Archive for March, 2012

A few years ago, we visited the south of France during an European Art Tour I planned around all of the art I studied in college. During our few days in Nice we took a drive determined to find the infamous lavender fields of Provence.

We stopped in a little town for lunch and an adorable French man told us how to get to the “Largest Lavender Fields in France.”He warned us, however, that they were much too far away to go there and back to Nice in one day. Despite his attempts to persuade us not to, we continued on our journey following his directions and our instincts. Thanks to the wonders of GPS, we had absolutely no fear of getting lost- just put the hotel address whenever it was time to head back.

Rows and rows of lavender in Provence, France.

It turned out that these magnificent lavender fields were less than 2 hours way! For Americans who drive almost an hour to work everyday, this is nothing. We turned off the highway and headed into the Provincial country side. We discovered a truly incredible area of France with lavender fields as far as the eye could see.

View of Provence countryside with lavender fields as far as you can see.

It was mid July just before the lavender harvest and the air was filled with the enchanting smell of lavender and the buzz of bees hard and work. After driving around all of the country roads and taking lots of pictures, we decided we better head back to Nice- although it was very hard to leave.

Check out all of the bees in the air and on the sunflower blossoms!

This was one of the highlights of my first trip to Europe and I would highly recommend a drive in Provence to anyone traveling to France. The landscape is truly breathtaking and when you add all the amazing lavender and sunflowers, it is truly an unforgettable experience. We used some of our favorite memories from this trip to help use create our new fabric line, Lavender Bliss. We hope you enjoy!

~Michelle

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We are happy to announce that our first fabric line, Lavender Bliss, is on its way from Andover Fabrics! It is scheduled to ship this June- just in time for the summer lavender harvest! Here is a sneak peak…

Together the line includes 13 beautiful prints in rich purples, warm greens and luscious creams. One of the standouts of the group is this incredible landscape that runs selvedge to selvedge.

Portion of the lavender landscape from Lavender Bliss.

Another great print is the lavender stalk allover on a soft, creamy background. This design will be great for any number of sewing projects- everything from quilts and other home accents to lavender items to use every day or give as gifts.

Lavender stalk allover from Lavender Bliss.

To check out the rest of the group, visit AndoverFabrics.com and watch for it to arrive at your local quilt shop this summer!

We are also working on some great sewing patterns that can be used along with Lavender Bliss or with other fabrics you love. Watch for updates with lots of great project ideas in the coming months. We can’t wait to see what you create!

~Michelle

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Welcome to the Firetrail Designs Blog!

Here you will get an inside look into what inspires us, how we create our fabric designs, patterns and other creative projects we are constantly working on or at least dreaming about.

Our goal is to inspire you to find your own style in this sometimes overwhelming world of trends, ideas and opinions. Most of us can’t afford those high fashion trends we drool over in magazines- but with a little inspiration and some basic sewing skills you can create your own designer fashions that fit your everyday lifestyle.

There is a great deal of pride that comes from creating something yourself. You get to make it exactly the way YOU want it and the result is directly related to how much effort you put into it. Don’t be afraid to tackle something you have never done before! You have a multitude of teachers and information at your fingertips- through the Internet. Come across something you don’t know how to do? Just look it up and try! You are sure to find a tutorial, a video or an explanation of how to do it. All you have to do it ask.

Check back often to see what we have been up to! Hopefully our projects and ideas will inspire you to tackle your own. We are excited for you to get to know us and hopefully you will share some of yourselves with us too!

~Michelle

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