What do fabrics say to you?

Today in the mail I received this FQ stack of Thomas Knauer's new line Flock for Andover which should be reaching the shops very shortly (i.e. this month).  There are blenders.


There are skies full of birds.


There are larger scale designs.


And there are funky organic designs.  


Put them all together and I see summer in London in the swinging sixties; Austen Powers, Biba, Barbara Hulanicki, Magical Mystery tour, Yellow Submarine, Carnaby Street, lava lamps, Twiggy, Kings Road, mini skirts, maxi skirts, afro hairdos, dawning of the age of aquarius.  OK I'm getting carried away now and it's not helping me to decide what I'm actually going to make with all this London summer sunshine.  So help a girl out and leave me some creative suggestions below as to where to go with this stack of FQs and a quilt named "Swing on London". 

Comments

  1. well I think 60s optical illusion designs are fab (note use of 60s vocab) but would probably be a nightmare to sew.

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  2. A summer picnic blanket is called for! Most fabrics I love just say "Buy me" :-)

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  3. Oh I totally misunderstood. Fabrics tend to say to me - go on just buy me. You know you want too.

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  4. I think they are so busy that larger pieces would be better than small.
    Or just stripes mixed with solids?

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  5. I see a funky quilt using Jenny's ruler and some of this years tangerine palette in solids with some turquoise - of and a quilt, most definitely a quilt
    What about her new QAL block - the curved 9 patch - that would make it super funky man

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  6. I think those fabrics are so fun- I've had my eye on them and love the dots. The big prints are intriguing too- I think something large scale with smaller fabrics bordering perhaps? I am sure you will come up with something wonderful!

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  7. I'm thinking lava lamps. If you could recreate that sort of hour glass shape repeated in vertical stripes, with a thin strip of solid between each stripe. I've seen a quilt like that before, but can't remember where!! I guess you could use tumbler shapes to the same effect.

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  8. The curlicue crush pattern would be the perfect match for these fabrics

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  9. If these were my fabrics they would be saying (like the rest of them) "I'm far too pretty to use".

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  10. I agree with Quiltification that Curlique Crush would be a great starting point. All those psychedelic crazy curves...

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  11. The birds remind me of the ocean I visited in California. And the Local dump. Hum I think I will stick with the ocean views.

    http://richardquilts.blogspot.com

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  12. I'd picture loads of improv - long wavy lines, random circles, nothing sharp or pointy, all curves :-) Rather you than me.... lol

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  13. Damn - Laura beat me to it! I was also thinking a lava-lamp type shape, possibly stripes going down the quilt but in a lava lamp style zig-zag/wave rather than blocks.

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  14. Am with Quiltification and Esch House. Would use The Curlicue Crush pattern as a starting point. Whatever you make will be fab... Or should I say groovy?

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  15. I think lots of different sized squares and rectanlges to display the big prints, but give the surreal look. Or maybe a combo of apple cores and circles for the groovy look? They'd have to be big though, for the big prints. Bet you're glad I don't make quilts for you, eh? ;o)

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  16. Love those blenders! I am thinking something swirly and kaleidoscopic like the set of the 'Banana Splits'. I showed my son a clip of banana splits on youtube (it was one of my fav programmes as a kid) and he said "and they say kids these days have attention span problems!" I bet you get some inspiration if you watch the banana splits!

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  17. What about Full Swing by Rachel Griffith, available at the Fat Quarter Shop? I'm not very creative.

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  18. How about you not make anything and just send the entire stack to me?

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  19. Lovely fabric! I'm afraid I'm all out of ideas, I find it much harder to start with the fabric than I do to start with the pattern...I'll find my thinking hat!

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  20. Summer is most definitely brought to mind and specifically a bright summery throw quilt. A modern pattern to show off all those gorgeous fabrics. Something that doesn't cut them into tiny pieces. Simple and yet showy with quilting that doesn't over power the fabric. Quilting should make the designs in the fabric flow.

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  21. Oh it sounds like you need a groovy, patchwork kaftan.....

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  22. A 60s 70s tiki hut comes to mind - so a column quilt with a paper lantern design would be fun - or something like a double hourglass - cute fabrics

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  23. You know what they say to me? How do I get onto Thomas' distribution list!?!

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  24. Fabric just says "Buy me!" to me. A quilt that has some movement in it from the shapes would be cool.

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  25. If I were you,

    - which I'm not, and why I suggest this, because I could never do it -

    I would do some intricate paper piecing for a swinging London themed quilt a bit like your icons of design jobby - Carnaby Street lava lampy thing, London Eye, Big Ben, London Bus, unfinished Olympic village, you know ...

    I

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  26. I only do stars, sorry x

    Big overlapping circles, stripes and flowers to look like Confetti Orange-Happy Mochi Yum Yum?

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  27. These fabrics say FUN & WHIMSY....

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  28. I'm inclined to the simple stuff: multi-squares in different sizes to show off the big, medium, and small prints, with the occasional 'sashing' of lots of colourful blocks.

    Kind of Mondrian-esque.

    Whatever you make, I'm sure it will be lovely!

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