Welcome!

We’re happy you’ve arrived at the blog of In The Beginning Fabrics! Here’s where we introduce new collections, chat with designers, and give you a peek at what goes on behind the scenes at In The Beginning. On a slow day, we might post a picture of our cats if we think we can get away with it. We, your bloggers, are Leah and Wendy. If there’s anything in particular you’d like to hear about, leave us a comment.

Please check out In The Beginning Fabrics website to see the wonderful fabric collections that we are all so proud of!

(Scroll down to see new blog entries.)

Free Pattern: Tussie Mussie

Our latest free pattern features Jennifer Heynen’s new collection, Tussie Mussie:

Tussie Mussie Pattern

(Tussie Mussie is the collection featured in our masthead!)

The pattern is for a quick-and-easy ninepatch quilt that finishes at approximately 76-1/2″ x 96-1/2″. It’s bright and happy, and perfect for curling up in while reading a book or watching a favorite TV show.

The pattern includes instructions for a second color option in fresh blues and greens.

Enjoy!

~Wendy

Sneak Peek: Splendor II

Jason’s new Splendor II collection is all about timeless beauty:

Splendor II: 1SPB1

That’s the main print above. Below is a gorgeous border stripe. Imagine this — with mitered borders — framing a quilt:

Splendor II: 2SPB1

And…the bird toiles are back! These have long been a favorite, and they blend perfectly (and splendidly!) with this collection.

Bird Toile: 5FB202

There are some wonderful, smaller prints:

Splendor II: 4SPB1

And, of course, an extremely useful tone-on-tone print:

Splendor II: 8SPB1

Put it all together, and you’ve got a quilt! (This is just a fraction of the collection. You can see the whole group here.)

Spendor II will be shipping in August, which suddenly seems just around the corner. Yay!

~Wendy

Sneak Peek: Hallowgraphix II

We always have to think ahead when planning our fabric collections, and that’s why we’re currently focused on Halloween when it might make more sense to be pondering Valentine’s Day. Although, when you think about it, both days have the potential to be scary.

Hallowgraphix II: 1HGB1

Above is the main print in Jason Yenter’s Hallowgraphix II collection. Below is the super-spooky night scene:

Hallowgraphix II: 4HGB1

I love this gothic cobweb print.  Even if Halloween is not your thing, this would be a great addition to a stash of black-and-white prints:

Hallowgraphix II: 6HGB3

And for a pure autumnal look, check out these leaves:

Hallowgraphix II: 5HGB1

You can see the whole collection here. Enjoy! (Hallowgraphix II will be shipping in July.)

~Wendy

“It is, what it is!”

According to Suzie from El Dorado Hills, California, “It is, what it is!” and that’s the quote she used to win the Musings quilt-kit give away.

Multicolored Musings Quilt

Thank you to everyone who entered the contest with their own favorite quotes.  We really enjoyed and mused over what you submitted.

So, Suzie, what it is….is a winner!

~Leah

Fun Stuff from Better Gnomes & Gardens

Here’s a joke to brighten your day.

Question: So, what did the boy-mushroom say to the girl-mushroom?
Answer: “Hi! I’m a fungi!”  (get it….a FUN GUY?)

Fun stuff is all around this fabric I’m showing off today.  Designed by Heather DuPont, it’s called Better Gnomes & Gardens. If the name of the fabric wasn’t catchy enough to put a smile on your face, take a look at these strike-offs we received a few days ago.

Strike-offs for Better Gnomes & Gardens

Cute little mushrooms and the most beautiful sunflowers abound on a back drop of perfect pinks and sky blues.

These cheery fabrics also have hard-working Gnomes, and every garden, of foliage or fabric, should have one.

Garden Gnome

The panel print measures 32×43 inches.  The most obvious use would be a baby quilt, but there are so many other elements to this panel print, why stop there.

Panel Print

I’m thinking I would like to cut it up and add in pieced blocks.  I might have to get 2 of the panels to do this, but that way I can choose the elements I want to emphasize. The large sunflower print below would make a really fun kaleidescope block, don’t you think?

Print 1

To see the full collection of Better Gnomes and Gardens check out our web site.  The fabrics are being printed now, so look for them in March at your favorite local quilt shop, or ask for them now.

~Leah

Sneak Peek: Painted Summer

We’re all very excited about Lida Enche’s second collection with us. Painted Summer captures the heightened colors, the blossoms, and some of the birds and butterflies that make the sun-drenched days of summertime so memorable.

Here are Lida’s hummingbirds:

Painted Summer: 1LEB1

I can’t wait for the peonies to start blooming. Of course, they bloom forever on fabric:

Painted Summer: 2LEB3

These hydrangeas just take my breath away. I love this print:

Painted Summer: 7LEB3

I’ve just picked some of my favorites to show here, but the whole collection is pretty wonderful. You can see all the prints here.

Painted Summer should be appearing in quilt shops in late June. I hope you’ll look for it!

