Reflections - Projections

Sew, Mama, Sew has suggested we take a look back at 2010 and try to peek forward into 2011. It sounds like fun and a great excuse to ramble incessantly. Four hours later and I'm still typing. I'm never short on opinions....

Looking back on the sewing scene of 2010, what trends stand out in your mind?
2010 brought a spotlight to raw-edge applique and storytelling via fabric. A wonderful trend sadly caught up with the misnomer of interactive piecing. The name takes root in a project of ~syko~ started circa 2007 in which she engaged her readers to help create a truly interactive piece.



image from Kajsa Wikman
Yummy, isn't it? You can see how it sparked a movement. In 2010, this style of piecing gained rapid popularity among flickr artisans along with it's addled name.

In fact, 2010 may well be remembered as the year of the misnomer. A worrying trend as an entire generation of quilters forgets the characteristics that define our traditional patterns. In an effort to modernize, the names of classic quilt patterns and fabric styles were trampled on to make way for modern interpretations which do little but nod at the original. Names are now mottled. Designs are republished under someone else's banner. A sense of origin has been lost. This may well have been the silent trend of 2010 - unnoticed by many, frightening for others.

Brash and bold filled our fabric shelves along with a resurgence of pieced hexagon projects. We spent the early part of 2010 hoarding and gathering, only to free ourselves from fabric paralysis by destashing later in the year. Maybe you bucked the trend. Not me, I was caught in it's net. For most though the fabric imperative was clear. What fabric did we like? All of it, of course. It was the 1980's all over again, and when it came to fabric shopping 'Me. Me. Me.' and 'I want...' were often uttered. And the fabric collector in the Badskirt household? Guilty as charged.



What were some of your favorite things? (Trends, fabric collections, patterns, blogs? Whatever you really loved.)
Looking back, 2010 had far more floral prints on my shelf than I would have expected. There is a growing stack of Liberty of London prints.

I fell for Early Bird and those quirky toasters. They slotted straight into the rest of my fabric collection and were wonderful to pair.


The obscure Sevenberry flowers were a treat for everyone.


Farmdale wasn't far behind.


They were perfect base fabrics for my exploration of fusible quilting. Quiltsmart, QuiltFuse, Thangles... if there was a trick to make patchwork easier in 2010, I was committed to trying it. That included a big leap into Victorian Textile templates which were new-to-me for 2010.



They made me look clever with very little effort in the 3x6 bee. Was it a worldwide trend? Maybe not, but it stands out to me as an enjoyable craft from 2010.

What was your very favorite fabric collection or print? (If not listed above.)

While I can't be certain of it's release date, this Suzuko Koseki print from Yuwa first emerged in my hands in 2010. I was so smitten with it, I made a special trip back to Japan to buy more when it sold out. Simply yum.

What was the best thing you made in 2010? (Be sure to share a photo!)


A small token of love. Simple, but to the point. Effective crafting at it's finest. And when you're on to something good, why not take it a little farther?

What is one of the best things you saw that was made by someone else?
I saw so many , it would be hard to pick just one. I had a big interest in Oliver+S patterns in 2010. This little number from No Big Dill still gives me shivers each time I see it. Is it the bike? Or the gorgeous girl? Or maybe it was the brazen choice of vintage curtain fabric? Whatever it is, my radar pings yum.



What do you think 2011 has in store? (Again, trends, fabric, patterns, etc.)
In two words: bright green. There's a void in saturated non-mushy green prints at the moment. Acid greens have been quite popular in the last few years. I suspect by the latter half of 2011 that carnal green will be all the rage. That's not sour, shamrock or kelly. It's a very raw green just baited with hints of blue. CMYK 83 0 55 56, a designer's delight.

Deer will subtly and then suddenly give way to it's regular pluriatic cousin, the moose. Birds will teeter back to their silhouetted forms losing the cartoon nature imposed on them in the last few years. Honeycomb will wave it's last goodbye and then Bluebird buses will roar like never before. In 2011, honesty and sincerity will emerge online. Notoriety seekers will be shunned. Ideal living will give way to real life. Provocative words will emerge on projects. Fabric will drip with emotion. There will be numbers and letters and squares on point. ...all in a bright green cast.

Anything you’re ready for the sewing world to get over?
I've prattled about these things so long that the needle has flown off the record and is now repeatedly slamming into the center spindle. Owls, matroyskhas, and everybody wanting to write their own craft book. My distaste for them is as archaic at the concepts themselves.

What’s on your sewing agenda for 2011? What are you excited about? What would you like to learn more about?
2011 is a blank slate for me. As Badskirt is closed (or nearly so), I'm keen to find my feet at Calico&Ivy. I'm keeping an open-mind and just waiting to see what the year brings me. I'm hoping it's the skills to knit a pair of yellow stirrup socks.*

How about you? Any thoughts for the new year? Why not share them over at Sew, Mama, Sew.

Wishing you all Happy Stitches in 2011!

*the betting pool is now open on this one.