Welcome to Moda Fabrics!
All in...
All in...
Published:
May 1 2015 - 03:30
The worst part was that ModaLissa used really good fabric - some of it new! - because she knew that would keep me from trying to cut or gnaw my way out. I'd surely want to keep the strips intact and "all nice and pretty" so I could use them for something... and yes, I plan to do that.
After Quilt Market.
Which is coming soon... fast. Too fast. And not fast enough.
Aren't the Frivols amazing? The tins in the pictures are the paper-covered mock-ups and if they look this good, the real thing is going to be A.W.E.S.O.M.E. The days and weeks ahead are going to d..r...a....g as we wait for them to arrive... in August?
Can a person learn "patience"? Or is that something genetic - you either are or you aren't? (I'm an "aren't".)
The pace here at the office is different - it's hectic and everybody is crazy-busy so it's mostly very quiet with random bursts of conversation, laughter and activity. The quiet is because everybody is hard at work... or off in another part of the building pitching in to help get some of the big, time-consuming, must-be-done tasks - something like assembling the fabric samples for the Moda sales reps.
This is a cap-set.
It's also called a header. I have started thinking of them as "flippers" because Susan calls the small swatch-things we use in the office to reference the collections before they're on catalog pages or pdf. downloads to reference the stock number - also called a SKU. The cardboard header at the top includes all of that the information, listed in order for the fabrics in the individual cap-set. The first piece of fabric - the one on top - measures 13" wide by 10" long, and each successive layer of fabric is 1" longer. The fabric used for the cap-set is the same fabric that will be in shops on bolts a few months later so it is accurate for feel, color, value and scale.
To make a cap-set, a length of yardage is cut on a large cutter that can put a pinked-edge on 102 layers of fabric in a single cut. The length of each fabric is determined by where in the assortment that piece is - e.g., the length of yardage required for the top piece is smaller than the length needed for successive pieces. It is folded and layered according to the size needed, and then it's cut and stacked in the order of the cap-set.
There are a few carts like this in the sample room and warehouse, it's fabric that is waiting to be assembled into cap-sets... by hand. One at a time.
These tables aren't usually here but when it's a couple weeks before Market, it's the only way to get it all done. Twenty-five new collections for Market - multiplied by 102. If you go back and look at the picture of the Polka Dots & Paisleys cap-sets, you'll see that those edges are very neatly aligned.
When the cap-sets are finished, they are rolled to keep the edges nice, and to make them easier to pack and ship to Minneapolis for Market.
Not all of these will go to Market, some are shipped overseas and some stay here in Dallas for the archives, the lobby showroom and for "just in case".
Do you know what makes me chuckle about all this? The amount of lint it produces! Seriously. Just try not to think about this the next time you swipe your hand across the surface of your cutting table after opening a charm pack or jelly roll.
I'm sewing this weekend... must sew faster. There are several little things to finish before Market and Schoolhouse... something Frivol-ous.
The Frivols sample quilts? Those are done. This is something else... but you'll have to wait a little while to see it.
Patience. It's supposed to be a virtue.
At least that's what people keep trying to tell me.
Happy Friday!
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