Totally off-topic: we’ve really been enjoying reading the comments in our giveaway. The quotes you all are submitting are great. If you haven’t entered, there’s still time! Check it out here. And thanks to all of you for joining in the fun.

~Wendy

Musings Giveaway

Nothing beats the winter and post-holiday blues like a bright and cheery piece of fabric. Our Musings fabric collection has just the prints. Prints 1 and 3 sparkle on a black background, which only makes the colors appear brighter.

Print 1

Print 3

However, Musings got its name from print number 2.  Fun and inspirational “musings” from famous women are scattered across the fabric in both directions.  A quilt with this print in it will hold anyone’s attention.

Print 2

My favorite quotes from this print are the ones from Mother Theresa and Phyllis Diller.  See if you can find them.  When I make a quilt with this collection, I am going to make some of the blocks with a blank spot.  My Mom will be surprised to see her famous good-bye greeting of “Toot-A-Loo” scribed onto a quilt block and my friend Katena would be touched to see her “Bye for now!” signature.

Want to join me? You can enter to win a kit of the Musings quilt kit below.

Musings Quilts

The kit contains all the fabric you need to make the quilt top and binding, and the winner will get to choose which coloration they would prefer.

To enter, go to comments on this post (not some other one!) and tell us one of your favorite quotes, either already printed on our Musings print or one you would have included. We will randomly select a winner from among the commenters. All comments received before noon, Pacific Time, on Friday, January 27th, 2012 will be eligible (one comment per person, please). Winners will be notified by email. (So please use an email address where you can be reached. Your email address won’t show up in your comment, and we won’t use your address for any other purpose. Honest!)

Good luck and check back often to read what other fellow quilters have to “muse” about! This is gonna be fun!

UPDATE: GIVEAWAY HAS NOW CLOSED. Thank you to all the commenters! The winner will be announced on Monday, January 30.

~Leah

Musings in Quilt Trends Magazine

FabricTrends magazine has been renamed QuiltTrends, but still has the same great content: lots of quilt patterns and projects, designer interviews, and previews of fabric collections.

QuiltTrends Magazine

Their Winter 2012 issue includes the instructions for making the Musings quilt shown below, designed by Jason Yenter. At approximately 41″ square it’s the perfect size for a wall quilt. Since the border is made up of quotations, this quilt gives new meaning to the term “conversation piece,” and will really give visitors to your home something to talk about!

Musings in QuiltTrends

You can see the whole Musings Collection here. Next week we’re having a giveaway, so please be sure to check back!

~Wendy

Two Free Patterns!

We have two new free patterns on our website. One is the Musings Friendship Quilt, featuring many wise and funny sayings by famous (or infamous) women. For example, there’s this from Julia Child: I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate. I am a wee bit older than 32, and still have not started cooking. The eating part I’ve gotten down.

Musings Pattern

This quilt would make a great gift for a friend going through a challenging time in her life. The pattern has instructions for making the quilt in two different colorways. The multicolor version is shown above. The pink version is shown below. (The entire Musings Collection is here.)

Musings Quilt: Pink

Our other new pattern is the Morris Stars Quilt featuring Michele Hill’s Morris Meadows Collection. This is a beautiful traditional quilt with a gorgeous mitered border. I really like how the tonal prints are used in this design. They play an important role in the star points, and at the same time they allow the more decorative prints to really stand out.

Morris Meadows Pattern

Please look for Musings and Morris Meadows at your favorite quilt shops!

~Wendy

New Year & New Fabrics

Well, the holidays are over and I’m afraid you haven’t heard much from us through most of them. Although you might be led to believe we have been enjoying some down time, really the exact opposite is true and we have been working very hard at coming up with more “to-die-for” fabric prints and collections…..and inspirational ideas of what to do with them.

But I wanted to be sure to let you know about a fun event coming up rather quickly. This is a fun opportunity for you to see one of our newest collections by one of our local fabric designers, Lida Enche, the creator of our September Light  collection.  If some of the cooler days of winter have you dreaming of summer come to Island Quilter’s new location on Vashon Island this Friday, January 6, from 6-9pm to see the exuberant original paintings that have inspired her fabric collections. You will also get a sneak peek of the art and color ways created for Painted Summer, Lida’s newest collection. It’s filled with warm, sunshiny images of Summer in full swing and will be available this Summer. Lida will be there this Friday evening for this opening event, and through the end of the month the shop will display her original art and prints, and quilts and samples sewn using Lida’s fabric by wonderful local pattern designers and quilters. Below you will find all the information to get there:

Island Quilter’s Info:
17639 Vashon Hwy
Vashon Island, WA 98070

ph: (206) 713-6000
check www.islandquilter.com for hours and ferry schedule

If you can’t make it to the show, but want to see more of Lida’s work, visit www.lidaenche.com and her new fabric blog. Here is a taste of what you will see…

Hummingbirds

We hope this year is full of many wonderful events.  We will try out best to keep you up to date on the latest things going on with In The Beginning Fabrics. Check back soon!

~Leah