Helpful Fabrics from Fresh Modern Fabric
I have been shopping with Fresh Modern Fabric for more than a decade. In fact, I’m pretty sure it was one of the very first shops I ordered from, when I just began as a quilter! This shop is known for stocking fantastic modern basics and low volume fabrics, which are really the bread and butter of my fabric stash. I am so glad that I found Fresh Modern Fabric way back when and that they are still going strong today!
This lovely stack is the last batch of fabric stash enhancements sourced during my trip to America. As you can see, it’s a right rainbow of basics or, as I like to call them, helpful fabrics. Helpful fabrics are those one-color wonders which work like solids but with more added interest. They’re endlessly versatile and make great scrap quilts too. In fact, if you’ve wondered how my scraps seem to work together rather than clash, it may be thanks to the prevalence of helpful fabrics in my scrap drawers - - -
I’m quite excited about these new blue fabrics. On the left are my new aquisitions; while, on the right are the most similar shades of blue from my stash. You can see that the Periwinkle Champagne fabric has a touch of purple to it, as befits periwinkle. That’s exactly what I needed! I also love that the Clover print is a very neutral blue, which you often see in more traditional fabrics, but not in modern prints. The alphabet print is admittedly pretty smilier to what I already had, but I still have a soft spot for text prints. I love the character that they add to patchwork!
These two new orchid pink fabrics play very nicely with the few other orchid pinks in my stash (stack right). The new additions don’t bring new shades, but I love their character and will certainly find them a useful boost.
My new green fabrics (stack left) bring each a special new tone to my fabric palette. That spark fabric is a gorgeous Christmas-y green, which I have never had before in a print. The pearl bracelet brings a fresh lime tint, which I somehow never buy but do like to use. If you compare my new greens to the most similar fabrics in my stash (stack right) you can see that they also bring new shapes and values to the mix. And that’s the goal.
For me, having a range of helpful fabrics on hand in all my favorite colors, plus a variety of shapes and values - well, that is the basis from which my creativity flows. If you are new to quilt-making or want to freshen up your fabric stash to feel more modern and versatile, invest in half yard cuts of good basics like these. They never go bad!
Well now, I am itching to start something new. =)
Here are two different palette stacks. Fun, fun! In each I have combined showy Quilt Sandwich fabrics with helpful fabrics from my stash. That’s how I often start a quilt. I use a colorful inspiration print to anchor the palette and then pull supporting prints from my stash for variety of color tones and style.
Do you remember my blog post The Colors I Need? In it I highlighted the colors that I am missing in my fabric stash. When colors are missing, I feel like a painter without the right paint. Luckily The Confident Stitch was able to help me with some of my target colors!
Lately I have noticed that certain colors are not well-represented in my fabric stash. I feel then like a painter without paint. Only, unlike a painter, I can’t mix different colors to create the desired hue! So today I have poked around in my scrap bins to find scraps of the colors I need. After all, scraps are often remnants of your most useful fabrics - the ones you keep reaching for or have almost entirely used up.
This month Quilt Sandwich Fabrics is celebrating their 16th anniversary. That’s 16 years of modern fabrics and almost as long sponsoring Stitched in Color. Wow! To celebrate Quilt Sandwich is giving away a complete fat quarter set of Ravel. It’s such a cool fabric collection.
What usually comes first - falling in love with a patchwork pattern or with a group of fabric? For me it varies so much that I don’t think I have a usual flow. This time it was perhaps both, if that’s possible. I am equally smitten by the pattern and the fabrics, and so excited to get to marry them together.
Typically my fabric shopping process is indeed a thoughtful, intentional one. But not always. At times it’s good to simply be moved by the heart. Here’s how chance encounters and persistent attractions also play into my fabric shopping process.
As you delve deeper into the hobby of quilt making, you will build up some history with the craft. Soon you will find that there are are certain styles you’re drawn to again and again. Here’s how considering the past and the future can make you an extra smart shopper.
My fabric stash is my artist’s palette. I can only create with the colors and forms which I have on hand. What can I add that will help me create quilts from the heart? How can I express my truest self? What additions will spark joy?At the root of each answer is Color. That is why my fabric shopping always begins there.
