Going Green and having fun with Kona Bay Eco Bags!!

Kona Bay's first Eco bag made with recycled materials was a very big success and we are on our third shipment already to keep up with the demand.

Our Koi Bag has been a big success with our customers and is available now at your favorite local independent quilt shop.

Now comes the next Kona Bay Eco Bag and we hope everyone will enjoy this bag as well!! This new bag features the famed Japanese cats.

The Kona Bay web site has both of these items available for your review.

http://konabay.com

Renowned Australian Pattern Designer Joins the Kona Bay Fabrics Family

I have exciting news! Leesa Chandler is well known throughout Australia and beyond as a premier pattern designer. Kona Bay Fabrics is now the exclusive US distributor of several of her most popular patterns. With over 50 exquisite designs and patterns to her name, she is a sought after teacher throughout Australia. We're looking forward to bringing her expertise to our customers.

When not on the road, Leesa is busy at her studio in Melbourne creating patterns for quilts, wall hangings and her exquisite designer handbags. She started her first handcraft business at the enthusiatic age of 14 and made her first quilt at 18.

She sources her inspiration from different cultures and their landscapes, flora, customs and architecture. Leesa loves teaching and sharing her obsession with rich Oriental design influences. Her patterns are well written and easy to follow.

One of the patterns Kona Bay will release first is shown here. The Eastern Tote teaches a three dimensional technique that you’ll love. You’ll find many uses for this technique in your future projects. This stylish bag would make the perfect gift for that special someone on your holiday gift list.

Summer Palace 98” x 74” (right) offers the same dramatic influence of the windows in a Beijing Palace that provided the inspiration. The remaining two, Emperors Stonework 83” x 83” and Imperial Windows 72” x 72”, are equally delightful.

The four patterns by Leesa offer proven success. We are proud to be the distributor of these unique patterns whose artful use of Asian fabrics is renowned in Australia. Inquire at your favorite local quilt shop. Tell ‘em Doug at Kona Bay Fabrics sent you!

As a special bonus, we’ll be featuring a new bag design by Leesa in the upcoming issue of Asian Fabric due out the first of the year. There is still time to subscribe! Visit www.konabay.com to subscribe today. Check out our latest fabric releases while you’re there. We have some gorgeous new designs rolling in over the next couple months so stop by often!

Asian Fabric Issue #17—The Surprise Inside!

One of my favorite things about flying to and fro Hawaii is having time to enjoy my pile of current magazines. Our recent poll tells me it’s at the top of your list, too. It has been both exciting and satisfying to publish the only quilting magazine specializing in working with Asian prints.

Last week we released Issue #17 of Asian Fabric magazine. If you haven’t picked up one at your local quilt shop yet, reports are—they’re going fast! In addition to the usual great array of patterns, this special edition includes the current catalog showcasing the latest and greatest fabric designs from Kona Bay Fabrics.

This sneak preview has previously been reserved only for our customers—the local independent quilt shops that bring you fabric, fun and fellowship. As the list of enthusiastic fans of Asian Fabric has grown, we decided to say thank you by sharing our catalog with our readers as well.

In addition to just having the scoop on new designs, a few readers have mentioned that the catalog images are a helpful planning tool. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this special edition and how it might have inspired you.

The power of the printed page has long fascinated me. Having been in the quilting industry for nearly twenty years, starting and building Asian Fabric magazine has been akin to the documentation of a long, enjoyable adventure that some days feels like it’s only just begun!

Now, if only walls could talk—the staff and I are busy getting ready for the semi-annual quilt industry trade show in October. We’ll be headed to Houston for 2009 International Quilt Market on the 8th of October. I’ll be tweeting updates and posting photos on the Kona Bay Fan Page. It’s a good time to get on board—click here to follow me on Twitter or join in and become a Facebook fan of Kona Bay Fabrics here so you don’t miss a thing!

Celebrities of the Quilting World

Did you ever wish you could be a rockstar? I know it might be hard to picture but I occasionally spent time in my youth conjuring up images of me rocking out with the sound of my guitar vibrating against my chest while the adoring fans buzzed in my ear. I know what you’re thinking…snap out of it, boy!

Well, today, I received copies of the promotional pieces for the premier issue of Quiltposium “Living and Traveling with a Quilter’s Eye”, a new quarterly online travel magazine for quilters. On the front page, it read—For the first time ever a groundbreaking online magazine with your favorite celebrities! Coming September 1, 2009!

Guess who’s photo was right there among industry hard hitters like Eleanor Burns, Kaye England, Alex Anderson and Jinny Beyer to name a few? Yes indeed, it was yours truly! So, it would appear I have finally arrived at rockstar status. The vibration might be a result of fabric folding machines in the warehouse and the buzz might be from fans sewing machines hard at work—but I have been officially deemed a celebrity.

Earlier this year Jim West, of Sew Many Places, introduced me to this exciting new venue and invited me to be a regular contributor. My answer, of course, was yes.

