I checked in with Fig Tree designer,Joanna Figueroa---to see what she has been up to this summer.  You know with the kids (3) home and all... and yup, she did not cease to amaze me...she launched a new “mid-market” line of fabric, called “Urban Indigo” for Moda.  And she is putting the finishing touches on another line called “Dandelion Girl”...This is one lady that does not stand still!

The sales reps are showing “Urban Indigo” off now (see entire collection in photos below) to your local quilt shop owners.  It will be on the shelves in November.  But, of course, you can see a sneak peek here.

Joanna agreed to tell us more about what she did during her “summer vacation”...

Here is Joanna:
For me Urban Indigo was inspired by an article in Marie Claire Idees, a charming French magazine that showcases wonderful stories and vignettes about hand crafts, patchwork [as the French call quilting], needlework, knitting, home decoration, home sewing, cooking, etc.

The magazine chooses beautiful color combinations and stunning pictures & collages that make you feel like you have walked into little countryside villas steeped in warmth and tradition or chic Paris living rooms, outfitted in the latest colors and bohemian styles.

But I digress.... there was a story showcasing the style of adding small, soft pastel florals with lace and denim. The pages of the story showed several dozen examples of how people are mixing those mediums and colors in fashion and home decorating. It immediately made me think of a fabric line and so Urban Indigo was born.

Given the source of inspiration, the blues are meant to be reminiscent of the denim and some of the light cream florals are stand ins for the lace. Together the line is soft and vintage and could easily be incorporated with some real denim for quite a nostalgic look. The colors in the line include soft creams, french blues, buttery yellows, and creamy pinks all with tiny little accents of green and taupe. For me the result is delicate and romantic without being too sweet.

The little prints are easy to work with and blend very well with many of our other lines. In fact I am currently working on a bird and nest quilt that utilizes some of the little tiny swatches that I have of the fabric. You can see the pics here.

The fabric went to the wonderful MODA sales force earlier this summer and so will arrive in stores in November. I recommend you purchase your favorites pieces then and squirrel it away for those late winter months when we are all aching to make something new and ready for Spring. This line would surely inspire you to create something fresh and clean feeling, something simple and new. Isn’t late winter the perfect time to do that?

Here’s a little pic of the sweet little pattern we designed for the line. This "Sweet Clover" pattern is now being preordered by stores and will be out later this summer.

What I’m working on now...Dandelion Girl

Currently, I’m working on the final stages of the swatches for our new line coming out at Houston Quilt Market this fall. The line I’m working on will be a Spring line to release into stores March/April 2008. It is called Dandelion Girl. For those of you who know me or see me soon, feel free to ask me the convoluted and hilarious way that I came up with that name... I won’t say more here but believe me if you get a chance, its a story worth hearing.

Anyway, Dandelion Girl is a full line with some wonderful colors- soft cream, aqua, warm peach, faded cinnamon, butter, grass green- and more than a few charming accessories. It has a fantastic grouping of wovens- including some of the most beautiful seersucker fabrics I have ever seen [if I do say so myself :-)] and some wonderful fresh checks and Springtime plaids. Stay tuned for preview shots of this line as soon as I have them to show...

I’m also preparing for my booth at the Pacific International Quilt Festival which happens every October at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara California. It is the only retail show that Fig Tree attends as I generally like to leave the retail side of the business to our wonderful retailers!

However, this great show is right in our own backyard so to speak and there is a pretty long waiting list to get in so once we got in, we’ve been going every year since.

Its a great opportunity for us to interface with our final customers and a chance to offer a few specials and kits- things that we create exclusively for this event. So if you can get over to the West Coast, come on over to the show. Its a wonderful eclectic mix of traditional and contemporary vendors and quilt exhibitions.

(Note from Gina: I will be at Pacific International too with my companies, Threaded Pear Studio and Cranberry Quiltworks...And I will ask Joanna about the Dandelion Girl name story...sounds like a good one!)

As always its been a pleasure to give you guys some sneak peeks into what’s coming up at Fig Tree and as always a hoot to work with Gina....

Joanna
Fig Tree Quilts

(Photos/graphics thanks to Joanna and Moda)