I brought all of my fabric and even my scraps, when I moved overseas. In the last three years, I’ve gotten to know what it’s like to shop for quilt fabrics as a European. Let’s talk about the costs, accessibility and my favorite quilt shop destinations!
Sometimes fabric is love at first sight. That’s how it was for me with Kismet. This collection was released in 2020, when I was totally engrossed in shopping for our new home. Even so, Kismet stood out to me, and I wished I had an excuse to buy the whole thing. But I didn’t, at the time, and I expected I would miss my chance with it.
We have many choices when shopping for quilting cotton solids. The best brand for you will depend upon your needs and priorities. Here is a comparison of solid fabric lines, including Kona, Bella and Art Gallery Pure Elements.
Ok, I am just having So Much Fun cutting these hexagons. Something about the shape makes every already-pretty fabric positively glow! Hope you’ll join us for Honeycomb Stars in October. You can sign up to sew-along now!
A few mistakes or a sprinkling of irregularity are like a fingerprint. I was here. This was made by hand. Made for love and pleasure, and to be celebrated, warts and all.
Today I’ll show a few of my recent favorites from Dashwood Studio available at sponsor shop Purple Stitches and then finish with a fun giveaway that is open worldwide!
Choosing fabrics is definitely my favorite part! Here are some curated picks for the After the Rain quilt. I know not everyone enjoys the fabric selection stage, so if you’re feeling stumped, these fabrics are available at my sponsor shops!
New fabric, the start of a new quilt, Geesey Geesey sew-along news and a flying geese ruler that makes everything easier!
A snapshot of community contributions for Inspiration + Stash via Quilter’s Color Quest. Plus, Spice up Your Stash with my custom curated fabric bundles, available at The Confident Stitch.
I want my quilt revival to have the save effect as the original. In the first version I see lots of dark values: black, navy, charcoal gray. There are also a few bright colors: raspberry, turquoise and jade. Each row of spunky blocks contrasts light and dark fabrics.
When you’re inspired to start a new project, what comes first? Is it the fabric that catches your imagination or the project that simply must be made? It can go either way for me, but this time the fabric definitely came first. Enter the Darlings!
In her many years as a Moda designer, Brigitte has created lots of beautiful fabrics that have appeared in my quilts and probably in yours as well. Learn how Brigitte and I have connected and are working together from Europe!
Since we committed to our plan to move to Europe, I’ve been a bit more liberal with my fabric purchases. I’m usually a pretty conservative shopper, but it sounds like the price of quilting cottons in Europe is seriously steep.
Earlier this month I ordered fabrics from for fall garment sewing projects. And, I may have happened on some quilting cottons too... Let me show you what I’m cooking up. First, something for me!
One thing I love about patchwork is the way that fabric choices change everything. There’s so much momentum in that one facet of quilt-making.
Satisfaction is not entirely my reaction to this quilt so far. More like apprehension. Amy I getting the concept right? Are the fabrics spot on? And, really, where am I going next? Haha.
On a sunny day the sun's rays pass through a skylight to illuminate this part of my design wall with an abundance of glorious light. My stash of helpful fabrics makes it easy to gather up rainbows.
You know what I love? A day that includes a chunk of "in the flow" sewing. You know what I love even more? A day that I get to start a new project. Lucky me, that day was yesterday!
What works best as backing for your big bed quilt? Here are some important considerations: substrate, fabric width, color and print.
We have many choices when shopping for quilting cotton solids. The best brand for you will depend upon your needs and priorities. Here is a comparison of solid fabric lines...
I do keep a stash of quilting cottons on hand. It's not grown much because I moderate my purchases, but also because I use it. I love to combine fabrics to create unique mash ups.
This stack from Fresh Modern Fabric is my last batch of fabric stash enhancements sourced during my trip to America. As you can see, it’s a right rainbow of basics or, as I like to call them, helpful fabrics. Helpful fabrics are those one-color wonders which work like solids but with more added interest. They’re endlessly versatile and make great scrap quilts too.