Swiss Chocolate by Amanda Murphy for Robert Kaufman | { Fat Quarter Shop Fridays }

Hey everyone! I know, today is certainly not Friday. In fact it's Saturday. Work was hectic to say the least and I needed a few hours to reboot Friday so I didn't get to post this as soon as I'd hoped. Please forgive me! I'll even give you some FREE stuff to make up for it, alright? :)

Amanda Murphy is visiting with us today here on RWQ and she's bringing along her newest collection from Robert Kaufman, Swiss Chocolate! Scheduled to ship on February 20, 2011, Swiss Chocolate is presented in two luscious color stories: Chocolate and Mocha.




Amanda's design work incorporates shapes and patterns found in the natural world, giving them a playful and modern twist by exploring juxtaposition of scale, the contrast of modern and traditional motifs, and the surprises that result.

Thanks for being here Amanda. I can't wait to hear about your new line!

RWQ: Please tell us a little bit about yourself. How long have you been designing fabric? What is your design background?

I graduated from Carnegie Mellon with a design degree and did years of corporate graphic design work before migrating over to freelance illustration and design. I’ve always been an avid sewer, so quilting fabric was a natural fit for me. My first line of fabric just debuted this past fall.

RWQ: Where do you draw your inspiration from when designing in general?

Well, obviously the natural world – but I can’t grow a thing, so I have to draw flowers instead! I truly love the decorative arts and find much inspiration in furniture design, porcelain, pottery, needlework, folk art… the list goes on and on. I love visiting places like Williamsburg and Winterthur. Looking back on it, I think I was also very heavily influenced by color classes I took in college. One of the fascinating things about quilts is the way pattern and color interact in different ways in every design.

RWQ: Is there anything you want to tell my readers about your inspiration for Swiss Chocolate? Do you have a favorite print in the collection?

For Swiss Chocolate, I envisioned a collection reminiscent of the elaborate scroll work and decorative motifs featured on European chocolate boxes. The entire collection has a calligraphic look.

I also wanted to produce a family that would showcase rich colors and work well with the wood tones in so many of our homes – that is how I settled upon the blue and caramel color story (“Mocha”) and the red, pink and brown color story (“Chocolate”).

I’m hard pressed to choose a favorite print, as what I really enjoy is the juxtaposition of the bolder prints with the more delicate ones, but if I had to choose I might pick the feature tapestry fabric – an oriental rug gone wild!


RWQ: Is this your first design to be licensed on fabric? If no, can you briefly tell us about your other lines?

My first fabric collection with Robert Kaufman, Ambrosia, shipped in October, but the design process began well over a year before that. My second collection is, Swiss Chocolate, which ships on February 20th, and my third – Veranda – will debut at Market.

RWQ: How can my readers find more information about your company?

I write about all my latest work on my blog at:

www.amandamurphydesign.blogspot.com

I’ll be doing an giveaway of Ambrosia this week in celebration of this interview so please stop by! You can also find out more about my work at my website:

www.amandamurphydesign.com

For shop owners who want to carry my lines contact Robert Kaufman Fabrics. Fat Quarter Shop is also carrying my lines and already has some advance yardage of Swiss Chocolate as they are kitting some magazine quilts for both collections.

And speaking of magazines…
You can find Ambrosia quilts in McCalls Quilting (February 2011), Quilter's Newsletter (Feb./March 2011), Quilts and More (Spring 2011), and Fons and Porter’s Love of Quilting (May/June 2011).

You can find Swiss Chocolate quilts Fabric Trends (Winter 2011), Quiltmaker (March/April '11), American Patchwork and Quilting (Spring 2011) , Quick Quilts (May 2011), Quilter's Newsletter (June/July 2011), and F&P Easy Quilts (Summer 2011). I am really excited about them all!

Thanks for having me, Ryan!


Thanks for sharing Amanda! To help celebrate the release of Swiss Chocolate, Amanda has brought along some precuts courtesy of Robert Kaufman to give away!


To win either a Ten-Square or a Roll-Up of Swiss Chocolate, leave a comment on this post. Only one entry per person, please. All duplicate entries will be deleted.

I will draw two winners using the Random Number Generator on Friday, February 11, 2011!


Please take the time to visit Fat Quarter Shop today by clicking on the image above.


Never miss a post! Sign up here to have posts emailed to you as soon as they are published.