Are you ready for another sneak peek? Today we’re previewing the deliciously fresh Summer Picnic collection designed by Melissa Mortenson of Polka Dot Chair.
When asked about the inspiration behind her collection, Melissa said: “The events of 2020 left me, like many of you I’m sure, with a lot of unexpected time at home. Having spent years planning adventures to far away (and not so far away) places, I found myself instead planning adventures to my own backyard. Fancy dinners our soon became “fancy” picnics in parking lots, backyards, and local parks. During the Summer of 2020, I rediscovered my childhood love of picnics. Picture, if you will, warm summer nights filled with fireflies. Giant picnic blankets spread out on the grass. Baskets full of fresh locally grown summer fruit, and parents and kids spending quiet evenings together. Drawing on inspiration from our family picnics, I designed the Summer Picnic fabric collection. It’s full of all of the things I loved most from our summer at home. I hope you will enjoy creating with it as much as I have enjoyed designing it.
Melissa curated the most dreamy color palette of red, pink, blue, green and honey. We love it all!
Take a look at the Main floral print. The whimsical flowers on a soft backdrop are just begging to be turned into a quilt, a bag, or a sweet little summer dress.
Here’s a closer look at those blooms. LOVE this print! The floral Main will be available in Pink (seen here), Bleached Denim, and White.
Everyone loves a good cherry print, and this one is perfection! Pairs of tossed mouth-watering cherries fresh off the tree bring all the summertime feels to this fabric line. Cherries will be available in Coastal Blue (seen here), Bleached Denim, and White.
Bees at a picnic might be a nuisance, but itty bitty bees on fabric? Yes, please! Melissa’s Bees print shows like a polka dot, but upon closer inspection, they are tiny bee silhouettes. So fun! Bees will be available in Honey (seen here), Pink, and White.
Summer Picnic also features two fun Cheater Panels (seen here) in Pink and Green. You’ll want to stock up on these for quick and easy whole cloth baby quilts that look as if they have been pieced. These fun cheater panels would also make fun pillows, aprons, easy quilt borders and quilt backs. So many options!
Need more project inspiration? Melissa has designed two fabulous quilt patterns that beautifully showcase the Summer Picnic fabric range. First, is this Picnic Crossing quilt. Here you have gorgeous stars broken up by sashing. The sashing gives the stars a cool, modern vibe, while also being a bit forgiving by making it so your points don’t have to match up perfectly. Brilliant!
Next, we have the adorable Summer Sugar quilt with traditional sawtooth star blocks mixed in with pieced bees and summer fruit. SEW cute! Melissa will be hosting a Summer Sugar Quilt Along beginning August 2021. Visit her BLOG and subscribe to her newsletter for the latest information!
We can’t wait to start creating with Summer Picnic! We’re dreaming up quilts, cushions, aprons, clothing, table toppers, and more! What will you make with Summer Picnic?
Summer Picnic, designed by Melissa Mortenson of Polka Dot Chair, is expected to arrive on the shelves of your favorite local and online quilt shops in June. Pre-order yours today to get your hands on one of these beautiful bundles, and share your makes with us on Instagram using #summerpicnicfabric, #rileyblakedesigns, #iloverileyblake, and tag us @rileyblakedesigns.