A Red-trospective

As Fall Quilt Market is coming at us like a speeding locomotive, we, meaning the folks at Marcus Fabrics/Studio 37 and my fellow designers, want to share with you.  Each week has a designated theme and this week's theme is "favorite color". Along with fellow designers Pam Buda (Heartspun Quilts) and Karen Styles (Somerset Patchwork) my favorite color is RED. Red and green is one of my favorite combinations.  Now that's not necessarily Christmas red and green.  Any sort of red and green combo always seems just right for me. 

So I thought I would take you on a little "Red-trospective" and show you some of my red quilts and some of my fabric collections that have some red.

Here is the first quilt I ever made. I know, I know....applique'? Really? Honestly, I did not know any better.  There was a quilt magazine calling to me from the rack at the grocery store checkout stand. I'd never quilted before, but I did a lot of garment sewing and enjoyed handwork, so I thought I'd give quilting a whirl.  This quilt took more time than expected--especially since I had no idea what I was doing. 

It's all hand quilted too. Check out those giant stitches!!

In 1998, I and a lot of other quilters were hooked on Thimbleberries fabrics.  Baskets and Cherries was my first attempt at trapunto. I did it the traditional way, making a slit in the background behind the applique and stuffing in a bit of batting.  This one, too, is all hand quilted because that was how you quilted back in the day. This is that red and green (bluish green) that I love.

In 2000 came Doreen's Dutch Tiles. The colors reminded me of the vibrant Dutch tiles of old Amsterdam, hence the name. Plus, my husband, Oliver, is of Dutch heritage. This was my first foray into machine quilting. It was quilted on my new Bernina 1260!

Begun in 1998 and finished in 2002, Hawaiian Snowflake, was hand appliqued using patterns and inspirations from Elly Sienkiewicz's book, Papercuts and Plenty. One block was specially designed with my initials--can you find it?  The quilt is hand quilted in RED thread.

2004--Dogtooth Violets was made especially for the Kaufman Quilt Quest. It was made with fabric designed by Jennifer Sampou. Love the combination of red, reddish brown and mint. Not to mention the dot fabric!

 Fast forward to 2012. I was ready to embark on a wonderful relationship with Marcus Fabrics and design my first block-of-the-month quilt with them. Judie Rothermel, whose work I had long admired, was doing the fabric line and I was going to give some input and pick the swatches I needed for the Mill Girls BOM. I must have pinched myself a thousand times to make sure this was really happening. And I had to pinch myself again when I saw it hanging in the booth at Market!

In 2013, Pati, the Marketing Director at Marcus, suggested it was time for me to try my hand at designing my own collection. What??? What did I know about fabric design?  Tweet for Two--in guess what--yep--red and green was my first go at fabric design. The teal and some pink added to the vibe.

In 2015, Intrigue, a mix-and-match collection in two color families hit the shelves.  A photo display on the "hot" color family is at the top of this post. And here's the whole enchilada! 

So now it's 2016, and I just came out with Cottage View.  And guess what? You got it-red and green. Now the red is a bit cranberry and the green a bit kiwi, and I've added a gold, a grey, and a bit of taupe to the mix. Here's a little sneak peek of Sunflower Garden, a new pattern designed with the collection.  The quilt will be hanging in my booth at Market, so please stop by if you are there. And if you cannot make it to Market, be sure to check my Instagram and Facebook pages where I am sure to be posting photos.   

Each of the MARCUS MAKERS will be posting each week as we head toward Quilt Market, so be sure to look for them and check back in each week.

And . . . if you made it to the end of this long post, you have the opportunity to win some fat quarters from my new Cottage View collection along with a Sunflower Garden pattern. I will pick randomly from those who respond to the question "What's YOUR favorite color and why?" The winner will be announced in next week's post.

#MarcusMakers2016