Pam's Prairie Basics & Shirtings Debut!

Cottonwood Creek quilt, designed by Pam Buda for Heartspun Quilts (Electric Quilt Image)

Introducing Cottonwood Creek, the quilt that helped inspire my brand new Pam's Prairie Basics & Shirtings collections, created just for Marcus Fabrics, of course!  

Last year, while traveling through Maine and Vermont, I toured the Shelburne Living History Museum.  I could have stayed there all week!  I was truly smitten with the Tuckaway General Store because it is an experience in walking back into nineteenth century as it really was.

This store is original to New England, and was indeed a General Store in the 1800's, preserved and moved to the museum.  (Click here to see original post about Shelburne)

By the time I visited Shelburne, I was already busy planning the Basics and Shirtings line in my mind, and being there was a buffet of creative food for thought.  As I stood taking in all the sights, sounds, goods in the shop, with the creaking floor beneath me, I imagined myself a Prairie woman coming in to shop for needful things.  Nothing fancy, just the "basics" of life on the prairie. 

Shirtings were a lovely basic of life then, and I adore them now.  They are lights that give a quilt so much interest.  Muslin was certainly a big staple then, and there are many, many lovely quilts made with muslin, but somehow, I just like shirtings so much more than plain muslin.  

Having said all of that, I quite deliberately designed a print that I call Barely There.  Sometimes, when choosing fabrics for a quilt or block, even a little shirting can overpower the effect we are looking to achieve.  Barely There gives the effect of muslin from far away, but when you get closer, reveals a tiny print that has a hint of color without being overpowering.  (It comes in two colors)

In my Cottonwood Creek quilt above, Barely There is used in the center of the quilt, surrounding the center star and pinwheels.  There are 12 new shirtings in the collection.

The "basics" portion of Pam's Prairie Basics have 24 new prints.  One of the best things about a Marcus Fabrics Basics line is that the fabrics, both the shirtings and the darks, will be available for an extended period of time....about 2 years.  Each print was chosen with purpose in mind.  I wanted a range of our favorite Civil War repro colors....reds, blues, greens, plums, brown, blacks, tan, deep golds and dusty pinks.  There also had to be prints suitable for borders for a larger quilt, borders for smaller quilt, and a rich print in tone on tone.  Add some geometrics, little country florals, and we have a beautiful mix of basics!

We all need to have a really good beige tone on tone to work with in our quilts, and so that was another print that just had to be in the line.  Something that gave a little bit of motion without being overwhelming.  

This print is called Butter Press and comes in two other colors.  It is used in the star pieced border in Cottonwood Creek.

All of the prints in the collection are named for items of everyday living...the basics of living, if you will. 

The next two prints I chose because I have long wished to use them in quilts, and they are just not always available.  I figured you might be looking for them as well, and with the extended availability, we would finally have them for awhile.

The stripe print at the right, called Apron Strings, is a print I love using in sashing and borders.  I chose a neutral tan color because it works with just about anything, and sets itself apart nicely from the background color of blocks without overwhelming the quilt.  It came from one of my oldest antique quilts and is a traditional classic.  Honestly, it looks great in a block, too!

The print at the right, called Lace, is one of the prints I am most anxious to use.  It is a print that is nearly impossible to find and not often printed.  Used in the center of my Cottonwood Creek quilt above, it surrounds the Nine Patch blocks and gives shading and interest to the quilt center. Printed in tones of beige, tan and browns, it goes with everything Civil War and looks stunning next to the darker colors.  

Peacefield by Pam Buda for Heartspun Quilts (Electric Quilt image)

My favorite use of the Lace print is seen in my Peacefield quilt above in setting triangles.  I am remaking my quilt, Peacefield, which uses a 10 x 10 precut plus coordinate fabrics from the Basics line.  You can see what a nice effect my Lace print has in this quilt in the setting triangles.  (Pattern and kit coming soon!)  

Pam's Prairie Basics & Shirtings is in your Local Quilt Shop now!!

Please shop your LQS and ask for my fabrics there.  I would like it to be your first stop in shopping.  

If your LQS doesn't carry my fabric collections, you can order them from my website.  

I have prepared both Half Yard bundles and Fat Quarter bundles of all 12 shirting prints.

Half Yard bundles and Fat Quarter bundles are also available of the Basics collection!  

Click here to order......and guess what?

For a limited time only....Pam's Prairie Basics & Shirtings are 15% off!  

Order yours today!

I'll be sharing all kinds of goodies on my new Tokens pattern called Tokens of the Past: Prairie Life....all using a 10 x 10 and yardage of the Basics & Shirtings collection.  Photos of the three quilts coming soon!