Debbie’s first love has always been fiber of all sorts. She has been and still is an avid garment seamstress as well as quilter. She has enjoyed most of the crafts using a needle and thread of some sort to include embroidery, appliqué, needlepoint, pulled thread and drawn thread work. Debbie has been quilting over 35 years, pattern designing for 15 years and teaching/lecturing for 20 years. She has been featured on national television as well as online classes. Debbie’s most recent endeavors have been in the world of fabric and fiber dyeing of all kinds but most specifically Shibori and Indigo dyeing. She has studied under some of the most prestigious artists in the US, Japan and England. She loves traveling to teach and speak for guilds and shops around the country. She dyes and sells items to wear and decorate with and is thrilled and honored to be a part of the Moda Fabrics designer family. Debbie also loves the art of jewelry making, especially working with sterling silver and vintage elements. She searches for vintage elements wherever she travels. She hopes to meet you on her journey.
Explore… - Many of us – including my family – have come to cherish spending time outdoors. Jump to Leave us a Comment
It’s National Pet Day: Prepare to Smile - Get ready for cuteness overload as we celebrate National Pet Day with Moda designers’ favorite critters. And please note the nearly equal division of dogs and cats (along with chickens and goats); we love them all! Janet Clare: My lovely pet is the best dog in the world—Betty! She’s eight years old and comes to work every single day. Here she is overseeing the recent photoshoot of my ‘Emi’ quilt made in my ‘origami’ fabric, which should be reaching shops […]
Bee Joyful… - From Deb Strain… I couldn’t “BEE” more excited to share “BEE Joyful” today. It debuted at Fall Market in Houston last November and it’s going to be on it’s way to shops any day now. Jump to Leave us a Comment
Share the Love! - Cards, flowers, quilting tutorials? Let’s see how Moda designers share their feelings on Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day has a long history. The first card was sent in 1415 under dramatic conditions—Charles, the Duke of Orleans was a prisoner in the Tower of London when he sent a missive to his wife. By the mid-to-late 1700s, sending cards began in earnest, though they were mostly hand-delivered due to the high cost of postage. Esther Howland, known as the Mother of the […]
Land That I Love… - From Deb Strain... I’m so excited to share my newest fabric group with Moda! It is called Land That I Love and is a mixture of “farmhouse feel” and Patriotic themes. Jump to Leave us a Comment
Beans & Brew… - October 29th – September 29th! – is National Coffee Day! Tomorrow! (Clearly I hadn’t had my coffee yet…) Jump to Leave us a Comment
Spring Quilt Market – Part 1 - Happy Wednesday! It’s not Block Heads Wednesday yet but there’s still plenty to share! The crew from Dallas is home, the crates are being unpacked and we’re getting ready for a lovely long weekend. But first – greetings from Spring Quilt Market! Jump to Leave us a Comment
Holiday Greetings… - I don’t know about you but one of my favorite things about this time of year is seeing brightly colored envelopes in my mailbox signaling the arrival of a Christmas or Holiday card. Jump to Leave us a Comment
Sweets for the Sweet, Again: Holiday Recipes from Moda - Need some ideas for tasty holiday treats? Look no further—Moda designers and staffers happily share theirs. Bon Appetit! Jump to Leave us a Comment
Thursday plans… - Menu? Check. Grocery list? Check. Guest list? Check. Stretchy pants? Done. Jump to Leave us a Comment
Fall Quilt Market 2017 – Part 1 - Fall International Quilt Market 2017 is in the books. And it was a pretty book. Jump to Leave us a Comment
Spring Quilt Market ~ Part 2 - Happy Sunday from Quilt Market in St. Louis! Jump to Leave us a Comment
Deb Strain: One of Moda’s “Vintage” Designers - In 2015, when Moda was celebrating its 40th anniversary, we wrote about the company’s “oldest” designers, Sandy Gervais and Jan Patek. That description refers not to Sandy’s and Jan’s ages, but to their years as Moda designers. Deb Strain, Moda’s third “oldest” designer, has come up with a kinder, gentler moniker. “We’re the vintage girls,” she says. Jump to Leave us a Comment
Moda Designers Share New Year’s Resolutions - Not everyone likes New Year’s resolutions. But others appreciate the opportunity to start the year anew, with bright eyes and a clean slate. We asked Moda designers to share their resolutions with us, and with you. We’d also love to hear YOUR resolutions—let us hear about them in the Comment section. (And I don’t know about you, but my idea of a great New Year’s Eve/Day includes at least a little bit of time with fabric, needles, and thread. Wishing you a Happy […]
