How’s that for a self-explanatory post title? Anna Maria Horner’s Loulouthi Needleworks prints are so cool you have to hardly do anything to them to turn them into something pretty and useful. Just sew up the sides and cut a boatneck like did for a cute new shift dress!

I followed our Exposed Waistband Skirt instructions but left out the pleating for this one.

The added twist was that I used black mini-ball fringe to trim the hem! Seemed to add to the gypsy feel of the skirt without being too crazy.

I dare you to try it with regular sized pom pom fringe. Not really. Wait, there probably is someone who could pull that off without looking silly. Just not me.

We alluded to this project a bit ago, and now we can show some progress!  This is the Wild Garden quilt. Well, quilt top. It still needs to be quilted, which I have been having internal debates about how to do.  But the bamboo batting is ready and waiting, and then it will be time for a pattern release!  Yup, Wild Garden will be available from our own Golly Patterns in August.

The idea is simply to frame a panel with border-after-border, which we love for showcasing fabric that we don’t to detract from with over-designed piecing. You may recognize the Loulouthi fabrics, obviously that collection. More photos and info on the pattern to come, if I can just make up my mind about the quilting…

Of the few things I take very seriously, my sleep is one of them. My bed has such a heavenly mattress that I love it a little more than a person should love a thing.  And of course, my comfy bed has got to be pretty too. (I totally believe that the aesthetics of our environments affect our mood.)  So the transitioning of the winter comforter to the summer comforter was the perfect time for a bed makeover.

For me the simple, right-sides-together duvet cover has become the go-to when I want something for my own bed but there’s not enough time (or I’m too impatient) to make a new quilt. When you have a large print to show off it’s especially perfect. I had been dying to get my hands on the the huge-scale prints in the Loulouthi collection in particular. The tricky thing is, a queen duvet cover requires 2 widths of fabric, and with prints this big they had to be matched. It turned out much better than I anticipated, only needed about a foot of extra fabric and I just pinned before sewing. Barely noticeable!

And since I like to change things up a lot, the back has a contrasting print so I can flip it if I’m in a more purpley mood.

The fabric particulars:

• duvet front fabric: Summer Totem in Grapefruit
• duvet back fabric: Framed in Shadow
  • 4 3/4 yards for each side of a full/queen duvet
• pillowcases: Stockings in Twist
  • 1 yard per pillowcase

My duvet cover sewing tips:

• Don’t bother squaring up until after you’ve sewn the two sides together. When I square up first, by the time I’m done sewing the sides and top together, the bottom don’t match up anyway so I have to square up again before hemming.
• As in making pillow shams, if you make your duvet cover slightly smaller than the duvet, the corners will stay put and be nice and full.  My duvet is 82″ square, and I usually make my duvet covers about 81″ square.
• Closing the bottom a foot or two in from the sides helps keep everything in place too, plus there are less ties to tie and there is still plenty of room to fit it over the duvet. I usually do this by hemming the bottom, then sewing it closed near the sides with the same seams that I sew my ties on with.
• If you’re lazy like me, use narrow twill tape instead of making ties.  I prefer ties just because once I had duvet cover buttons that would not stay done up.  For this project, it looked better than the grosgrain and satin ribbons I had on hand and saved lotsa time.

If you’ve got duvet cover sewing tips too, please add them in the comments!

Last night we were working on a new pattern for a new quilt out of Loulouthi that we’re pretty excited about. Here’s a little peek at what we’re calling “Wild Garden.” We’ll probably be publishing this pattern under our Golly label but will keep you posted.

I want to give you an idea of what’s about to happen over here. This week, we will have 17 20 boxes of fabric arriving from various fabric companies. And I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the deliveries the UPS man makes at the shop, but these are big boxes.  I still don’t think I am fully prepared for this. It will be like the Christmas of all Christmases.

And just imagining how much room all this new fabric will be taking up is why we are still having a Market Clearance sale, making room for everything we ordered at Quilt Market, which will keep coming for the next several months.  Continuing through this Saturday (if the fabric lasts that long) a huge selection is marked down to HALF OFF. We figured we’ve never had a sale this huge since we’ve been open, and probably won’t again for another 2 years. Now, those prices are in-store only, but we have also added new fabrics to our online Clearance section.

But back to my real purpose for this post, which is to share with you some of the new fabrics coming in. The indomitable Anna Maria Horner has a new collection that is her best yet, named Loulouthi, and in 3 colorways each named for one of her daughters.  Here is what she says about this collection:

Loulouthi is a treasure box of all that I love about flowers and fabric coming together in form and inspiration. The word loulouthi simply translates from the Greek as “flower”. But in an ongoing story, my cultural heritage has enlivened these fabrics with visions of needleworks in progress, the gentle tending of village gardens, and the luxury of living alongside everyday works of art. The language of flowers and floral handiwork has spoken to me since before I could thread my own needles, and this collection is my reply to all that beauty.

And here is what it looks like! These are the quilting weight cottons. The “Juliana” colorway:

the “Eleni” colorway:

the “Isabela” colorway:

some gorgeous voiles:

and the laminates:

These images don’t really do the real thing justice. The beauty of this collection is in the balance of fine details within the huge scales. I’m always a sucker for stripes and geometric prints, which combined with the massive florals are such a celebration of joyful design. I see some late sewing nights ahead.

It is SO nice to have quilt market in our own backyard in Salt Lake City!  Being able to drive our own cars instead of rentals and eat at our favorite local restaurants and have the entire Suppose staff come is making this market one of the best yet.  Not to mention all of the amazing quilty things we’re finding. I’m telling you, the bar keeps getting higher and higher in this industry. Rather than tell you, I’ll just show you. Here’s just a bit of what we’ve been seeing…

Tula Pink reveals her new fabric line, Prince Charming, in some new quilt patterns.  Look closely at the quilting, it’s pretty amazing and really accentuates the quilt design.

This quilt shows off all the prints in the Prince Charming collection.

Lizzy House tells the stories behind the stories of her new fabric line, 1001 Peeps, which will be arriving at Suppose in a matter of days.

Anna Maria Horner is releasing a new fabric collection called Loulouthi, as well as a range of embroidery & cross-stitch patterns & threads. This pillow shows off a big-stitch quilted panel from the collection. We’re a bit ga-ga over Loulouthi!

Those are just a fraction of the highlights from Schoolhouse Series, which we attended Thursday. Stay tuned for more from the show floor!