Finally, I can share with you something that I’ve been thinking about and working on for more than the past year.

I’m so happy to share with you my Instead collection.

Instead started as an alternative way of thinking for me.

A fabric collection has many places where it can start. It can start with the design or a sense of shapes and patterns. It can also start with an overall concept of ideas to explore, OR in the case of Instead it all started with a sense of color that took hold and inspired me to take action.

Sometime before the Wainwright QAL last year, I became really interested in dark and moody color palettes. Light and bright is great, but I realized that I’d never really done a project where my range reached to the deep and dark ends of the spectrum. An obsession with the idea continued to grow after realizing my own need for the fabric to take me there.

Enter the dark seeds of this collection. I wanted to explore the depths of a rich, dark color palette, and I wanted to find a new mood.

Instead is a 15 piece collection on quilting cotton. It has been such a treat for me to be able to create designs for several different substrates (linen, yarn dyed, knit jersey, etc), but with Instead I’ve been excited to get back to the quilting cotton. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about patchwork! (That said, now that the release and a few quilts are behind me, I’ve been dreaming up a few garments and other things to make with this collection…)

The collection is designed to work well with other things–especially all of my previous collections (I’m eager to start mixing it in!), but it’s also designed to work well on its own – like in the case of the new version of my Sunrise pattern.

This has been one of my favorite patterns over time–it’s great for beginners, and it can take on so many different looks depending on the fabric. Like the collection, this version gives an alternative voice to the project.

The collection can also be mixed in different ways and with others, like in my new Arlo quilt. (I have been so excited about this project–more on Arlo soon!)

Arlo was made from the entire Instead collection, plus a special set of coordinating solids that I put together.

I always love putting together a set of coordinates, because it lets you think about how the collection can start speaking to other things. In this case, I liked the idea of adding loads of texture with a variety of linens. I don’t usually look to coordinates to repeat something that already exists, but instead I’m looking for ways to complement and expand the opportunities of all of it.

So there we have it–my newest collection, Instead. I hope it can inspire you just as much as it has inspired me.