There's a bittersweetness to the end of August, and the last few weeks of summer weather, as the kids go back to school and the season slides to cooler evenings.
It's also the time of year when mothers of school age children begin to think about what they might do with their free time in the coming colder months, and what they are missing in their STASHES!
Here in Boulder the weather is still hot and summery, but the college kids have poured back into town and the streets and stores are busy again. Sam and Sophie started school on Monday, and are excited about their activities this Fall.
I have a busy September planned – I'll be at the MAGIC trade show in Vegas on Monday – looking for the upcoming trends in the fashion industry. These color and textile trends filter down to the quilting industry, so it is great to get an advance view of the trends we'll be seeing a year from now.
Tuesday I'll be back home, and I'll write about some of the trends I have seen. In September I'll have a big focus on trends, as I travel to Photoshop World and the Color Marketing Group conference. On September 25 I'll be giving the keynote trend presentation at the International Textile Expo in Las Vegas – it is only open to the trade but I want to remind our friends who attend the show.
The result of our focus on trends is that we bring you the hottest new colors, collections, and designers. eQuilter has always focused on contemporary fabrics, with an emphasis on *leading* the trends, not following. You'll see these forward trends in the coming months as I cherry-pick the best-of-the-best and bring it to you in our weekly newsletters.
(I figure I look at 150,000 products a year, and choose 14,000 new products for eQuilter)
Hope you are enjoying these late days of summer, and a special hello to our friends Down Under who are approaching late winter!
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The end of summer has always been a conundrum for me. This year my youngest is headed off to college again as a senior but probably has 2 more years. My son is getting his Masters, a long haul for all of us, but we are so proud. We are waiting to see where he ends up working. My husband starts back to teaching next week and of course the usual end of summer curse the car breaks down just in time for school. It is hot as hades here in Texas. We are 2 seniors getting reacquainted after 43 years of marriage and 5 kids. We are having a great time more talking about problems and not all of them have to do with the kids for a change.
But I can’t wait until the first day of school so I can get back into my sewing room and start on something new!!! The house will be quiet except for the dogs barking when the UPS guy delivers my new fabric from YOU. Your email is eagerly awaited. I love the way you bring life into quilting. It makes me look at my fabric differently and takes me to other places I can’t afford to go to.
Now if you can just help me convince my college senior that quilts are a form of art. I’m sure she will see it eventually.
It is the art student resisting something other than paint, pencil, clay, computer animation and photography equipment!!! She sleeps in my sewing room/studio (her old bedroom) when she is home surrounded by cubbies full of stacks of fabric, sewing machines, a cutting table and all the other paraphenalia we use for quilting and sewing. Maybe some of it will eventually rub off!! Yes, I took over her bedroom! How many of us have converted a college students room into a sewing studio?!! It has the best light and is very large. We have other bedrooms that she can sleep in but she invariably chooses that room even though it in no way resembles her old room except for location. The bed is even smaller, a twin.
She often uses my cutting table and other gadgets for art projects and talks to me about her plans. I think I can convert her eventually.
I loved the trends that you said were coming. The colored denim reminds me of a denim pantsuit I made back in the 70’s. I hand embroidered it and it was great. I guess it all comes back around only the colors change a little. Even the college students repeat what was done earlier and they don’t even realize it until you point it out to them. Then they look at things a little differently.
Luana, I would be most interested in reading your keynote address. Hope you post it here or somewhere accessible. I find your musings on colour, design and fabric trends most interesting as those of us who buy and sew the fabrics seldom get to listen in on the trade talk of those who grow, source and produce the cloths we love so much. Thanks for sharing! We have been having discussions that touch on these topics over at http://artisanssquare.com/sg/index.php/board,15.0.html
Dear Western,
My presentation is on Power Point and is not written up – it is ad lib with the images I show. Because this is for a trade show at a big conference center, my contract does not allow me to share this publicly. My trend presentation is the “magnet” to attract attendees to the show! The things I can share publicly are in the newsletters. Thanks for your comments!