Fat Quarter Winners Blog Tour - Interview with Monique

I did make some progress on Pinochle this week, but don't really have much to show.   I got all the larger half square triangles arranged on my design wall so I could get a pleasing mix of the reds and blues.  I'm going to be much more random in my placement of the smaller HSTs.   I'll show you my "random scrappy" method next week.  I took advantage of a Joann's sale this weekend and bought enough plain white flannel to re-cover my design wall.   Soon there won't be any green or blue flannel stars behind my quilt blocks!   Now to find the TIME to actually do it!

But back to the Book Tour.  This week I had the opportunity to ask Monique anything I wanted and so of course, I chose my favorite topic - FABRIC!

My first question is - how did you embark on the fabric designing journey?   Were your ideas brought to the fabric company, or did they approach you?

The first thing that I did was come up with an idea.  I was thumbing through a book one day and I thought "This would be wonderful fabric!"  As I kept looking, the idea started to grow.  I wanted to use antique tiles, tapestries and textiles as inspiration.  The next step was to get my ideas on paper for the fabric companies to see.  I think that this was the hardest part.  To get the ideas in the computer, manipulate the colors and prints and then get it presentable to the fabric company.  Once I figure this out, I approached the fabric company about my ideas.  From what I understand, the fabric companies get hundreds of fabric proposals a year.  So, I decided that I wanted to present them with something that would stand out from the crowd.  What I did was I created a proposal.  In the proposal, I included fabric swatches like paint chips.  I had several different designs that I wanted to feature and included different colorway.  The other thing that I did (and I think this is what really helped me) was to feature several different quilts using the fabric swatches.  In other words, I created virtual quilts and put them in the proposal.  I wanted the fabric company to see what I would do with the fabric. 

 

How do you design a fabric line?   Do you start with one focus print and then design coordinates around that one fabric?

 

I think that I do things a little different from others.  I like to decide on my colors and then pick prints from there.  Then I try to pick prints that are different in scale and have different elements that I can draw from.  I make sure that I have tone-on-tones, small prints, large prints and a main print to choose from.  I also like to bring a border stripe in so that there can be another choice for borders.

 

How do you come up with your color palette?   Do you only choose colors that appeal to you, or ones that you think would popular with quilters?

 

Choosing the color palette is more complicated than you would think.  The issues are that yes, you want to do what appeals to you but you also want to make sure that it appeals to others.  The other idea that I wanted to make sure that was incorporated into my fabric is that the lines would coordinate.  I want the customer to be able to use leftover fabric from the previous line(s) with the latest line.  So, that makes it more complicated in what you bring in and what you eliminate. 

 

Is there anyone's stash that you would love the chance to raid - either a real life quilting friend or someone you've seen on a blog?

 

Yes, I have a friend that loves blacks and reds.  I'm sure that her stash is fantastic and would love to get in there.  I've seen glimpses of it but I think she's afraid that I might sneak some out.  :)

 

What's up for your future?   Any new fabric designs coming soon?   And what can we expect to see from you at Market this Spring?

 

I'm planning on continuing to design fabric, books, patterns and rulers.  I truely love what I do and am glad that people like it too.  For Spring Market, I am promoting Fat Quarter Winners, will have a couple new patterns including an applique quilt and my new ruler.

And getting back to Fat Quarter Winners and Monique's rulers, she has generously offered a copy of the book and a set of rulers (Fit to Be Square, Fit to Be Geese and Mini Fit to Be Geese) to each of us to offer to one lucky blog reader.   Please leave a comment on this post and I will draw one name to win this fantastic prize package.   Edited to add:   I will announce my winner on Monday morning, so please continue to comment on THIS POST through Easter Sunday and I will add you to the drawing.

Also, be sure you visit my fellow Blog Tour friends for more chances to win!

Monday - visit Nicole at Sister's Choice Quilts

Tuesday - visit Monique at Open Gate Quilts

Wednesday - visit Thelma - Cupcakes 'n' Daisies

and Thursday - come back and see me for my winner and Pinochle reveal

I hope you have enjoyed our blog tour so far!