD"!

I want to try new things, new technology, new experiences, even new fabric designs. And maybe it’s time to learn FROM the “youngers” rather than just teaching them. I think some of this “new stuff” looks neat, clean, fresh……even if it is easier, quicker to sew. The young ones of today need that ease in their lives. Adapting to life as it evolves is what has made quilters the unique, stalwart individuals they are.

Jan in VA

I rarely buy collections and seldom worry about what goes with what.
I put together fabrics that appeal to me whether they "go together" or not.
Large prints are perfect for quilts like "I Just Can't Cut It."
Stripes cut on the bias are perfect for bindings.

Jan in VA said it best! I agree that we can adapt and need to learn and try new things. I like some of the fabric that is new. I don't like the fabric that looks like it would go on a bedspread in a motel. Kaffee Fassett (sp) is one designer that I would never buy a piece of his fabric. Way too busy and IMO looks lousy. A few more designers are following his pursuit and I won't be buying from them. But other than that, I have embraced the new fabric and I like it. I just ordered a fat quarter bundle and can't wait! And I'm taking classes and have book on "Modern Quilting". I like the empty spaces on a quilt. I should say I love the empty spaces left on a Modern Quilt. Hope it's okay I said the designer's name. It's just my own opinion and I've been wrong many times in my life.

I like some of the new fabric and I'm really drawn to the so called modern look quilts using more solid space and less printed fabric.There's one hanging in my LQS now that I find stunning. What concerns me is so much solid space in one color to FMQ. But soon I'm going to try it.
margaret

It's about 50/50 for me. I've seen some of the new and really like it, and some I wouldn't (excuse the expression, "take to a rat fight"):D

i wanted to read this because i bought some really beautiful william morris fabrics from rose and hubble about 12 years ago. i've always had them in mind, but have done a number of projects in between. those fabrics are very beautiful, and now i have completed a sufficient number of quilts that i feel i could do something really special with those ones.

so i've been looking for morris prints, and i am so disappointed by what i see. not only are the british studios non-existent or well (WELL) beyond a reasonable price range for me right now, the moda/ barabara brackman designs maintain the design aesthetic but are printed with fewer colours. her newest morris apprentice line is practically monochromatic.

as for all the modern fabrics...well. i don't buy precuts and i don't buy whole lines (ever). i think there's a lot of "cute" going on, but i am not at all convinced that the colour stories are going to age well at all. that teal and red/pink combo is lovely...for now.

i remember avocado appliances. and i know how i feel when i see burnt umber wallpaper. i feel like a lot of the hot colour stories right now are going to age just like that.

i am working with older ssi fabrics right now, and i still really adore the colours. but then...they are rich primaries for the most part. hard to think they'll ever really be dated, though i know they will. ah time...

:)

aileen

I don't mind learning about new technology, I resent the fact that you can't find the colors you want since they aren't in "fashion." I'm addicted to Southwestern colors - remind me of sitting in Arches NP under a clear blue sky with Entrada Sandstone adding the red coloring. Makes me feel good. Whatever someone else wants to do is fine with me. I can't and won't argue with personal taste.

I also don't care for all those little "fashion" type necessities like table runners. I don't have a table so what would I do with one? A lot of the classes are just that - stuff I would never use and don't want. Mug rugs? Piece of lucite I can toss in the dishwasher. A lot of magazines are full of "fluff"

No one in town has offered any classes on a tablet carrier. Or phone holder. I've found the patterns online and worked them out myself. I made a set for my daughter. I Nook cover, a bag for her Acer tablet, and a cell phone carrier that had a zippered compartment to hold some change. All matching.


This forum is very useful to find esoteric information. I like QAYG. I see more are getting into it. So hints, tips and techniques are fabulous.

I learned to sew just to avoid fashionistas.

Someone mentioned a spring needle. I used to use one to do cutwork before embroidery machines.

Buy what you like. Not every fabric line in LQS are large and bold. My style is to use what I like and I can't afford to buy a complete line of any fabric but I can choose one fabric in a line that I love and build a quilt around that fabric.


I feel sad for those of us who have a hard time choosing fabric. Some of the fun is deminished when fear overrides our instinct of what we like.

Hope everyone finds what they like, eventually!:D
peace

I don't care for the newer fabric either. I have a lot and I like it all so I make from what I have.

I've read through this thread with a lot of interest. I am a new quilter at the age of 59 - was never interested before because I do not have a traditional aesthetic. Stumbling over the modern quilts has opened a whole new interest for me. I think some of the new collections are beautiful, but it goes against my nature to do anything that way - as putting together my own colors and patterns is a big part of the fun for me. I still see lots and lots of traditional fabrics, at least in my neck of the woods - St. Louis, that I pass right over unless there is something about a specific color that might attract me. I love orange, always the first color my eye goes to. Deep pastels, brights - all speak to me, as do neutrals. To add to another point regarding classes and magazines having nothing interesting - that happens with anything. As a new knitter I could not get enough of all that stuff. Now, I never buy a magazine - rarely want to go to a class. At some point, there is no more new, just a fresh take, or rehash, on stuff that has been around. I still have a strong interest in knitting, just don't need to spend money on books and mags anymore:)

I think I am the opposite. I started with Kaffe Fasset's fabrics. My first quilt book is his Glorious Patchwork, followed by Passionate Patchwork. I am intrigued and drawn in by his style of putting together seemingly clashing colors and making them dance.

I started to quilt.
Now 10 odd years later, I am still quilting. I've explored "retrospectively" and enjoy the beauty of vintage designs. I am still working on and off on my GFG.

I buy whatever catches my eyes and (important!) whatever fits my budget.

I guess doing things in reverse does have its advantage - I am less conventional and more willing to give things my own twist.

