City Weekend Fabric Collection

We're very excited to be debuting our new fabric collection, City Weekend, which is being produced by Moda.

The collection features both woven cottons and interlock knits, and you really have to see (and feel!) them to understand what it is that makes this collection unique. 

The woven cottons have a remarkably similar hand and finish to the much-sought-after Liberty of London cotton lawns which retail for $40 a yard, more than four times the retail price of City Weekend! 

While the hand of the City Weekend wovens is almost identical to Liberty, the fabric weight is just slightly heavier. This lets the fabric serve well for quilting and apparel making, without requiring a lining as the Liberty prints often do. 

The collection's prints are appropriate for both quilts and apparel, and they feature contemporary designs with a hand-drawn appeal. The colors include brights and softer pastels for a variety of color stories and palettes. The collection features plenty of smaller prints that can be used to ground the larger prints in the group. 

The collection also has a number of interlock knits. These knits are very easy to work with, require no special equipment, and give a very impressive result for the minimal time they take to sew. Interlock is great for fast and easy projects such as simple apparel patterns (T-shirts, dresses, pajamas), home decor (fitted sheets), and baby gifts (receiving blankets, etc.). We think you and your customers will love it once you start working with it.

Headers will be available for you to preview at both our booth and at Moda's. And while you're talking to your Moda rep, make sure to ask about all the great pre-cuts and our exciting crib quilt kit that they are making available in conjunction with the collection.

New Spring and Fall (if You Ask) Patterns

At this Quilt Market we are featuring our newest Spring and Summer 2010 patterns: the Ice Cream Dress (shown here), the Music Class Blouse and Skirt, and the Sketchbook Shirt and Shorts. 

We'll also have a completely new set of samples to show you. These samples, highlighting our backlist styles, have been made from the City Weekend fabrics.

In addition (but only if you ask to see them, since they won't be on display until their formal unveiling this summer), we'll be happy to give you a preview of some of our Fall 2010 styles. We have written a few simple patterns especially for knits that will help introduce your customers to sewing with this great new fabric that's starting to make its way into quilt shops. Stop by to see what you can do with the interlock.

What to Do in Minneapolis

You can't expect to spend all your time walking the show,can you? Here are some recommended activities for the time you spend away from the convention center.

• The Walker Art Center boasts one of the best collections of contemporary art in the Midwest
• The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden features an exceptional collection of outdoor sculpture, including Claes Oldenburg's iconic Spoonbridge and Cherry (pictured here)
• The Mill City Museum, located on the banks of the Mississippi River at St. Anthony Falls, lets you walk through the remains of what was once the largest flour mill in the world
• If the weather is nice, it's a pleasure to take a stroll up and down Nicolette Mall; be sure to stop into Brit's for a pint and some lawn bowling on the roof (yes, lawn bowling on the roof!)
• If shopping is your thing, we hear there's a little mall in the area that you might be interested in visiting
• And last, but not least, if you're into baseball, the Twins are in town against the Brewers during Quilt Market

Blogroll

Here are a few posts from the blogosphere that caught our attention recently.

• A beautiful Birthday Party Dress sewn as a sample at Spool in Philadelphia
• A very sharp Sunday Brunch Jacket made from mattress ticking
• An adorable Jump Rope Dress worn by an equally adorable model

For More Information

Email: information@oliverands.com
Website: www.oliverands.com
Phone: (866) 231-9639