We absolutely love that some designers use similar color palettes from one collection to the next! It always amazes us to see how colors can be transformed to represent something entirely new based on print, layout, and color partners. We particularly love when this happens with our Aurifil designers as it often means that one thread collection maintains relevance across a wide range of fabric collections. It’s wonderful for shop owners, who can continue to stock a favorite thread set for years rather than seasons and it’s even better for makers, who can be sure that their thread purchases are protected and always useful!
Aurifil Designer Sarah Maxwell of Designs by Sarah J released Dandy Days last Fall to coordinate with her debut collection for Marcus/Studio 37 Fabrics. The collection featured a box of 12 Large Cotton Spools in 50wt and 28wt and a box of 10 Small Cotton Spools of 50wt and our new 80wt. This past Spring, Sarah showcased A Shout, A Whisper, a Text at Spring Market, also with Studio 37, and we were delighted to find that her Dandy Days threads worked perfectly with the new prints. To sweeten the story, the threads are also coordinate well with her Color Crush Flannels!
Today, we’re excited to share a few of Sarah’s latest projects, both to illustrate the versatility of the thread and to highlight some of Sarah’s stunning work! We’ll let her tell you about each piece in her own words. 🙂
STEP LIVELY
With Step Lively, I really wanted to continue the rainbow feel that I had first explored in the main Shout quilt. I’m always drawn to quilts with lots of fabrics. When I moved into a more modern design aesthetic that includes a focus on solids and often an overall, “less busy” style, I found that exploring color relationships satisfied my need to play with lots of elements. Finding a way to “use every color” was a natural evolution from my original focus of “why use 10 fabrics when you can use 100?”
The piece finished at 68″ x 72″. I used Aurifil 2600 in 50wt and found it was the perfect color to create texture on the blocks.
CHEX MIX
Chex Mix showcases some of my Color Crush woven flannel plaids. I know quilters are sometimes hesitant to work with plaids and flannels. To overcome this concern, I designed Chex Mix with large pieces so a quilter doesn’t have to worry about a lot of points coming together. Most of the plaids are fairly subtle so there’s also less concern about whether the plaid appears straight. For this quilt, color 2105 from my Aurifil thread box was a perfect accent. I find that the soft yellow of 2105 is often the perfect complement to brights so it’s great to have on hand.
DREAM AT DAWN
Dream at Dawn was a labor of love, primarily because it was a showcase for my focal Dandy Days print and the accompanying text print. Colors 5004 and 2600 were used heavily in this quilt both for piecing and quilting because they are the perfect grey matches to the fabrics. This is a series quilt currently running in McCall’s Quick Quilts.
SHOUT IT OUT
Shout it Out was a challenge for me to design a quilt from my line that could be constructed from 10 1/2” squares. Because this pattern appears in a trade magazine for quilt shop owners, it’s a perfect project for shops to kit by cutting their own square packs. Your favorite shop owner can get this pattern by subscribing to American Quilt Retailer. Color 2600 was again my go-to on this project.
Thanks so much to Sarah for sharing her work with us! It’s so fun to see the projects up close, to learn a bit more about how each came to be, and to see those glorious threads in action.
Inspired to get started on your own project? We’ve got you covered! We’re pleased to be sharing a fab giveaway today over on Instagram, launching this morning. We’re giving away a small Dandy Days collection, a FQ bundle of Sarah’s A Shout, A Whisper, A Text courtesy of Studio 37, and a pattern pack by Sarah Maxwell. Visit us here for more info and good luck!
ABOUTÂ SARAH
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Sarah’s love of quilting stems from her college days, when her mom sent her pink dogwood quilt to grace the bed in her first apartment. The quilt was a comforting reminder of her home in the Lake of the Ozarks, where the dogwood blossoms always signaled the start of spring.
A few years later, married and expecting her first child, Sarah caught the nesting bug. Inspired by the treasured dogwood quilt, she bought a Teach Yourself to Quilt book and crafted her first quilt. She continued to improve her skills through classes at local quilt guilds, as well as learning from gifted teachers throughout the United States, fully taking advantage of modern conveniences, such as rotary cutting and computer design, as they became available.
Today, Sarah is a fabric and pattern designer for Studio 37 Fabrics, a division of Marcus Fabrics, with countless quilts to her credit. Her work has been featured regularly in both McCall’s Quilting and McCall’s Quick Quilts for the past several years. Additionally, Sarah’s quilts have appeared in Make Modern, Simply Moderne,  American Patchwork & Quilting, and Quilts & More, as well as many other magazines.
DANDY DAYS THREAD COLLECTION
Learn more about Sarah’s debut Aurifil Thread Collection right here.
12 Large Spools, 100% Aurifil Cotton
2435 – 5004 – 1320 – 2535 – 1148
2600 – 2525 – 2520 – 2588 (50wt, 1422yds/spool)
4660 – 4663 (28wt, 820yds/spool)
10 Small Spools, 100% Aurifil Cotton
2435 – 1320 – 1148 – 2600 – 2520 – 2588 – 2105 (50wt, 200yds/spool)
5004 – 2606 – 2600 (80wt, 300yds/spool)
Beautiful collection. I really love the Dream at Dawn quilt. Thanks for the giveaway!
Such great colors and patterns. I’d be tickled to win. Good luck everyone.
Wonderful fabrics and threads – such beautiful colors!
No such thing as too many colors and too much thread! They put the fun in playtime!
Great colors, great collection. Thank you!