Cozy Up by Corey Yoder for Moda
August 19, 2021It’s time to get those holiday projects started—and the newest Christmas Morning fabric collection from Lella Boutique is sure to put you in the festive spirit.
Lella Boutique designer Vanessa Goertzen has designed her second Christmas collection embracing her signature style, and we think you’re going to love it!
Vanessa designs her fabrics especially for quilters—because she is a quilter, too. She recalls that she learned to quilt from her mother when she was just 14. “I come from a long line of quilters so it’s practically inevitable I would become a quilter,” she says, noting that her family is a regular part of the inspiration behind some of her fabric lines and quilts.
While quilting came first, fabric design has also become a passion. Vanessa has now been designing for Moda since 2013—with no prior design experience. The intuitive sense of scale and colour she learned through years of experience in quilting has also served her well in design.
“I don’t always have a clear direction of where I’m going, but I always start with the colour palette and the main floral or “hero” print,” she says. “Once the main print is done, I can then start to think about what other designs would compliment it. My goal is to create a variety of prints with varying visual weight.”
About Christmas Morning Fabric Collection
Vanessa’s designs are contemporary with a vintage-inspired feel. She describes Christmas Morning fabric collection as “a scrapbook of the best feelings of the season.” Its prints are small-scale and varied with candy cane stripes, text prints, doves, snowflakes, florals and sprigs of holly in red, green, snow white and a soft grey. The traditional red and green shades of the season are slightly muted here, which will give your quilt projects that much-loved look as soon as you’ve made the final stitch.
The centrepiece of the Christmas Morning fabric collection is a Peace on Earth panel: a huge 58” x 69” panel with a beautiful dove design, surrounded by smaller quilt blocks.
You might easily use the panel to make a simple but eye-catching wholecloth quilt.
And it’s perfectly in tune with the times we’re living in. “I started working on my Christmas Morning fabric collection in the spring of 2020,” she remembers. “The pandemic had just arrived, and with it: fear and uncertainty for so many of us. Thinking about Christmas and its special spirit during such a chaotic time was a welcome gift. I found that the theme of peace just had to be the focus.”
Sewing ideas
The most obvious sewing project with which to match these fabrics is a Christmas quilt. In keeping, Vanessa has released four festive patterns especially for Christmas Morning.
What you may not know yet is that her next collection, Love Note, includes a pattern called Lovey Dovey that is also absolutely perfect, too! Vanessa had planned to make a dove block, but it wasn’t realized until the Valentine-themed collection. We think it looks fantastic for both occasions!
As this is the second Lella Boutique Christmas collection, there are additional patterns from the first collection, called Little Tree, that you also may like. All quilt patterns are available on Vanessa’s website.
You might also like to try making your own stockings or a tree skirt this year. If you cannot bear the thought of cutting into the fabric, you could also wrap a gift for a quilter in the fabric, Furoshiki-style!
Quilter Quickfire Questions
Pinning – Yes or No?
No… except for curves and borders
Long arm or domestic quilting?
Long arm! So grateful for all the ladies who quilt for me.
Seams open, or pressed to the side?
To the side
Machine or hand binding?
Machine. Here is my machine binding method!
Modern or traditional quilts?
Don’t make me choose!
Christmas Morning fabric collection by Lella Boutique from Moda Fabrics is arriving in Canadian stores now. You can also find all of Vanessa’s quilt patterns on her website. We always encourage you to touch, feel, and experience the fabric you’ll use for your next creative project at your local quilt store.
