Introducing… Marchives

One of the many benefits of our 100+ year history is the ready access to so many beautiful designs, and now, we’re excited to introduce Marchives, a brand featuring new Marcus collections that are inspired by some of our best designs from the past. Occasionally, through Marchives, we’ll take a look back at some of these designs, drawing inspiration with an eye toward re-creating them for today’s quilting enthusiasts. We invite you to join us in celebrating our past in this unique way…

FOR ROSA by Nancy Rink – the first collection to be released under the new Marchives label.

Our first collection under the Marchives label is FOR ROSA by Nancy Rink. Upon seeing the original prints, Nancy was reminded of her maternal great-grandmother, Rosa Reyes Wegis, and the keepsakes she stitched. Read more about Nancy’s inspiration.

Putting the ARTISAN in Artisan Batiks

What makes a batik an “artisan batik”? Clearly, all batiks are created by talented artists around the world, whether or not we know their names.  With two beautiful designer batik collections in our current Studio 37 line, we asked our designers what it is that gives their creations that “artisan” touch, and uncovered some of their signature characteristics:


Victoria Findlay Wolfe
describes her PARTS DEPT. BATIKS as having an artistic use of negative space in the designs.  “Graphic, fun rock-and-roll style prints…Edgy, yet they play well with others.  Classic dots and Crisp whites.” Her Star Storm pattern and kit (lower left) are available online.

  

   

Kim Eichler-Messmer points out the following in her IMBUE BATIKS, her debut collection for Studio 37.  They are different because of clean, modern color palette inspired by my own hand dyed fabric…

   

Graphic, contrasting patterns that vary in scale from large to small.  The fabric is nice and soft and smooth, very easy to work with in quilts and garments.  They are hand printed and the hand of the maker shows in the imperfections that add character to the cloth.”  You’ll find Kim’s IMBUE quilt patterns, Robie and Sonia online.
  
Also check out Kenna Ogg’s (Madison Cottage Design) rendition of IMBUE – her G. Smith quilt pattern, below, is also available online:

Choose Your Favorite Primo Batiks BOM for 2016!

BatikBOM-SueLoring

Whichever one you choose, you will LOVE the fact that these BOM programs are created with 36 different 10″ x 10″ PRE-CUTS!  And Sarah Maxwell’s detailed design is equally dramatic in neutral tones (RIVER ROCK batiks) or bold brights (RADIANT REFLECTIONS batiks). We thought that this particular photo by Sue Loring of The Quilted Crow in Bolton, MA was particularly striking – thanks, Sue!  These were recently featured at the shop for the grand opening of its new location.

Look for these block-of-the-month programs at your local quilt shops beginning January, and you can have your own completed masterpeice in just 9 months!

Finished Quilt Size approx. 78″ x 85″

River Rock participating shops       Radiant Reflections participating shops

Pam Buda’s Giveaway Is Happening NOW!

Pam Buda

Pam’s at it again, causing an online frenzy with one of her fun scrapbox giveaways!  You could win one of these just by commenting on Pam’s Heartspun Quilts blog post, now through Thursday!

Keep in mind that as much as we LOVE to read your comments here, too, only those comments left on Pam’s blog post will be eligible to win.  Enter now!!   ; )

So, Who Won the “Random Reds” Giveaway?

Thanks for all of your great comments on last week’s “Seeing Red” post!  And without further delay, congratulations to Margaret McCullough of Okemos, MI.

Here’s the Random Reds bundle I pulled together from various collections…enjoy them, Margaret, and feel free to send us a pic of whatever you create with these!

RandomRedFabricPack

Meet Susan Cousineau of Lollipop Rainbow

Susan CousineauSpring 2015 marks the debut of TWO collections from designer Susan Cousineau.  You might recognize her name as a top designer of kids’ and craft patterns for Kwik Sew and McCalls’.

With the launch of her Lollipop Rainbow fabric collections for Marcus, Susan is “over the rainbow” with excitement as she takes her creative passion for kids’ design into a new and exciting chapter.

MermaidCOMP

PolkaDotCOMP

Now, crafters and quilters can create a well-rounded look in home décor, quilts, clothing and accessories, beginning with MAGICAL MERMAID and POLKA DOT POND. Susan’s stylized mermaid fairies and pond pals themes include prints that work beautifully by themselves, or with the coordinated pre-printed panels.  See the entire collections online (they’ll be in quilt shops this October!), and learn more about Susan.

Meet Irene Chan – Her Cows Wear Boots!

