Summer Looks, for Memorial Day and Beyond!

As we close in on the Memorial Day weekend and kick off the summer season, here’s a quick review of great Marcus looks you can find now in your favorite local quilt shops…

Create a patriotic look with STAR STRUCK by Nancy Rink. Then mix in some PRIMROSE GARDEN WEAVES by Katie Solberg. The addition of Katie’s blush with the red, white and blue tones in Nancy’s signature Jacobean print styling takes it from patriotic into an all-occasion look with ease!

In June, look for fresh summer blues of GENEVIEVE, the debut collection by Carrie Quinn. Try our free project or create your own!

You’ll also love NEIGHBORHOOD FLORIST and FLORIST WEAVES, debut lines by Dawn Heese of Linen Closet Designs. These will also hit quilt shops in June, and Dawn provides LOTS of quilt inspiration, too – her quilt designs are shown below!

A Soldier’s Quilt

This piece, entitled “Soldier’s Quilt: Square Within a Square,” is in the permanent collection American Folk Art Museum, a fabulous New York City resource where admission is always free!
The quilt is made of wool, likely from military uniforms, dating approx 1850-1880. At the time, soldiers quilted while convalescing from wounds, and as a more “wholesome” downtime activity in general.
We love the second image, a detail of tiny pieced squares. Feeling inspired? Check out our Lanacot Wools collection online at MarcusFabrics.com.

What’s TRENDING in Quilts…

MIXING TEXTURES: The only thing better than a Marcus print collection is the addition of interesting textures like wools and dobby weaves. Two of our newest designers, Dawn Heese and Katie Solberg, have done just that in their debut collections, for next-level quilts, fashions and home accents!

ENGINEERED PRINTS: While some of us still embrace the term  “cheater quilts” (a topic of friendly debate in our office!) these wonderful time savers are now known as  Engineered Prints.  Whatever you call them, we can all agree that with limited time to create, we continue to enjoy the headstart afforded by Judie Rothermel’s AUNT GRACE SIMPLY CHARMING Double Wedding Ring print, PAM’S CABIN pre-printed Log Cabin yardage prints by Pam Buda, and Nancy Rink’s STAR STRUCK pinwheel patchwork.

SUSTAINABILITY: More than a buzzword, sustainability is increasingly becoming a way of life, and quilters have always lived a sustainable life, scrap by scrap.  Marcus basics including LANACOT WOOLS and BASECLOTH make it easy to create classic projects that remain in style regardless of the trends.  QUILT BACKS can be used to repair and repurpose older quilts.

SLOW STITCHING: Stitchers continue to enjoy the relaxing pace of slow stitching by hand, for portability, a special heirloom project, or simply a much-needed technology break.  Marcus BASECLOTH in new neutral tones, LANACOT WOOLS, MONKS CLOTH, and AGED MUSLINS are perfect for showing off hand-stitching. in all of its forms.

Have You “Named that Collection” Yet? Enter Now!

Happy 35th, Judie!

In honor of Judie Rothermel’s 35th anniversary as a quilt industry designer and innovator, we’ve put together a fun challenge especially for her most dedicated fans (of course, everyone is welcome to enter!).

All you have to do is click on the Official Entry Form, and correctly identify the six Judie Rothermel collections shown, a mix of Aunt Grace, Civil war and others. We’re awarding 35 Anniversary Prize Packs to those with the correct answers, so enter now thru December 31, 2022. (HINT: You might want to save the images, then do your research, then come back and complete the form — kinda like an “open book test” ; )

Good Luck, everyone!

Those Naughty Elves Were At It Again!

When the Material Girlfriends created these Naughty Elves for the holidays, we had no idea just how naughty they were… .

They actually hid the free projects from us so we couldn’t post them earlier, but the projects have been recovered and the elves have been reprimanded! .Sooo, you can now find the FOUR free projects here on the Marcus Fabrics site. Choose from the Bedtime twin quilt, the panel with Border quilt, Pillowcases and Mug Rugs with Runner. .

And be sure to check out the Girlfriends’ Naughty Elves promo video. Happy Holidays to all!

DOWNLOAD these free projects

A Very Special Anniversary!

We can hardly believe that it’s been 35 years since Judie Rothermel designed her very first line of quilting fabrics! In 2022, we’re celebrating the 35th Anniversary of Judie’s iconic designs for Marcus Fabrics and her unique contribution to the world of quilting!

That first collection came about because Judie grew tired of tea-dyeing the available prints at the time to achieve an antiqued look. So, she set out to design a group of prints with the look she desired. It debuted in the Marcus booth at Quilt Market in 1987. Since then, she’s created thousands of beloved fabric designs for quilters, like Aunt Grace 1930s prints, Civil War collections, Old Sturbridge Village fabrics and sew many other… and there’s more to come!!

The official festivities begin September 1, 2022, so now’s a great time to browse through your treasured stash for your favorite “Judie Quilts”, fabrics, swatches, patterns and more, to enter various giveaways and contests to come  – stay tuned!

You can even begin sharing some of your favorites Judie quilts, swatches, etc. now on social media – please be sure to include #Judie35 or #JudieRothermel35, and tag us @marcusfabrics and @schoolhousequiltshop.

Congratulations, Judie!!

ICYMI – Mondays with Marcus – Series 3 Wraps!

As we conclude another exciting Monday with Marcus designer series, “The Colors of Marcus”, we wanted to give you an overall view of the free projects. Links to all of them remain available on the MWN page on the Marcus website, and we invite you to visit and follow each designer’s own sites and social media to learn more about them! View SLIDESHOW below

It all began on February 14, when we launched the series with the color RED. All of the participating designers created projects in red for Valentine’s Day and beyond…You’ll find the links for these on the MWM page, too!

Finally, watch for details on our Series 3 giveaway! We’re putting together a fabulous Deluxe Gift Basket of colorful Marcus fabrics and goodies, so stay tuned for the announcement and entry details. Happy Stitching!

#MondaysWithMarcus Series 3 – It’s All About COLOR!

In case you missed it, Series 3 of our popular Mondays with Marcus designer project series is now in full swing, following a fun multi-designer launch on Valentines’ Day! Then, the inspiration continued with Gennifer March’s ORANGE yo-yo embellished gift tags, and Nancy Rink’s cheery YELLOW stylized log cabin wall hanging. If you missed the debuts, no worries – you can get links all of the Series 3 projects throughout. And each Monday through April 18, we’ll have another new designer color launch (or two!)

And as this slideshow proves, our RED designer launch projects are perfect anytime, not only for Valentines’ Day…

Follow the series – with links to the free projects on each designer’s site — on the Marcus website, and watch for the Monday morning launch of each color on our Mondays with Marcus Facebook page. Finally, be sure to follow your favorite designers, discover new ones, and Like, Comment and Share them with your creative friends… All of the projects are FREE, and you can work from yoru own stash, or order a designer kit where available. Enjoy!

Celebrate the Seasons with Cindy Staub!

Cindy Staub of Quilt Doodle Designs has been busy creating fresh inspiration for her SEASON SAMPLER collection, including her signature pre-printed panel and coordinating prints. Taking inspiration from the seasonal changes in her own garden, Cindy started with the BOM program, a collection of four season-themed wall hangings highlighted with hand embroidery, piecing and applique – the program begins next month!

Next, Cindy created fun FREE projects using the fabrics. They’re available for download on the Marcus website…shown here are her Shoo Fly quilt and Mini Seasons, versatile 12.5″ blocks. Both incorporate the fussy-cut printed panel and hand stitching.

Finally, Cindy’s adorablebee-themed Honeycomb quilt pattern is available for purchase online