Verna Mosquera on Savon Bouquet

Verna Mosquera of The Vintage Spool returns for her second appearance on the Jolly Jabber with her new line Savon Bouquet for Free Spirit Fabrics. Just as the season has begun to cool down (at least here in Texas!), her new collection is a huge breath of warm spring air! This vintage-inspired group is perfectly pretty with a variety of floral prints, stripes and dots. The colors, stronger than her first line, are vibrant and happy. Fat Quarter Shop has grouped Savon Bouquet into mini-bundles for your convenience, and we also have Verna's lovely pattern Jardin De Roses kitted up as well!

It was so nice to see Kimberly and Jocelyn at The International Quilt Market in Houston. I was there debuting my new fabric line, Savon Bouquet, for Free Spirit Fabrics and the new pattern I designed for my company The Vintage Spool, called Jardin De Roses. (Click here for close-ups...)

For years I have had requests for kits that go along with my pattern designs. With this sophomore fabric line I decided to design a pattern that could easily be kitted up by my customers. You can imagine my excitement when Kimberly and The Fat Quarter Shop decided to be one of the first shops to do just that!

I was thrilled when Jocelyn asked me to blog about the new fabrics. It is a line I am very proud of. As with anything I think experience comes with each time you do something and Savon Bouquet was a stretch slightly out of my comfort zone. I wanted to do something that went with my first fabric line Sweet Escape, but that was different enough to stand on its own.

As with many of my designs, Savon Bouquet was inspired by a personal experience. Years ago, my husband and I lived with my parents while we saved to buy our first home. My mom received a gift of lovely French soaps from one of her clients. She put them in the bathroom and we all began to use them on a daily basis. We got so spoiled bathing with them that my husband was sad to think that when we moved into our new home our tight budget wouldn’t allow us to use such fine soap.

As a housewarming gift my mom gave my husband a bunch of these French soaps. It was so fragrant, like a soap bouquet. Each was individually wrapped with rose petals. My husband just cracked up, he said back home you always gave your grandma pretty soaps. We loved them so much that it has become a tradition. One of my husbands Christmas gifts is always his Savon Bouquet. We recently gave these out at our schoolhouse series at Fall Market. They can be purchased at La Lavande Gifts.

When choosing colors I drew from my collection of vintage soap labels and each of the colors is named after a type of soap. The prints are pretty florals, fun dots and classic French ticking stripes. The colors are romantic and clean, pinks, yellows, blues and lavenders with a milky cream tying them all together.

I just love how versatile the line is. Not only is it perfect for quilts, but we just recently made up samples of the adorable Tea Party Sundress and Bloomers from my favorite designers, Oliver + S, and the cutest Tea For Two Apron by From Me to You. They both turned out so sweet. It is so fun to see my fabrics used in so many applications. The pattern for our new block of the month, Jardin De Roses, is now available along with the entire Jardin De Roses kit at the Fat Quarter Shop.

Even though Fall Market is over, life doesn’t stop here at The Vintage Spool. We have so many upcoming projects in 2009 it’s hard to talk about them all. Look for a couple of our new pattern designs in some of your favorite quilting magazines in 2009. Also, we will vend for the first time at Road To California this coming January. We can hardly wait for our first Vintage Spool Retreat, A Celebration Of Spring, March 20, 21 and 22. For more information, please stop by our website The Vintage Spool.


Warmest holiday wishes,
Verna Mosquera
The Vintage Spool

Labels: