Wednesday, May 18, 2011

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!


Friday, April 15, 2011

New Echino Ni-co collection for Spring 2011!

I am working hard on a four section posting of the recent LACMA exhibit, "Fashioning Fashion: European Dress in Detail 1700 - 1915". It's pretty exhaustive though, and while we wait I thought I'd post some new fabric and a sneak peek at the brand new Echino Ni-co collection for Spring of 2011!


Many fans know that Echino designer Etsuko Furuya has two distinct collections that she works on - an organic plant and animal theme in the fall and a more technology and transport based theme in the spring. In keeping with that, here are the newest designs that will be arriving in the shop in about six weeks:

















Some new designs and some of our favorites! This time around, the Cars are smaller - about 2" - and the Scooter fabric has been printed in stunning new colorways.

It's always fun to look forward to new fabric arriving, but we also have some amazing stuff just in from our recent trip to Las Vegas. Here are some of my favorites...

These three printed knits are 95% viscose and 5% lycra - soft, slinky and perfect for our Knit Dress class! The first two are from France, and the third is from Italy:







These last two are beautiful cotton lawns from France, the same print in a cool colorway and a spicy one!





And here's a preview of some of the amazing garments I'll be posting from the LACMA exhibit:



I'll be breaking it down into four posts because that's how the show was laid out: Timeline, Textiles, Tailoring and Trim. Can't wait to show you all the pretties!

Monday, March 14, 2011

Melody Miller's Ruby Star Rising and New Echino!

We are thrilled to have the first collection from Melody Miller in the shop! She is indeed a rising star in the fabric design industry, and this collection from Kokka is already selling out all over the place. We have the following fabrics in the shop, and we'll be adding a few more colorways in a few weeks.

Vintage Ladies

Vintage Dishes ~ Pink ~ Mint ~ Grey

Viewfinder


Transistors ~ Orange ~ Pink


Also, we just got 8 bolts of the newest Echino fabric designed by Etsuko Furuya - in a fantastic cotton / linen blend that's just perfect for summer dresses! Two different prints in four colors each, and the best thing is that they are a whopping 62" wide! Pleated Skirts, anyone?

Madrigal ~ Peach

Madrigal ~ Black

Rondo - Seafoam

Rondo ~ Orange

Next week, I'll be attending the International Fabric Expo in Las Vegas, so stay tuned for all the great fabric finds!