Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Shortcake

Shortcake Fabric by Heidi Staples of Fabric Mutt for Riley Blake Designs

My Shortcake fabric for Riley Blake Designs is heading out into the world at last! This group of prints is so dear to my heart, and I have to admit that it's probably my favorite collection that I've done. As always, I want to share the backstory of these prints with you...

Shortcake Fabric by Heidi Staples of Fabric Mutt for Riley Blake Designs

It will be four years in June since my family made our big move from Southern California to the Texas hill country, and I'll never forget that first summer in our new home. Those early months were a roller coaster of emotions as we tried to unpack and settle in while our house was still being repaired and renovated. We didn't know a soul in Texas, and though people were kind, it was challenging to start the journey of finding a place for ourselves in this new community. In many ways, it bonded us together as a family like nothing else could have done. We spent that first summer enjoying one adventure after another, exploring nearby museums and attractions, driving to downtown San Antonio and small town Fredericksburg, and eating some of the best food I've ever tasted in my life. Dad and James taught the girls to swim, and we spent nearly every afternoon playing in the pool until dinner time. James planted a tiny orchard as well as a garden for vegetables, fruits, and herbs in the backyard, where our girls loved to help him water, pull weeds, and check on seedlings. And Mom and I slowly began to turn our rambling house into a home, one unpacked box at a time.

Shortcake Fabric by Heidi Staples of Fabric Mutt for Riley Blake Designs

That first summer in Texas has been followed by two more, and even now I'm eagerly looking forward to the next one. Nowadays summer means going on long road trips and short daytrips, working on patchwork in the loft while the girls read in their library, volunteering with our church's Vacation Bible School, taking walks along the horse trail before the sun goes down, watching fireworks with all the other families in front of the local high school on Fourth of July, and looking out the kitchen window to see James and the girls coming in from the garden with freshly picked cherry tomatoes, strawberries, and watermelons.  It means movie nights in the family room laughing over classic comedies from the 1940's, quiet mornings doing puzzles in the breakfast nook, and barbecue dinners that start with tall glasses of iced tea and end with warm shortcake smothered in strawberries and whipped cream.

Shortcake Fabric by Heidi Staples of Fabric Mutt for Riley Blake Designs

My Shortcake collection is a celebration of all those beautiful summer moments that I treasure in my heart. And I'm so happy to share these fabrics with you so that you can use them to make memories of your own.

Be sure to ask your favorite quilt shop to get in touch with Riley Blake so that they can order Shortcake and have it ready to go on the shelves for you. If you make anything with this collection, please share pictures online with the hashtag #shortcakefabric -- and don't forget to tag me @fabricmutt! I'll be sharing pictures of the Picnic Medallion Quilt soon, which I designed as a free pattern to go along with these prints. I hope you love these fabrics as much as I do, friends. Just looking at these pictures has me counting the days until June...

10 comments:

  1. What a lovely post...sounds just lovely and so nice to be contented! We moved from CO to FL almost two years ago to be near our grandchildren (one house away!). We dearly miss CO but it is so amazing to be able to spend time with our grandchildren. Our son is in the Air Force so we haven't been able to spend much time together. My husband spent 26 1/2 years in the Air Force and our son will have almost that long when he retires in about a year. Creating memories is the best! Thank you for such an upbeat post!

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  2. This is a lovely history of the fabric, thank you for sharing.x

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  3. Love this collection, I think I saw your free quilt pattern yesterday on Riley Blake....Cute little quilt project for this line!

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  4. Congratulations on the release of your new line, Heidi. I sure enjoyed reading about how you enjoy your days. Makes me long for summers while we are in the midst of snow!

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  5. This fabric made my heary happy when I opened your email today. The colors and prints are lovely. Congratulations

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  6. I can't wait to quilt with Shortcake! It reminds me of summers at my grandparents's house (which was in Southern California, my home state). Now that I'm living in rural Oregon, those days are especially precious.

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  7. Howdy-as I also am in Texas! :) Such beautiful fabric bright and cheery! Thanks for sharing--looking forward to your pattern. Happy Valentine's Day to you!

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  8. What a darling collection this is! I love the little berry baskets, jam jars and your story for this collection. Sounds like a real Mayberry type of life! So nice your move turned out this wonderful!

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  9. Heidi, your latest collection, Shortcake, looks sweet and delicious! I can't wait to see it in person. The hill country of Texas sounds wonderful. I'm a California girl with a daughter (and 2 granddaughters) who live in Texas. We love to visit as often as we can! If you need volunteers for a blog hop or Shortcake fabric tour, let me know!

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  10. Yummiest fabric line.Have fun playing with them!!

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Aren't you the sweetest for leaving a comment! Due to all the ads that bombard this section, I have to moderate everything first, but look for your comment to post in a day or two. Thanks so much for writing!

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