April 18, 2016

Wonderful Quilters, Flowers, and Canyons

It's finally starting to feel like spring here in Connecticut. How about where you are?

As many of you know, my Canyon collection for Moda Fabrics is loaded with desert flowers. I love their graceful beauty and strength, especially cactus. Before designing Canyon, I had never seen them blooming in the wild. I created the drawings for Canyon from photos I'd taken and sketches I'd done at botanical gardens.
This winter, on social media, I noticed several shops in Arizona displaying some lovely Canyon quilts and projects. This month, I traveled to Arizona to take a closer look, at the quilts in the shops and at the flowering cactus in the desert. Also, I wanted to see the Canyon itself, the Grand Canyon. How lucky I was to get there, and along the way to meet many amazing quilters in their creative communities. My sincere and special thanks to the quilt shops I visited and to Sonja Mann, the beloved Moda Fabrics representative for this region, for introducing me to these special places and people. I look forward to visiting again.

Me with Kathy at her vibrant shop, A Quilter's Oasis, in Mesa.
At the new and impressive Modern Quilting shop in Phoenix with the media director, Linda. Darlene, we'll see you next time!
Arizona Quilts in Surprise, Arizona, explodes with color, and is the colorful creative place of Judy Verrett (shown here) and her husband Mike who does the long-arm quilting.
In Tucson, I got to enjoy the company of Lena and her colleagues at the terrific Quilt Basket.
Lynda was a generous hostess at The Quilter's Market. Here I am with Lynda's colleague, Bonnie (in stylish scarf) and Cate (in white blouse) who made the colorful Canyon quilt on display.
Bonnie, me, Lynda, and Sonja Mann from Moda Fabrics at The Quilter's Market in Tucson.

I also ventured out -- on foot, on bike, on river raft, and plane -- for desert blooms and canyons.

And now I have so many new ideas, I've got to back to the drawing board. What are some places you've gone to that inspire your creativity?

xo,
kate


11 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing such wonderful photos! Im glad you were able to visit the desert southwest. The desert is truly a soothing, colorful and magical place! :)

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    1. Robin Gelum, you're welcome. Yes, you say it so well about the desert. Best to you and Gordon.

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  2. What a fantastic trip!!! All those smiles! I truly look forward to how you interpret all that natural beauty!!! It looks like wonderful refreshment!

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  3. Your photos are absolutely exquisite, Kate. Thanks so much for sharing them. Did you venture to Sedona while you were there? I've only visited once, but for a girl from the midwest, Sedona is breathtaking and unforgettable. And, there's a quilt shop there! (Bonus!)

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    1. Yes, we drove through Sedona and enjoyed a walk in a park on the outskirts of it. Even with all that we'd heard about the place, it exceeded our expectations with its amazing landscape and greenery set against it.

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  4. The flowering cactus are beautiful, as the canyon scenery - lots of inspiration! I am always drawn to the wilderness mountains of Idaho - such a wealth of peace, calm, beauty, force, perseverance which all adds up to inspiration! Come visit sometime and I'll show you its secrets...

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    1. Thanks, Barb! You're very kind to offer. A great friend, Melissa, grew up in Nampa, ID.

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  5. Oh, the colors in the third photo from the bottom - I MUST do something in that palette!! Thanks for sharing that - I definitely needed another idea on the bucket list... LOL!!

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    1. Yes, Sarah. Me too. They call that "Navajo Sandstone" -- both that rock and the color of it.

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  6. Glad you had a wonderful vacation. I'm one of the lucky quilt shop employees who met you at A Quilter's Oasis. Can't wait to see what your next line of fabric will be!

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    1. Thank you, Michele! It was a pleasure meeting you and the great team at A Quilter's Oasis. Check in next week here for the preview of my next line for Moda Fabrics, premiering at the International Quilt Market in Salt Lake. It's called "Grand Canal." In the meantime, enjoy "Northwoods" and let me know when you start playing around with my "Latitude" batik collection for Moda Fabrics.

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