Although the 1930s was the era of the Great Depression, women’smagazines were full of optimism. Cheery fabrics and colors could be found on new quilt patterns in an attempt to keep creativity alive as homemakers struggled to sew practical items for their families Although quilters were still interested in creating quilts that reminded them of their heritage, they wanted them in happy pastels and lighter colors.

Newspapers also picked up on the surge in quilting and began to feature quilt patterns, as did catalog companies. At the Chicago World’s Fair in 1933, Sears included an exhibit of the winning quilts from their national competition, which had reached women all around the country and netted a response of 24,000 entries.

Toybox III - Miniatures c. 1930 by Sara Morgan

You’ll love this adorable collection of unusual and hard-to-find juvenile and toy motifs! Filled with kitty cats, playful children, dogs, ducks, bunnies and more, these tiny prints are sure to delight quilters and kids of all ages.

Pink Fusion, c. 1930 by Sara Morgan

Often referred to as the “Renaissance of Quilting, the 1930s brought a great quilt revival, a result of the hard times of The Great Depression. All across America, activities devoted to the home arts became popular. Quilting groups, shows and newspaper gained popularity, bringing women from California to New England together around their quilting frames. Eleanor Roosevelt's campaign for American Arts and Crafts further helped propel quilting to the forefront of activity. Although times were tough for Americans, quilts of this era were usually bright and cheerful.

Certain colors, certain prints, certain styles...together, they give us what is known as fashion. These trends in fashion make it possible to date not only the clothing that was worn, but also quilts that were made from fabrics that were popular at a given time. Each decade or, at least, each quarter-century can be identified by specific fabrics that were in demand by fashion-conscious ladies.

My collection of antique quilts dates, primarily, from the early 1800's and, as such, I am used to seeing a particular palette. Every now and again, I find examples of colors or prints that do not seem to fit the typical mold. Although accurate to the time period, they are not seen as frequently as the more familiar color schemes. Such is the case with this collection.

We’ve known Sara Morgan for her incredible reproduction fabrics, but now she wows us with this exciting contemporary collection, Swing!

Full of happy colors, whimsical paisleys, retro squares and funky florals, this collection offers lots of possibilities for fun craft, quilt and home decor projects.

Imagine a bed full of colorful pillows with matching quilt...or an exciting wall hanging...a showstopping tote bag...this versatile collection is perfect for whatever you can dream up.

We tend to think of quilts from the Civil War era as full of blues, grays, blacks - generally dark colors. These fabrics, reproduced from a quilt of the same name in the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum collections, is a cheerful exception.  Most of the fabrics in this quilt date back to 1860-1880, although RMQM believes the black ombre may have been a little earlier. The vibrant green color in the small-scale prints was obtained by an overdyeing process popular at that time. The other prints, although typical of the time period, are somewhat rare finds: the dark red with blue and brown, the double pink with machine ground, turkey red with chrome yellow, and brilliant Prussian blue. It is these beautiful fabrics that inspired Blue Hill Fabrics™ to re-create a vintage collection that would appeal to both traditionalists and contemporary quilt artists.

In the Pre-War South, almost every manufactured good was imported from the North or overseas. In fact, local and state laws pointedly discouraged manufacturing, a cause for deep concern among some Southerners as war appeared inevitable. The region’s few textile mills were small, averaging only 12-24 looms (New England mills commonly had 10 times as many), and most produced warp for home weaving, a few checks and plaids, and utility cloth for the plantation or prison on which the mills were situated.

"Half-way down a by-street of one of our New England towns, stands a rusty wooden house, with seven acutely peaked gables facing towards various points of the compass, and a huge, clustered chimney in the midst.” Thus starts the novel The House of the Seven Gables written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1851. This historic romance, inspired by Hawthorne’s visits to family members who lived in the house, was written the year after Hawthorne penned The Scarlet Letter. This legacy is why the House of the Seven Gables Historic Landmark site exists today, celebrating its 100th Anniversary as a museum dedicated to serving the needs of the community of Salem.

Gafiq Trafiq wows us with sophisticated color combinations and exciting design motifs.  These adorable prints are full of color and fun! Perfect for that unexpected splash of surprise, the Brighton collection delivers bold brights in happy flowers, silly circles and perfect paisleys!

With a hint of 60s flavor, this collection is a fast favorite to everyone who sees it.