from the 11/1 newsletter:

Quilt Market Review
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I am mulling over all the fabric and color trends that we saw at Quilt Market, and all the fabulous quilts on exhibit at Quilt Festival. It was great to meet so many of our customers for the first time, on the show floor.

It is so interesting to track the movement of the Modern quilt trend, and the parallel fabric trends. The basis of this design aesthetic is simplicity, which means it is relatively easy to replicate, which means the trend is likely to cycle to the next thing rather quickly. There is certainly more to explore in the Modern design trend, and it is already mutating by blending with other parallel design trends to create a new vision.

We find that the market has been over-saturated with simple flat artwork in the fabric collections, so we are inclined to look for what is fresh and new, rather than continue to buy designs that have now been replicated many times over. It is nice to see the return of more creative artwork and more original design concepts, which will ship to us in the coming months. I for one really like to support talented artists who are creating lovely lush paintings and illustrations to inspire those of us who like to cut and sew!

If there was one trend that we will see from the big quilt exhibit, it has to be Red and White! The four-story-high circular gallery of Ruby Jubilee quilts from the last 40 years, was an experience in itself… like walking through a cathedral. I have noticed a lot of red quilts in general over the last year … including intricate multicolor floral appliques on red backgrounds.

Doubtless there will be many quilters who return home from Houston, to start their own Red and White quilts.

I continue to be amazed at the technical mastery that evolves every year, in Pictorial and Figurative quilts. Abstract quilts seem to be more intriguing every year as well. We still ooh and ahh over the mind-blowing intricacies of the symmetrical technical quilts that obviously require hundreds or thousands of hours of meticulous work, but we are also deeply moved by the emotions being expressed in the representative art quilts.

Yvonne Porcella's retrospective was a beautiful tribute to a powerful creative force, and the Mexican quilts reminded us of the colorful waking giant just to the south of Houston. Watch for Mexican and Latin American quilters to take center stage more often in the next several years. One of the top prizes this year was won by a pair of Brazilian quilters.