Each issue of Quiltposium will include over 100 pages of articles, photographs and video clips from 24 well-loved folks in the quilting industry plus detailed itineraries of up to 45 expeditions, cruises, tours and quiltposiums by Sew Many Places. You’ll enjoy free patterns, trip giveaways, discount coupons and way more information than you’ll be able to absorb in a single sitting. And, here’s the kicker—it’s FREE!

Here’s a fun note and reason enough, all by itself, to register for the premier copy—Kaye England (my quilting mom and someone I admire immensely!) will be the first centerfold and rumor is, it’s not to be missed.

My first column talks about using large scale fabric in your projects. It’s a common dilemma that is more easily addressed than you might think. You can register for this fun premier issue of Quiltposium at www.quiltposium.com. Remember, it’s free, so a few quick clicks mean you own it!

Kona Bay Customer Has Fabric Tours to Japan

Susan Faeder of Quilters Express to Japan will be having another one of her great tours to Japan and the dates have been announced -- January 17 - 28, 2010.  Susan has been giving tours for quilters to Japan for over twenty years!

I have been to Japan many times for business and have found many contacts and great fabric places but Susan Faeder gives a fabric tour that is unsurpassed.  Her working knowledge of Japan and fabric sources are what makes her tour the ultimate textile trip and comes highly recommended.  Add to that great mix the fact that she is very fluent in Japanese and you have all the major ingredients for a great tour.

If you are interested in her tour, you can go to her special web page at http://www.qejapan.com/QETours.html

Four New Tone on Tone Groups Add Pop to Your Project!

Ok, I know what you’re saying, “Tone on tones aren’t the pop in the project, you silly boy”! But you know I’ve been paying attention and, even more than that, admiring, quilts of all types pretty intently for nearly twenty years now.

On top of that, I’ve been pumping out those striking Asian designs that, I’m told, have made your toes tingle for just as long. Plus, several years back, we added the Seattle Bay division with its artistic, nature-inspired designs. I’m not wearing my “Ask the Expert” button today but here’s what I’ve concluded.

Tone on tone designs are like the foundation of a house or the bun on a hot dog (Is it lunchtime yet!?)—without them, everything falls apart. Over the years, our tone on tone designs have gained popularity with quilters using designs of every kind for their focus fabric. Seattle Bay, in particular, has worked to build a strong and ample selection of tonals.

The ideal tone on tone will read almost like a solid if you stand back yet offer a subtle texture and interest close up. It’s important that a tone on tone use various values of the same color to maintain only a slight contrast.

Tone on tones play a supporting role in your fabric theater. The right tone on tone is what makes the focus fabric pop.

This brings us back to the four new Kona Bay and Seattle Bay tone on tone collections. Starring on the Kona Bay side are the Gingko Tonals. Due out in stores come August, the Gingko Tonal design takes advantage of the unique shape of the gingko leaf which will pair well with both Asian and non-Asian designs. The addition of metallic gold along the rim of the leaves offers a dramatic twist.

Seattle Bay has built a name and reputation for its user-friendly tone on tone groups. Quilters can count on finding just the right print and color. Look for the three new Seattle Bay groups in local quilt shops starting in September—Falling Leaves, Vine Tonals and Tulip Tonals.
Each of the Seattle Bay groups feature eighteen different colors each while the Gingko Tonals offer eleven. Visit our website to see all the new tone and tone collections and more!

All I Could Say Was Wow!

In each issue of Asian Fabric, our magazine, we include a fun and inspiring section titled, “What I Did With My Kona Bay”. I never cease to be astounded by the photos of truly phenomenal projects our readers submit.

Last month, our editor forwarded an email submission from Magdalena Urbankova (pictured above) of Madison, New Jersey. She had lovingly transformed the Mount Fuji print from the Emperor Collection into a stunning shirt for her husband. It was fun to see our fabric used in a new way.

The seemingly endless vault of creativity we see stitched into artistic creations is heartwarming to say the least. Many quilts—large and small—along with bags, home dec items and an occasional wearable, are submitted. I never get tired of seeing ways our fabric can be used.

Last week, upon my return to the office from Hawaii, I was presented with a package. As I opened it, I saw our fabric. After unfolding the contents, I found a shirt—a shirt for me! Wow! Yes, I'm wearing it in the photo here. If I had a toothy grin, you'd be seeing it.

In staff correspondence with Magdalena, it was mentioned how neat it would be if I had a shirt like the one she had sewn and submitted for our What I Did With My Kona Bay section. Bless her heart, if Magdalena didn’t offer to make me one. I am touched and grateful for this very special gift. The craftsmanship and imaginative use of the scenic design is incredible. This will be special occasion wear.

You still have time to submit projects for the next issue. Send in a photo and a little information about you and your project. Email PublishingPeople@mac.com or submit via mail to: Eagle Publishing, KB Project, 328 E. Indiana Ave, Spokane, WA 99207.

Thank you again, Magdalena and thank you to all of you who support Kona Bay Fabrics and churn out the magnificent, inspired projects we see and the many we don’t. I admire you!