Freshcut™

At last, my friends, here is Freshcut. My debut collection of fabric for Free Spirit is all stacked and pretty before the flurry of sample-sewing begins. What a relief and a thrill to get my hands on these fabrics after babying each design to completion.

Each pattern began as a rough pencil sketch. Then, through a series of refinements, including re-draws, transfer paper, paint and a scanner, the designs were entered into my computer where I perfected the repeat and tinkered with the colors.

Though there were certainly a couple of steps in the process that will be eliminated the next time around (now that I know better what I’m doing), I’m grateful for the things I’ve learned along the way.  I’m even more grateful for the help and patience I’ve received from my family and friends to see me through this new adventure.   

So, without further ado, I’ll attempt to explain my intentions with Freshcut…

Hmmm. Where to start? Well, I love fabric. Love it. In fact, I have a towering collection of fabric. When I first started to sew, as a young girl, my mother would take me to the fabric store to pick out the exact fabrics for my quilt or project and I would carefully choose fabrics that coordinated ‘just so.’  Later, as a college student studying fashion design, I had projects due too frequently to take a trip to the store for each assignment.

I began to stash fabrics that I found unique or that spoke to me on a deeper level. It was back then that I learned to appreciate the unique flavor of a design that’s been assembled from a treasured collection.  Having an assortment of fabrics on hand freed me to be more experimental with color and print combinations and my aesthetic grew both more sophisticated and more playful.

With Freshcut, I wanted to capture a bit of the charm and energy found in a treasured fabric stash, by offering an unexpected assortment of prints and colors that somehow ‘work’ with each other.  Several of the designs have a romantic and vintage flavor, while others lend a quirky and modern touch.  Each palette offers colors that resonate with each other rather than ‘match.’ And, the colorways are meant to 'cross-pollinate' for a greater variety of combinations.

I feel honored to be working with Free Spirit, a fun-loving company with a reputation for excellence, where I have been kindly supported and encouraged. The quality of the fabric Free Spirit produces is impeccable and it’s a real treat to see my designs executed with such care.

When I get my website together, I’ll be sure to include slides of each fabric, so the designs are easier to see.  Until then, here is the full stack – all 40 fabrics.

I’ve also had a number of people email me to ask more about my design process. So, in the coming weeks, I’ll be spotlighting a few of these designs, juxtaposing my original sketches with the resulting fabric.   

For now, you can read more about Freshcut, my studio, and my take on the online craft community at Quilter's Buzz. There’s also a little bit about Freshcut in this month’s Country Living Magazine.  Exciting times!

Anyhow, thanks for your interest and support and for taking part in my big debut!

Love,
Heather

   

Comments

[jojo]

Congratulations, Heather! I can even begin to imagine how ecstatic you must be to have your fabric out there! It is amazing and beautiful. Can't wait to get my hands on some....:)

[jennifer w.]

Congratulations, Heather! They are all so beautiful. I will be thrilled to see your fabric in person *hopefully* soon!

[JD]

Congrats Heather. You've taken my breath away. Hope your fabric will be available in Canada. Can't wait to pick up a bunch and make sweet quilts for my girls.

[jean]

Gorgeous, Heather! You must be SO proud! Congratulations!

[Rachel]

Beautiful!

I cant wait to buy it!!!

[daria]

those are so beautiful! congratulations! I can't wait to read about the design process.

[Julie]

Wow wow wow! Love it! Congratulations!

[Amy Ragland]

I love all of it! Great job!!!

[vegasandvenice]

Hey sweet girl your fabric is PERFECT and GORGEOUS and INCREDIBLE! I am drooling all over my laptop and absolutely giddy! Yay for YOU!!!

[stefanie]

OMG! I dont know where to begin. Your fabrics are soo amazing, beautiful, gorgeous, and a million other adjectives. I love it love it love it. I love it more than Amy Butler's fabric, and I love her stuff a bunch. I can't wait to rush out and purchase a bunch of the Fresh Cut, and your patterns. Do you know who might be stocking it that has an online store? Congraduations!

[jane]

gorgeous!

[jane]

gorgeous!

[gleek]

beautiful fabric! i love your choice of colors and styles. i'm sure quilters will absolutely swoon over these!

[Amber]

Wow, I'm amazed and I love these photographs. Your fabric is beautiful.

[Nina]

The colors, the design, the pics! Amazingl chic! I had to write a post about your fabric collection today. Can't wait to purchase!

[Kim]

They are just gorgeous! Congrats!

[sunshine]

LThey look lovely and I think you did a great job. I hope it flies off the shelves so you have a chance to design more stuff congratulations and good luck.