Irene ChanWe are pleased to introduce Irene Chan, and her debut fabric collection for Marcus, NOT SO WILD WEST.   As an accomplished graphic designers whose work spans digital media to illustration to TV and broadcast, Irene now brings her signature style to our Studio 37 brand.  This fun, whimsical collection is sure to bring a smile to the faces of young cowboys and cowgirls alike – did you catch the cows… they’re wearing boots!  You’ll love Irene’s prints for sleeping bags, cute clothes, bandannas, even and camping accessories, so get on over to your local quilt shops this October.

Meanwhile, check out the entire collection online, and viisit Irene online at Eneri.

Not So Wild West by Irene Chan - Marcus Fabrics

Follow Us on Instagram, You Might Win This!

Nothing excites us quilters like an easy chance to win free fabric, right?  Well, follow us on Instagram @marcusfabrics and you’ll be eligible to win one of our random fabric giveaways!

First up: this gorgeous selection of FQs from DRAMATIC EFFECTS.  Faye Burgos creates a pretty look to span the seasons, with grey adding a contemporary touch to traditional, softly colored florals and coordinates.  And yes, the floral FQ is included in the bundle ; )  We’ll choose a winner at random among our Instagram followers on Tuesday, May 12.   

This is just the first one, which means the sooner you join us on Instagram, the more giveaways you’ll be entered in  — it’s that simple!

DramaticEffectsBundle

To Pre-Wash, or Not to Pre-Wash?

Pam Buda A Prairie Gathering Quilt - PreWash

Do you generally wash your fabrics before you begin a quilting project?

Every once in a while the question comes up, and now seems to be a good time to address it again, especially with so many rich, vibrant colors found in today’s fabric collections.  Concerns about dye loss  or possible color migration can increase when you’re blending deep reds with light ground coordinates, similar to those found in found in A PRAIRIE GATHERING by Pam Buda.

We chatted with Pam about her preferences and best practices for pre-treating quilt fabrics.  She routinely tells her students & quilting friends:

“I never wash my fabric.  I actually add a lot of sizing to my yardage to make it stiffer before I cut anything out, so washing would remove the sizing already in the fabric from the manufacturing process, and I add more.”  (Pam firmly believe that sizing and adding the extra body/stiffness aids tremendously with everything from cutting, piecing, and pressing, making your piecing more accurate!)  “That said, when my reds are wet with the sizing (and I really saturate the fabric with sizing!) I have not had any issues with the red, or any other color, running.  In all the years I have been quilting with quilt shop quality fabrics, I have never once had an issue with dye running,” she explains.

The decision to pre-wash fabric or not is largely a personal preference that could depend in part on what you’re making with the fabric.  A quilt that will be used and washed often should probably be made with pre-washed fabrics, while a decorative wall hanging can be made with non-washed fabric.

Thankfully, there are so many fabrications and production methods available to quilters today, including batiks and hand-dyed fabrics!  So, like Pam, we always advise taking the time to do a wash test whenever you are in doubt.  Marcus’ standard for overall quality speaks for itself over the years, including colorfastness, as Pam can attest to since she began designing with us. There are products like Retayne and Dye Catcher if you’re concerned about running.  Check out Pam’s impressive wash-test results – no dyes were released in the wash, as shown by the completely clean color catcher sheet after laundering.  As you probably know, deep reds like these are notorious for at least some color loss in laundering.

Pre-wash fabrics for quilts, Marcus Fabrics, Pam Buda

Pam Buda’s A PRAIRIE GATHERING quilt, before washing

with a dye magnet sheet such as Shout Color Catcher

Pam washes the quilt with a dye magnet sheet such as Shout Color Catcher

Pam Buda - pre-wash quilt dye magnet

Pam’s quilt and the dye magnet sheet, completely free of any dyes!

What are your tricks and tips for pre-treating your quilting fabrics?  Do you, or don’t you?  Like Pam, I’m not inclined to pre-wash.  But I might for a baby quilt, to remove any lingering chemicals or finishes on the fabric before it comes into contact with the baby (of course, I don’t sew many baby quilts…).  So again, the circumstances will help to dictate your pre-washing decisions.

Thanks for the photos, Pam!   ——  lisa s

 

 

Congratulations, Mechelle!

MechelleAtWork2Many of our customers have had the pleasure of working with Mechelle Bacon, our administrative assistant — please join us as we take a moment to applaud Mechelle for completing the coursework toward her Bachelor’s degree in International Business! Mechelle has spent the last six years attending Queens College – CUNY full-time, even as her full-time responsibilities here at Marcus have also steadily increased since she joined us in 2007.

She says, “My next step is to learn Chinese, in order to be a good candidate for the global economic industry. I’m also interested in E-commerce and S-commerce, but for now I just want to take a nice break from school.” Sounds like a great plan! Congratulations, college graduate, we’re all so proud of you!