Introducing Modern Designers - Anna Maria Horner - A Fabric Swap

Field Study by Anna Maria Horner

Known for her bold designs and vivid colors, Anna Maria Horner is an inspiration to many in the quilting and crafting community.  Author, pattern designer, and fabric designer with a line of embroidery patterns and threads, giftware, and home items, AMH is a woman of many talents (and mom of 7!)   You may want to check out her blog - it's always a lovely read.  And you may be interested to know that her daughter, Juliana Horner, has a line of fabric designed for and available at Joann's stores.

From AMH Garden Party line of fabric for Free Spirit

Some of you were asking at the March 8th meeting to get a "head start" on our next fabric swap, and possibly be able to purchase fabric on our field trip to A&E in April.  Our next ECMQG Fabric Swap for July, 2014 will be Fat Eighths (F8s or FEs) of any quilting cotton by Anna Maria Horner.

Pillows made with Field Study by Anna Maria Horner for Free Spirit

What is a Fat Eighth?

A fat eighth (FE or F8) is one eighth of a yard of fabric, or a yard of fabric cut into eight equal pieces. Traditionally, this long narrow cut from the fold line to the selvage, resulted in 8 strips measuring 4-1/2" x 44".  

Like the Fat Quarter, quilters changed the cutting dimensions of of that same yard of fabric to be both longer and wider by doubling the width and halving the length and ended up with a piece 9" x 22", and called it a Fat Eighth.  A fat eighth has so many more possibilities for quilting than a long, skinny 1/8 yard piece.

Modern quilters still found this cut too confining, and realized by changing the cutting dimensions yet again, shorter fatter pieces were even more user friendly.   

This newer cut, still a FE or F8, and hugely popular with modern quilters is sized at 11" x 18" or 10.5" x 18" (after selvages are removed).   
  

Anna Maria Horner's May, 2011 Quilt Market Booth (photo courtesy of ACraftyFox/Westwood Acres Fabrics)

The Rules

 If you wish to participate, here is what you need to do:

1.  Purchase one yard of any Anna Maria Horner printed quilting cotton fabric. (If ordering online, be sure to order early enough to allow time for delivery and cutting before the July meeting.)  Some possible sources for your fabric might be:

A&E Pharmacy in Pensacola, or online from Hawthorne Threads, Pink Chalk Fabrics,  Fat Quarter Shop,  Fabric dot com, eQuilter, Intrepid Thread and Fabricworm.

Be sure to buy 100% cotton quilting fabric.  This is not a swap for velveteen, flannel, corduroy, voile, home decorator, or other fabric types (although you may want to investigate those for your personal use - AMH has some lovely voiles, velveteens, and home dec fabrics).

2 - You may swap up to three yards of fabric.

3.  Cut your fabric using the tutorial below.

4.  Place your cut fabric in a zip top bag labeled with your name.  If you're swapping more than 1 yard, place each SEPARATE yard in a labeled zip top bag. 

5.  Leave your labeled bag(s) on the designated Anna Maria Horner swap table inside the Fellowship Hall at the July 12 ECMQG meeting.

6.  Your fabric(s) will be sorted and separated by groups.  At the conclusion of our meeting, drop by the Anna Maria Horner swap table and pick up your bag(s) - (a) beautiful bundle(s) of modern designer fabric.

7.  We won't have a variety of prints if everyone purchases and brings the same fabric.  Please utilize the comments section to let us know what fabric(s) you've selected.  With the number of participants we are anticipating, it should be okay to have no more than two or three people bring the same print.  

True Colors by Anna Maria Horner for Free Spirit (photo courtesy of Westwood Acres Fabric)

Cutting Modern Fat Eighths

1.  Press your fabric to remove the center crease.  Do not remove the selvages.

2.  Using your rotary cutter, cut your fabric lengthwise through the center.  You now have two pieces, measuring approximately 22" x 36".

3.  Cut each 22" x 36" piece in half again lengthwise.  This gives you four pieces, each measuring 11" x 36"

4.  Cut each 11" x 36" piece in half crosswise.  This gives you eight pieces, each measuring 11" x 18".  A modern fat eighth.  

(Note that the width of the fabric may vary, which may make your F8 somewhat less than 11"; if you cut your fabric width into equal quarters, it will be close enough.)

As always, if you have questions regarding the swap or this tutorial, you can email me at wendimihalik at yahoo dot com.

This is going to be a super fun swap!

Wendi Mihalik
ECMQG Swap Captain