I have problems every now and again with firefox too. You must have a linux or unix based computer just like us.

sunshine
http://sunshinescreations.blogspot.com/

[caroline]

Oh Heather they are so gorgeous. I love all the colourways so much I can see I am going to end up bankrupting myself trying to buy all of them.

I was reading an interesting piece over on Whipup about the process of creating a fabric design and just thinking about when we would see pictures of your collection. Et voila, as if by magic the photos appeared - thank you so much for sharing.

[Lisa K.]

OOoooooo-eeee! I second and third all the good things the others have said. I can't wait to get me some.

[amy k.]

congrats heather! they look amazing and it's so cool to see them "for real" you must we so proud of these babies!

celebrate and eat some cake!

[Andie]

Heather these are absolutly stunning!!!! I love the design and the colors! I can't wait to get my hands on some!

[Amy]

LOVELY! LOVELY!! Can't wait to see it at Market! Congratulations!

[Dawn]

Amazingly beautiful!
Congratulations....and may you enjoy much success!

[Mary-Heather]

Heather, congratulations! Instant classics. They are just as beautiful as I hoped! Well done!

[Lori]

The fabric is simply gorgeous.

[Gina]

Love the fabrics, can't wait to get my hands on some of those, just beautiful. I can see a few pillows, a skirt and much need ironing board cover..LOL And please do share your process.

[susan]

they are just beautiful heather. you must be so extremely proud. i'm so thrilled for you - what an accomplishment! they are fantastic and i for one cant wait to purchase them and start sewing with them. yay you!

[Bea]

I just can't tell you how excited I am for you, Heather!!! What a wonderful experience - and that I get to 'know' you a bit? WOW - I feel famous! Congratulations on a BEAUTIFUL product and BLESSINGS upon all your creative designs!!!

[Jennifer Lewis]

The WHOLE collection is so beautiful. I cannot wait to buy some. Love it.

[mo]

They look fantastic! I can't wait to see them all out and about at my favorite fabric stores! I am in design too and there is nothing more fun than finally getting those samples from the factory. They look great!

[Marie-Louise]

Congtaulations Heather, your fabrics are amazing and I can't wait to get some:-)
Marie-Louise, from Denmark

[Malin]

That is fantastic, I am so impressed! Now, where can I buy them?

[Jes]

Absolutely stunning. Congratulations on such a monumental endeavor.

[Judy]

I think I will have to order one of each!! They are so lovely!

[sally]

Congratulations Heather! Your fabric collection looks fantastic!

[erin]

Congratulations Heather! Can't wait to get my hands on it either! They are absolutely beautiful!

[rebecca]

It all looks wonderful - well done ! You’ve achieved what many of us only could only dream of doing.

[Tina]

Congratulations, Heather! The fabric is FANTASTIC! Your talent and hard work have truly paid off. I will keep checking the Free Spirt site as well as my local fabric stores. I can't wait to get my hands on Freshcut!

[Steph VW]

Congratulations - the designs are heart-wrenchingly beautiful. Do you know if your fabric will be available in Canada?

[Allison]

Oh Heather,
They are absolutely stunning.
And let me tell you, you can see the hard work that has been put in to them - your whole life, in fact.
A very hearty congratulations to you.

[shoofly]

congrats, heather! they're all absolutely gorgeous!

[Meegan Blue]

Wahoo!!! They are so beautiful!!! I can't wait to get my hands on some and see them in real life. Congratulations!

[Alison]

You must be so thrilled to see your stuff - colours, design etc - out there for everyone to admire. Congratulations!

[Becky West]

You've done a great job! All of those fabrics are so pretty and useable (spelling?). I sometimes see fabrics in coordinating sets that don't seem to work, but yours all look wonderful.

[Jhoanna]

They are absolutely beautiful (colorway two is my favourite!). You should be very proud of the end result - you must be on cloud nine seeing the fruits of your hard work. Congratulations!

[hillary]

wow, great job!!

[princesspumpkin]

Congrats on such an elegant and inspiring collection. Please please please make them available to overseas (Aussie) customers.

[Mama Urchin]

Oh, wow Heather. I can't wait to see them somewhere in person because they look fabulous on screen. Congratulations!

[blair]

Heather, congrats to you, they are beautiful!! I already see some that I need to snuggle with a while, then make something out of. (And I'm not kidding here). Wonderful to finally see them. They are babies, aren't they? You've watched them grow from itty-bitties.

[k8tykat]

they're stunning heather, just marvelous! i can't wait to get my hands on some. 8-)