Trends

What's hot going into 2016?
Here go my totally subjective observations...
Firstly, I bet you can't help but notice all the coloring books for grown-up people. Detailed designs now attract a wider age demographic.

Fabric connoisseurs will appreciate the Cotton + Steel and Tula Pink coloring books.

Coloring opportunities are not limited to books! There's also a growing selection of fabric such as Color Me by Hayley Crouse.

In addition to the onslaught of adult coloring materials, I've noticed many fabric companies introducing different substrates including bunting, canvas, voiles, rayon, double gauze, cotton lawn, knits, and denim.

Before you shell out your hard-earned cash on Heather Ross' Mendocino or Tula Pink's Octopus Garden in Aqua, you'll want to take note of this next trend--reprints of the most sought-after, previously out of print, designer fabrics.

Fabric companies must have noticed the generous prices some are willing to pay for hard to find fabrics on Ebay and Instagram destashes. They are bringing back popular prints from lines such as Violet Craft's Brambleberry Ridge and Tula Pink's The Birds and the Bees.

While woodland creatures and southwestern motifs are still going strong, an emerging novelty theme I detected was stationary. Some examples I found were Heather Givans' Paper Obsessed and Amy Sinibaldi's Paperie. 

Patchwork, Please!, Heather Givans, and Carolyn Friedlander all have envelope patterns. Alternatively, create a paper airplane with the free pattern from Quiet Play on Craftsy.

So what other trends have you noticed?

Quilt Festival: Miniature Quilts

Sometimes there's an inverse relationship between the size of things and the appeal. Such is the case with the miniature quilts at Quilt Festival in Houston, TX. They are small is size, but certainly measure up in intricate detail.

Dancing Dahlia by Laura Welkin came away with the category's top prize. Her original design was made entirely by machine, using fused raw-edge appliqué with blanket stitch, and turned edge appliqué with an invisible machine stitch. Free-motion with silk thread was used for the quilting.

Dancing Dahlia by Laura Welkin

Pat Kuhns showed off her pointed precision with her Mariner's Compass mini, Sea Breeze. which won second place. She drafted her own foundation piecing pattern for the 2 1/2" blocks. The circles were attached to the top with needle turn appliqué.

Sea Breeze by Pat Kuhns

Third place went to Almost Squared Away II by Sharon Schlotzhauer, which is a shrunken rendition of Almost Squared Away.

Almost Squared Away II by Sharon Schlotzhauer

Honorable Mention was awarded to Come on to My House by Aki Sakai, who combined hand piecing, appliqué, embroidery, yo-yos, and itty bitty bunnies to successfully compress all the comforts of home into this red and gray marvel.

Come on to My House by Aki Sakai

Have your ever made a mini? Can you envision adding this amount of detail to something so small?

Quilt Market: Moda

Guess what? Moda! Or more specifically, the Moda booth at Houston Quilt Market. Let's take a gander.

For pure adorableness, may I present Bonnie & Camille? Their fabric line, Vintage Picnic is pretty cute too.

Another mother daughter duo, Sherri and Chelsi of A Quilting Life, unveiled their line for Moda, Valley.

There's no shortage of eye-catching patterns for purchase from this mother-daughter team for those who want a jump-start on determining their fabric's destiny.

Vannessa Christenson of V & Co. displayed the vibrant possibilities of her ombres.

Jen Kingwell has Just a Speck, a polka dot collection, and Lollies coming out in March.

Who's your favorite Moda designer?