Celebrating Andes Culture with Andina Fabrics
April 02, 2021
I don't even know where to begin on this blog post because my excitement for today's collection release is more than what I can express in words! As someone who is from Peru, this collection means a lot more to me as it has a lot of prints that represent who I am and where I come from. As soon as I saw “Andina” in the works and why, my heart skipped a beat. Andina was inspired by the Andes culture, which takes a few elements from several countries on the western side of South America like their colorful land of textiles, prolific art forms, and iconic landmarks.
*Available in 16 quilting cotton prints
This collection is filled with the prettiest and most saturated colors I have ever seen! I mean look at that red and that yellow... SWOON. One of the most amazing qualities of this collection is the attention to detail, the closer you get to a print, the more there is to admire and love. All these elements take me to a special time in my life where I lived and enjoyed many trips visiting Peru. It made me nostalgic and I wanted to share a quick photo that I found while looking through some old albums!
This is me and my dad in Peru in 2006. I cherish this picture a lot because it’s the only picture I have that shows the home I lived in for several years (that bright yellow on the left).
*Bolts pictured: Golden Huaca, Florid Animalia, Flowering Molas, Nazca Lines, and Urubamba Flora.
What made this collection even more special is that it was designed by one of our In-house designers of Colombian nationality and inspired by our own AGF family, and the people pictured above are just a few that this collection is dedicated to. Meet Yonier, Marcela, Kathy, Margarita, and Jannelle (that’s me on the top of the stairs) who have been a part of the AGF family for years now, representing the beautiful countries of Colombia and Peru. We all got to choose a print that we loved most for our fabric masks, and of course, I had to pick “Golden Huaca” as it reminded me of my home in Peru.
I also wanted to share a special message from Art Gallery Fabrics:
At Art Gallery Fabrics, our commitment to diversity and inclusion is deeply rooted in our collective values as a company and a community of talented creators. It is important to us to celebrate, respect, honor, and appreciate different cultures and communities.
By creating, making, sewing, crafting & quilting, we’re leaving our mark and expressing ourselves and every single one of us integrates a piece of our life experiences, our time, our love, to tell a story as one.
As a company owned by a couple that belongs to a “minority group”, Art Gallery Fabrics has always valued and will continue to value people equally.
We are so proud of the diversity in our team, composed of wonderful human beings of different races, genders, nationalities, sexual orientations, physical abilities, thinking styles, and backgrounds that bring richness to our work environment.
The love for this collection just keeps on growing, and it’s because, on top of offering quilting cotton, Andina also comes with a couple of substrate options! With two eye-catching rayons, the moment you lay your hands on these fabrics, you’ll want to create dresses, skirts, and everything in between. But if you are feeling on the more cozy side, enjoy sewing with the one knit print available that’s super soft and stretchy.
*Featuring rayon prints: Awaska Russet & Nazca Lines Carmine
*Featuring knit print in Awaska Ecru
If you’re looking to accentuate these beautiful colors, check out these matching AGF Elements (blenders):
*Featuring Floral Elements in Esmeralda, Pure Solids in Tigerlily & Turmeric, and our Denim in Cool Foliage and Adobe Clay.
More matching AGF Elements not pictured:
PURE Solids: Raspberry Rose, London Red, Candied Cherry, Raw Gold, Turmeric, Tile Blue, Warm Wave, and Caviar.
Floral Elements: Coral & Tropical Green.
Denim: Wicked Sky
Discover more sewing inspiration in our Andina Fabric Lookbook, linked below!
In our “Let’s Talk Fabric” YouTube segment, we want to give you an insight into all the latest AGF collections, and Andina is a special one you don’t want to miss. In this video, you’ll find behind-the-scenes footage, scrummy patchwork projects, and tons of sewing inspiration to fully grasp the magic of using these fabrics together. Click play, and enjoy looking through the world of Andina through a high definition lens!
Enjoy fussy cutting your favorite elements and playing around with the direction of the prints in our “Inca” free quilt pattern!
Get your hands on this collection and a chance to win a Fat Quarter bundle of Andina by CLICKING HERE! The giveaway will only last for a week, so spread the word to all your fabric friends. The winner will be emailed and announced right here on the blog!
THE WINNER IS VICTORIA GUARDADO! PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL TO REDEEM YOUR PRIZE!
Please reply within 7 days to claim your prize (check your email on April 9!) If we don’t receive a reply, we will have to choose another winner as we’d like to be fair with all participants, and pass the opportunity to another contestant. Thank you!
Thank you for allowing me to share my story and give you a little bit of insight into who the person behind writing all these blogs is from! I hope this collection brought you joy as much as it did to me, and let me know in the comments below if you’re a quilter from this region.
Whether you are from the Andes region or someone that can just appreciate these beautiful prints, I can’t wait to see what kind of projects you create with these fabrics. Please tag your makes on social media with the hashtag #AGFAndina, so I can show some love. I already have my bundle waiting for me, and I plan on creating the free quilt pattern to gift to my grandmother (she’s Peruvian too) whose birthday is coming up!
Until next time,
Happy Sewing!
-Jannelle