Spring 2011 Quilt Market: Melody Miller, Heather Ross and Nani Iro

Even though it's called Quilt Market, this is where I find the majority of the fabric that we carry at Sew L.A. There are hundreds and hundreds of businesses in attendance - most of them are still pushing quilting fabric but there is a trend towards garment-friendly fabric that has been growing the whole time I have been attending. Good news for us!

I had only ever been to Salt Lake City once before, very briefly, so I was not sure what to expect. The Market took up most of my time, but I try to take a day off whenever I travel to check out the city & talk to the people. The weather was stunning - blue sky with huge fluffy clouds, warm & sunny for the most part, and the views of the surrounding mountains were breathtaking. One thing I was really unprepared for was the blocks being a whole acre long. Since I was walking, I definitely ended up walking a lot!

There is so much new fabric coming that I'm going to divide these posts up into five sections. The first four will be all about the new fabric, and the last post will be about the city!

Here's what the market looks like from the middle of the floor:



That's a lot of fabric. And sometimes, it's a little overwhelming to find the good stuff! Never fear, though - find it I did. First stop is new fabric from Melody Miller, Kokka and Nani Iro with a few bits of amazingness thrown in.

Melody Miller's new line is called 'Ruby Star Spring', and she explains that she wanted to create two distinct collections for fall and spring, like Etsuko Furuya does for Echino. So we have insects! It's printed on a lightweight cotton/linen - just perfect for drapey summer dresses!











There were a few fabrics from Kokka that really stood out. First, two from a collection called 'Luluca':



Kokka never fails when it comes to cuteness! So we also chose two colorways in both of these next fabrics. I'm excited because the anchors & ladybugs are a double gauze!





Lest we not forget that there is some sophisticated fabric to be had, we expect the new Nani Iro collection to be arriving any day now. Here are two examples of her lovely work, followed by two colorways of Ecrulat linen:





We also ordered these two wovens from Westex - the detail in the weave is so intricate!



And finally, to top everything off, we have some pictures of the newest Heather Ross collection called 'Far Far Away III' - my favorite is the owl absconding with the underwear.







I really love the last three flower prints! Such beautiful colors - can't wait for you all to see them in person. The last little thing I'm excited about are these spring clasps for tiny purses! We got two sizes, this little guy and one that's a bit larger for a clutch. Guess what will be a class for the summer!