Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Recap of some Freespirit & Westminster Schoolhouses

At Quilt Market I was lucky to have time on Friday to attend a few schoolhouses sessions.  Four that I attended were sponsored by Freespirit & Westminster.

First up was Verna Mosquera with her new fabric line October Skies.

Verna has a romantic style that I've always admired.

Her new fabric line October Skies has a harvest feel that includes super yummy orange and pinks.

She showed off her new quilts using the fabric line.

This one is called Autumn Sunset

This one is called Hidden Forest

and then this one Verna made to show how the Voile fabric makes a great quilt.  Her shirt was also made from Voile fabric.

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Next up was Jean Wells.  Jean talked about Solids... Why shops need to carry them... how to merchandise them... and package them.  It was a very informative session.

Her quilts look great in photographs & books... but even more amazing in person.

She had a great powerpoint that showed many things.  This slide was one that showed how to mix solids with prints.

This one shows the Solid Rolls that Jean sells at Stitchin Post.

I'm pretty sure this will be a free pattern available on Freespirit's site.  Jean designed it to use the new basics that were just released.

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Next up was Jean's daughter Valori Wells.

Valori was showing her fabric line Karavan... and focused on the brand new Knit Fabrics that Freespirit has released.

The Knit fabrics are amazing... just amazing.  The feel is so nice.  Val made this quilt out of the knits and I wanted to steal it & cuddle up with it all day.

This quilt featured the beautiful elephants.  There are two... and Val named them... but of course I only remember one of the two names... "Jules"

Val also showed a ton of accessories made in Karavan.  Some from Knit..some from cotton..some from flannel... they were moving so fast that a few of my pictures were blurry.

It was a fun schoolhouse & I won some fabric :-)  I'll snap photos of that soon and show you.

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The last Freespirit & Westminster Schoolhouse I attended was amazing.  It was actually the most informative schoolhouse I've attended in 5 Quilt Markets.

Let me set the scene...
The schedule lists Anna Maria Horner, Valori Wells, Amy Buter, & Tula Pink together?... really?... say no more I'm there.  

Topic... "Fabric Substrates"
Result... I learned a TON!

Anna Maria had to miss the session due to an allergy attack... so Pierrette Abegg {Alexia Abegg's adorable sister stepped in.}  Pierrette along with Valori, Tula & Amy presented a full session of visual yummyness.

They showed quilts, clothes, bags and more made from velveteen, laminate, voile, jersey knit, flannel, and more.

Pierrette talking about velveteen


Val talking about Jersey Knit

Tula talking about something... not sure what.
I was just snapping photos at this point.
{We all know I love Tula.}

Tula's rocking quilt made from all 4 presenters fabric lines.. and all Voile.


More Voile talk.
It was interesting to hear the pre-washing preferences of the designers for Voile.
Valori said to pre-wash...
and Tula said she doesn't.

Amy talking about Home Dec fabrics and Laminates... and showing off a bunch of clothes.


Schoolhouse is a great time to learn about new fabrics, new products, books & more.  I attended more sessions & will recap those soon!



© Blog post written by Julie Herman
For more information visit http://www.jaybirdquilts.com/

11 comments:

Sinta Renee said...

Thanks for sharing all of your Schoolhouse photos! I love Verna... and I already got my hands on the Hidden Forest pattern. Now... to dive into some of that wonderful fabric!

Denise in PA said...

Fun! I absolutely love those pinks and oranges - have to get me some October Skies!

modernmanson said...

Thanks for the recap. The fabric substrates talk wouldda been on my list too :)

Deb said...

I love the thought of a quilt made from a soft jersey knit! And maybe you can convince Quilt in a Day to start carrying solids again? Their shelves were pretty bare today.

Carrie P. said...

lucky you getting to hang out with those fabulous designers.
Jean Wells is scheduled to come visit our guild in 2013. Should be awesome.

Jules said...

looks and sounds really interesting. do you wanna maybe do a small post on the different substrates for us? pretty please?

mascanlon said...

I can't wait to get the knits in Karavan. I used too sew with them all the time, teeshirts, pants, shorts, even a dress or two and then they all became so dowdy and fabrics themselves were stiff and uncomfortable to work with much less wear. Glad you had a great time Julie even in 2 days!

Johanna said...

Thanks for sharing!It must have been a wonderful time!

Natalia from Piece N Quilt said...

Great post, there were so many that I didn't get to attend so I love seeing the posts about them! :)

Auntie Pami said...

I really do enjoy the Schoolhouse sessions. I learn a lot, but I have to admit, I'm star struck too. I'd be interested in the diff fabrics as well.

Anne said...

At a recent retreat, my friends and I all made Chopsticks. LOVE that pattern! I am working on another! I have pictures on my blog.