Designer Spotlight | Terrain by Kate Spain for Moda

Designer Kate Spain is returning today to speak with us about her newest collection, Terrain, just released from Moda Fabrics. Boasting a robust palette of jewel tones, foliage, and a small hint of geometrics, this collection is quickly becoming a favorite of many and would look wonderful included in any Fall project you may have planned.

I caught up with Kate via email recently and asked her what her inspiration was for Terrain. This is what she had to say:

"Thanks for inviting me over to your blog, Ryan! I am so excited to have a chance to share some of the inspiration for Terrain with your readers.

It’s hard to believe, but it was over a year ago that the very first sketches I did for this line appeared on paper. It’s always fun to look back at them and see the progression from the very beginning to the fabric here on my shelf. You can see traces of some of these same shapes/motifs resonating in patterns such as Stonecrop, Footpath, Aster, Seedpod and Dahlia.

The color palette and theme for Terrain emerged on a hike with my husband as summer transitioned to autumn with fruits and flowers sprinkling the landscape in vibrant hues. We have a favorite trail we like to hike in northwestern Connecticut that meanders through fern-covered woods, across open fields of wildflowers, and over pebble-studded streams. The various "terrains" struck me with their unique colors, textures, foliage and blooms that i knew i wanted to incorporate some of these ideas and forms into my designs. The name for the collection came almost immediately.

I also knew Terrain was going to be a fall collection, but i really wanted to highlight that fall is a season filled with vibrant color. On our walk, and even in our garden, I noticed how some flowers fade to softer versions of themselves and others become even more saturated in their appearance as the cooler weather sets in. The colors I eventually selected were from seasonal plants/fruits such as hydrangea, dahlias, sedums, hosta, moss and apples.

These are some photos I took of the natural colors that inspired the line:


And here is how they "stacked up" when they finally made it to fabric:


The Terrain precuts (shown below) feature the Stonecrop print as the cover fabric, inspired by the intricate blooms of the sedum plant. I consider this and Forest Floor as the signature prints for the collection since many of the supporting prints were derived from these two.


Here’s a close-up of Forest Floor, Aster, and Seedpod.


Seedpod was inspired by the shape of the milkweed plant as it sends its seeds off with the wind.


One of the things I am thrilled about with this line is that there are many exciting possibilities for color combinations. You can pull the blues, teals, and greens to make something in a harmonious and cool palette, or extend the range to include a pop of orange or bright pink. No matter how you combine them, these colors sing! Here is a picture of two quilts I've made with Terrain.




For Spring Quilt Market 2011, I designed the “Stepping Stones” quilt as a project sheet for Moda to go with the collection. It's offered as a free download from here or here! I had some amazing help from Sherri McConnell of A Quilting Life and Judi Madsen of Green Fairy Quilts who collaborated to make a sample of this quilt that hung in the Moda booth. These two women are so talented and I am grateful for their incredible work that brought this quilt to life.


Since the release of Terrain only a couple weeks ago, there are already a bunch of beautiful sewing projects that have popped up in my flickr group and i've had the pleasure of featuring a few on my blog recently as well. I encourage people to share what they make so we can all see (and oooh and ahhh)!

I am also really excited that Moda selected 2 combinations of prints from Terrain that will come in double-sided quilted fabric which would be perfect for quick quilts, lightweight slumber party sleeping bags, or pre-quilted totes. And there are also 3 prints that will come in coated fabric that is great for tote bags, table covers, place mats, or anything you'd like to be able to wipe clean. So many possibilities!

I really can't wait to see what people make with Terrain and hope that they are inspired, excited and have lots of fun sewing with it!

Thank you, Ryan. See you again...soon! *wink*"


All photos and images are © Kate Spain. Reproductions in any form are prohibited.

Kate, it's always a pleasure to speak with you. Thanks for allowing me to share this information with my readers.

Kate sent me several mini charm packs of Terrain to give out. If you'd like to win, please leave a comment on this post. Feel free to let us know what you'd like to make with it! Only one entry per person. All duplicate entries will be deleted!

I will draw several winners using the Random Number Generator and announce them here in an upcoming post!

If you'd like to purchase Terrain yardage or precuts, it is available from the following sponsor shops:

Fat Quarter Shop
Hip Fabric

Happy quilting,