QUILT SHARE LIVE! MARCH 7

Time to dig out your quilted heirlooms and head to the Craft in America Center for our own spin on Antiques Roadshow!

Quilt experts, artist Joe Cunningham and curator Julie Silber, will lead an on-the-spot analysis of audience members’ quilts made before 1960. Cunningham and Silber will give as much information about each quilt as can be gleaned including, date, region, pattern name, condition and more. They will also present a selection of antique quilts and a few of Cunningham’s own creations.

Join us and learn more about the treasures in your own home!

Julie Silber is a lecturer, author and curator with more than forty years’ experience collecting and studying quilts. She is the curator of the former Esprit Quilt Collection in San Francisco, and was the guest curator of several major quilt exhibitions including American Quilts: A Handmade Legacy at the Oakland Museum and Amish: The Art of the Quilt, at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Her business, Julie Silber Quilts (formerly The Quilt Complex), specializes in antique quilts: selling, appraising, and writing about them.

Joe Cunningham has been a professional quilt artist since 1980. After a long apprenticeship in traditional quilt history and technique, Cunningham has developed a unique, personal approach to quilt making. His quilts are in corporate, private and museum collections nationwide. The author or co-author of 12 books on the subject, he has been widely seen on television and video, including his appearance on the Peabody Award-winning PBS Documentary series “Craft in America.” Cunningham travels nationally and internationally to lecture on and teach how to make quilts.

This event is free and open to the public.
RSVP: [email protected].

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Some fabric collections feel pretty, some feel useful, and then there are those rare ones that instantly spark a dozen ideas the moment you see them. The In the Garden Layer Cake from Fat Quarter Shop falls firmly into that last category. From the moment I opened the pack, it felt like stepping into a watercolor garden—soft, romantic, full of movement, and brimming with detail that invites you to slow down and really look.

This collection brings together an elegant mix of florals, garden motifs, and soothing color palettes that feel like they were created for spring quilting. Instead of loud novelty prints, the designer chose a gentle balance of botanical sketches, scattered blossoms, tiny seed patterns, and larger feature florals that work beautifully in both traditional and modern layouts.

What struck me most is how thoughtfully the color stories are arranged. Each print blends seamlessly into the next, giving you a spectrum that includes soft rose pinks, leafy greens, lavender tones, fresh sky blues, rich corals, and delicate neutrals. It’s the kind of palette that instantly feels “quilty” in the best way—inviting, calm, and incredibly easy to mix and match. You can tell the designer planned this for maximum versatility.

Layer cakes are one of the most beginner-friendly precuts, but this collection elevates them with a sense of sophistication. The prints are strong enough to shine in simple patterns, but subtle enough to support more complex designs. Whether you prefer classic half-square triangles, framed squares, modern grid quilts, or something scrappier, this fabric adapts beautifully. It’s also a wonderful choice for table runners, spring wall hangings, and even quilted bags or home décor projects.

One of the nicest surprises with this layer cake is how it manages to feel seasonal without becoming locked into one particular holiday or theme. While the palette is undeniably perfect for spring, the prints themselves are timeless enough to work year-round. A floral quilt made from this collection would look just as lovely on a summer sunroom sofa as it would draped over a guest bed in winter.

The fabric quality is exactly what you’d expect from Fat Quarter Shop—crisp, clean cuts, vibrant printing, and a smooth hand that makes piecing feel effortless. Nothing is too thin or too stiff, and the colors are even more beautiful in person than they appear online.

If you enjoy sewing projects that feel light, fresh, and inspired by nature, In the Garden is a collection worth adding to your stash. It has all the qualities quilters look for: balance, versatility, gentle movement, and that spark of creativity that makes you want to start a project immediately. Whether you’re planning a gift quilt, treating yourself to a new spring project, or simply building your fabric library with a set of prints that will play nicely with others, this layer cake is a thoughtful and inspiring choice.

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