I returned home to Utah yesterday after a week in Houston, Texas attending International Quilt Market and Quilt Festival. I will readily admit that I am not the most observant person, but I did notice a few trends that I think will carry through 2025.

Quilt Market is an industry convention. Vendors big and small show off their wares in hopes that shop owners carry them in their shops. I really enjoyed walking around and meeting the people behind the products we love. There are some very creative people out there. On the frustrating side of things, you can’t really buy anything. The point is to place a wholesale order so you just have to look and dream.

There was one Chinese company there that had a product I LOVED, but they were only interested in getting carried by Checker or Brewer. Seemed short sighted to me. . . I would have bought at least 100.

Things I noticed:

1. Softer colors are IN. Brightly rainbow hued products were mostly absent giving way to softer blues, peaches and greens. For me it looks like a throwback to the quilting colors of the 1980’s. It is a palette I lovingly refer to as the “moldy fruit colors.” Honestly, I’m not a big fan.
2. Bright colors are still popular but they are showing up in lower contrast palettes.
3. Black and white designs and other two-color high-contrast designs are few and far between. This leads to the next point:
4. Scrappy is more popular than ever! Some of the scrappiness borders on Aunt Alice’s 1970’s granny square afghans. Enough said.
5. Simple is IN. There is a resurgence of traditional blocks and simpler quilts but done in more interesting colorways. (NOTE: This was NOT the scene in the actual quilt show. There was some crazy maximalism happening there but I don’t think that is what we will be seeing (except for actual fabric) in shops.)
6. Hand stitching is IN. The focus on visible stitching and sashiko continues to be strong. There are lots of embroidery and stitching kits available. Although I love some of the designs, my thumb cannot handle hand stitching so I am probably out on this trend as well!
7. Texture in quilting is IN. The popularity of straight line quilting as an all-over quilting design is waning and the geometrics are coming on strong. Floral and other repetitive designs are holding their own but themed edge-to-edge designs seem to be on the outs.
8. Bag making is bigger than ever and the hardware is getting fancier and more colorful.
9. This last item is especially interesting to me. People are becoming more Earth-aware. There was a bigger emphasis on fabrics that are being printed to higher standards. Using scraps is cool. Re-dyeing and using older fabrics is cool. The whole notion of sustainability is gaining traction.

Those are the things I noticed. The most obvious to me was the softer, lower-contrast palettes. Here’s the thing. It’s your hobby and your quilt, so do what you like to do. Who really cares? I am not usually considered a trendy person!!! Why start now?

Now. . . apparently I AM trendy! Check this out!!!!