I was on a mission to see and touch as much pretty fabric and handwork products as I could at this year’s Quilt Market in Kansas City. This bi-annual trade show for the quilting industry, as many of you may know, is not open to the general public. I’m thrilled to share with you some of the sights and delights I saw (and felt!) from the show floor.

The night before, we all took part in sample spree, er stampede! 

Here are four things that caught my eye (not surprising they are handwork related). While there lots of offerings at market, these are the ones I will likely bring into the shop. And you read it here first!

1. Sashiko

I’m ecstatic to see that Sashiko is trending. We already have a comprehensive offering of Sashiko supplies, but there will be more to come.

• New Sashiko thread – Hidamari by Lecien Cosmo. I had a chance to play with some and it has a lovely hand. It’s finer than traditional Sashiko thread, probably somewhere between a perle cotton 8 and 12. Offered in a substantial color palette, we will stock all 40 colors (20q solids and 20q variegates).

• New Sashiko panels – by Lecien Cosmo. These are available in four different designs and in 12 colors. Its cotton/linen blend is preprinted with lines that wash off. Your finished piece will be approximately 12 inches square.

2. Embroidery and Surface Embroidery

I saw more vendors than in past shows offering embroidery products alongside examples of fabric lines incorporating surface embroidery or traditional embroidery.

• Another piece of  hoop art by Wild Boho using eclectic fabrics for the background to create a modern, fun surface embroidery project.

  

• Send My Love 6-part BOM by Gail Pan Designs incorporates 36 sweet embroidery designs.

• Embroideries for dishtowels is a collection by Bareroots Designs.

• Spoke Easy is a new notion by Sue Spargo to make perfectly spaced spokes for surface embroidery stitching.

3. New Substrates

• Yummy hand-dyed Aida, Osnaburg, Linen, and Cheesecloths by Fiber On A Whim. These are great new options for cross stitchers and embroiderers alike.

• Nikko Wovens by Diamond Textiles are great for garments and for mixing with cottons in quilts.

• M Standard by Lecien Fabrics is a canvas cotton that looks like leather. The projects are endless…quilts, wearables, accessories (bags), and home décor—just to name a few.

• Also from Lecien Fabrics is a cotton lawn collection called Memoire a Paris. I absolutely love working with this fabric. It’s adorable for garments (especially little girls) but also really great for quilting.

• Ruby Star Society’s canvas collection is great for bags, garments, and home décor.

4. New crafts

These new crafts caught my attention this year and leave me interested in learning more:

• Needle Tatting - Dating back to early 17th century, tatting is a technique for handcrafting a particularly durable lace from a series of knots and loops. Tatting can be used to make lace edging as well as doilies, collars, accessories such as earrings and necklaces, and other decorative pieces.

• Silk fusion - An amazing and lustrous felt or paper that is incredibly easy to create with silk. You make a silk sandwich by layering silk roving or silk hankies between fiberglass screens, then thoroughly wet it and apply a textile medium. Dry, remove, screen, heat set, and create.