Gretel Bunting

My friend Amy Smart has released another adorable collection. This one is called Gretel, and it was just the breath of spring air I needed after Christmas.

Rather than making a quilt or pillow with these prints, I decided to make a string of bunting to decorate the vintage Hoosier cabinet we keep in our family room. For those of you who aren't familiar with them, these cabinets are baking workstations that were popular in the early 1900's. This one belonged to my great grandfather, and I can still remember him mixing up a recipe at the counter, cranking the wheel to get flour from the bin and sprinkling it onto his dough. It all looked like magic to me when I was a little girl!

Amy has a wonderful post on her blog giving the background to the collection, the German influences in her artwork, and the adorable Fraulein quilt she designed to go with it. Being part German myself, I thought this was all so much fun to read about. She added pale pink and low volume designs to her usual favorite primary colors for this collection, and I love the way it makes the whole set of prints look so light and happy. Between the flowers and hearts, these designs make a lovely crossroads between Valentine's Day and Easter.

A quick note on the bears in the earlier photo -- my mother made them both by hand. The smaller one was a gift to my father and the larger one was for me. I still can't get over how beautifully she sewed these together, and I treasure them dearly!

Gretel is already in shops, so be on the lookout. I really do believe it's the perfect spring collection!