Shelley Cavanna is a quilt and textile designer, teacher and author from Sacramento, CA. She has a passion for intricate, mosaic-inspired quilts and her latest book is Barn Star Sampler.
Here is Shelley’s take on 2023 fabric design trends, inspiration, and the events she is looking forward to.
Color of the year
The color I am most looking forward to working with for 2023 is a dark, vibrant, berry tone. My Stitches in Mulberry from my Blossom Hollow line showcases this color perfectly! I’m excited to be in tune with Pantone’s pick for the year!
Trendy Fabric print
This year, I’m looking forward to experimenting with geometric, angular prints. I’m really loving textural fabric in varying shades of the same colors. I’m a big fan of prints that are visually interesting – maybe even architecturally or geometrically inspired – but that really helps elevate some of my favorite mosaic-inspired prints.
New Sewing tool you must have/try
Loads of my customers that stopped by to chat in my PIQF booth were singing the praises of the Accuquilt system. I’m moving into a new studio space next summer and will have so much more storage space than I do in my home studio … and this might be first on my list of new toys!
Skill you’d like to learn/improve this year
This year, I’m really determined to up my drawing game in Procreate (a popular drawing app for the iPad and apple pencil). One of my favorite features gives you the option to record your screen as you draw so that when you’ve finished your piece, you can watch a video of the drawing coming to life. I haven’t picked a start date yet, but I’m planning on growing my skills with a “100-days-of-drawing” challenge!
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Inspiration for 2023
My inspiration for 2023 is really community. We are running three Block of the Month projects for 2023, along with a holiday sew-along, and our 8th annual mystery quilt along. It’s a lot of community projects to take on … but it also means a ton of time spent at my sewing machine (without feeling guilty about neglecting other work) and loads of chances to sew with friends! You can check out our full sew-along schedule on my website.
Event you look forward to in 2023
2023 is shaping up to be a really exciting year! I am really looking forward to traveling to Atlanta in February to attend QuiltCon. I go every year as an attendee to soak up inspiration, to see what’s trending in the quilt world, and to connect with quilty friends. I’m also really excited that my mom, who is my quilting bestie, is coming with me again this year!
Some time in the spring or summer, I’ll be moving into my brand-new dedicated quilt studio. Our new studio was designed and is being built by dad for my mom and me to share. We’ve loved watching the building come together over the last two years, and almost everyone in our extended family (my husband and our two boys, my brothers, my uncles and my cousins) have all lent a hand during the construction process – it’s truly been a labor of love, and it’s making the workspace all the more meaningful and special. Drywall is scheduled for delivery in the coming weeks, and then it’s on to the fun part of picking out finishes and setting up our workspaces. I’ll be sharing updates on my Instagram account and will hopefully be sharing a few behind-the-scenes in a new studio vlog series coming to my YouTube channel a little later in the year.
Stay up to date with Shelley Cavanna in 2023