I've seen a lot of lines that I know I will never buy and are in no way my style or color. But that being said that's what I expect. I have been surprised that I'm now interested in some designers that I have not cared for in the past.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Thankfully there are a multitude of online stores that sell everything from Civil
War prints to the newer modern prints. I am loving the newer modern prints and patterns and then again I love other prints as well. I buy what I love and love what I buy. BTW, I will be 70 in January. Guess I'm a modern chick after all. LOL

I appreciate everyone's respectful replies, allowing room for lots of opinions.

I agree that some color combintations that are trendy probably won't age well, and soon the quilt will jump out as being of a very particular time period (like those avocado appliances!). But I do like some of the modern quilt movement and aesthetic...it has grown on me. And I love that it is drawing in more people to quiltling who previously would not have been interested in working with the very traditional patterns/prints. I still love traditional quilts best, but am learning to appreciate the others. I find it funny to see some designs that to me look like the crazy prints from my childhood and high school years in the 60s and 70s being reinterpreted today. Even though some things aren't for me (give me burgundy and green over turquoise/lime/orange Christmas fabrics), I can smile and enjoy what people create with them. I especially like seeing what a traditional pattern looks like when done in totally different fabrics. I may not want to make it, may not want to put it in my home, but it's interesting to see what others do to give things a different spin. I'm glad there's room for all of us.

I am just thankful that I have a large stash so if I don't like it I don't have to buy it I am turning more to the reproductions and some of the old patterns more fun that way I like to take my time

I am on the Quilt 2014 committee in my guild. We do a quilt every year and raffle it off. We chose almost modern fabric (lots of different lines) but instead of pairing it with white we chose a beige. I am making a tool carrier for the Dec. meeting for a drawing. The shop where we got the fabric didn't have any of the line I am using so I I picked out some more modern fabric that goes with it pretty well. I'll be anxious to see it when it is finished. Please don't ask for a picture because I have no idea how to get one on. My card(?) doesn't fit into my computer.

I agree with you as well as with Jan. well said ladies

DD & I were discussing this just this morning. We decided that we are just more traditional in our approach to quilting. We don't make the smaller wall hangings, table runners, etc - only full size quilts meant to be used (& sometimes abused). My main objection is that some of the colors are not ever found in nature - lol. I think a lot of these newer collections would be great in msaller items - something that you will quit using when you grow tired of it. I don't think they will have the "staying power" that some of the older fabrics have. I consider them more of a fad than a trend - just my opinion - but for those who love them "more power to you" - in quilting there truly is something for everyone.

hugs
Shirley in Indiana

I buy what I like and enjoy. A lot of the new fabrics don't appeal to me so I don't have to spend money on them. As much fabric as I have, I really don't need to be buying much anyway. I usually head for the sale tables first and I'm more likely to find what I like/need there.

We have a small quilt shop in town that is real close to me but I rarely go there because all they carry are the modern fabrics. I'm more a repro, Kansas Troubles, batik sort of person.

I do like the modern quilt style. Hey it's less intricate - goes faster. But whoever decided that lime green, aqua and coral were Christmas colors? On the other hand, years ago I made Bob Coons Poinsetia Basket quilt, only I used shades of pink for the flowers. Spent two years looking for a pink poinsetia fabric to use for a border and ended up settling for a solid. Walked into JoAnn's a couple of days ago and there was the perfect fabric. What goes around comes around - except for maybe those avocado appliances - they can stay gone a lot longer.

I to like Kansas Troubles just can't get into these large prints they are not made for cutting small

JMHO here- I also find the newer fabrics not to my liking. Mostly because of the "off" colors. The big prints, stripes, etc. have their places, but some prints are well...... I tend not to be a minimalist, and am working on the idea of the plain modern designs. They can be fun to do, as they are perhaps simpler, but I'd use other fabrics than a bunch of solids.
And here again, we all have different likes and tastes, and here on the board I am able to see others' creations and choices, and expand my horizons.
Thanks for sharing, everyone!

I love all the new fabrics. I've sewn for almost 45 years but avoided quilting because I didn't like the tarditional fabrics and nature of teh patterns. I'm 53 and just started quilting in April. I have made 15 quilts since then and will be teaching at my LQS - the one that sells the new designer type fabrics - in the new year. I know I wouldn't be a quilter if the new fabrics hadn't come out.

I find the newer designs in fabric reminds me too much of the 70's and I've done that, been there. I agree that an entire quilt made with these "busy" prints is overwhelming. I steer clear of them as they are way to busy and odd color combinations for me. I really dislike Kaffe Fassett. Just my humble opinion. Guess I'm too much of a traditionalist.

Well said Jan. I have really eclectic taste...I will buy anything from vintage right through to the latest designs..anything really....calico's, tribal, William Morris and the incredible Kaffe Fassett and the new designers too. Sometimes I even mix 'em. When I create quilts or sewn items for family and friends, I try my best to use fabrics and materials that suit their particular lifestyle/taste....Variety is the spice of life and it pushes me to try new techniques and think creatively...which has to be a good thing.

Ok, I had to jump in here!! I do tend to make more traditional quilts with more traditional colors than not. My SIL is visiting and brought 3 quilts to work on while she is here. Turned my whole living/dining room into a quilt sweatshop, LOL. I was just teasing her yesterday of 3 quilts, all 3 have lime green, regardless if it goes with the quilt or not. Of course, that is my opinion but she truly loves all 3!!

I am tending to stay away from many of the newer, more modern fabrics. Many are soooo busy and don't really blend well with other fabrics or sometimes they don't even blend well with other fabrics of the same line, as they are all so busy. I tend to lean to the more traditional look in fabrics as well as in the quilt blocks I like to use. I guess I am just an old fashioned girl. I seek balance not "busy" in my quilts. Thats my story and I'm sticking to it! Good thread!