Market Videos: Fig Tree and Deb Strain - See what museum find inspired Joanna of Fig Tree & Co. in her new collection, Somerset. In stores, September 2014. Deb Strain’s Christmas line, Be Jolly is full of adorable snowmen and holiday goodness. Plus don’t miss a sneak peek of a new collection that will be coming to stores in November 2014. See it here first! Jump to Leave us a Comment
Moda Designers: How Do Their Gardens Grow? - It’s that season of the year when, if we’re not at our sewing machines, then many of us can be found on our hands and knees in the dirt. Lots of quilters enjoy gardening—there’s something about combining colors, shapes, and textures to create a landscape that is so similar to creating a quilt. While some of Moda’s designers don’t garden (and one, who shall remain nameless, claims that when she buys plants it’s like giving them a death sentence), others […]
Like Mother, Like Daughter: A Chat with Moda Designers Deb Strain and Arrin Turnmire - Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE With Mother’s Day just around the corner, it seems appropriate to shine a light on a pair of Moda designers who just happen to be related: mom Deb Strain and eldest daughter Arrin Turnmire. Deb has been a Moda designer for more than 15 years (her next-to-be-released lines are Pumpkin Party and Christmas Countdown) and Arrin’s produced a number of fabrics herself, including the upcoming organic line Little Things (shown here). In […]
All in the Family: Grow with Me by Deb Strain, Arrin Turnmire, & Katie Strain - Deb, Arrin, and Katie Grow with Me, the name of Deb Strain’s new line of fabric, could refer to any number of things. It might hint at Deb’s longevity as a Moda designer; she’s been with the company for 15 years and watched its growth with pleasure. Or perhaps it’s a nod to her twin grandsons, who are growing daily and served as inspiration for these baby- and toddler-centric fabrics. But most of all it’s a reference to that fact […]
- A Lot of Scraps with correction.Recently I started looking at the baskets of scraps in my studio and decided I needed to do something with them. The scraps are actually the leftover cuts from when the sample headers were put together for the sales staff at Moda. The largest pieces are 9" X 13" the… Read more »
- What is NewWe have some very exciting things happening here. The first is a new line of fabric called "Shimo" that will ship in April to your local quilt shops. Here is a sneak peek at some of the designs. Shimo means frost in Japanese so it is a very icy collection… Read more »
- Journey to Japan: Learning With a MasterIf you've been following along then you know that my long-awaited trip to Japan finally took place this year. The trip involved two days of sight-seeing and shopping in Tokyo, followed by a ten-day workshop hosted at Bryan Whitehead's farmhouse in Fujino. To put into perspective how unique and special… Read more »
- Adventures in Japan: 2019 Trip Part IIMy long-awaited (and postponed!) trip to Japan took place this year, and it was simply incredible. The trip consisted of a couple of days of exploring Tokyo and a ten-day workshop at Bryan Whitehead's home and farm in Fujino. I recently shared photos and details from this part of my… Read more »
- My Trip to Japan is Rescheduled to 2019Good news and bad news. Bad news for some is that my trip to Japan has been rescheduled to May of 2019. Good news for others is my trip to Japan has been rescheduled until 2019. There was just not enough lead time for the 2018 trip so Bryan and… Read more »
- I am going back to Japan and I am taking 10 people with me.Let me know if you are interested. I just sent out a newsletter with all of the information in detail. You can read it here. Calico Carriage Quilt Designs Scroll down and click on Read our latest Newsletter. The short details are Two days in Tokyo to shop at flea markets… Read more »
- And the winner is:I have lucky winner for my give away. Shibori gifts If you do not have a quilt shop in your area who carries my fabric, you can choose an online shop that carries it. Send me the information and I will purchase the gift certificate in your name. Another option… Read more »
- The End of Another YearWhere oh where does the time go? I can not believe it is the end of 2016. What a good year it was! In January Becky Gough and I went to Creations in Kerrville, Texas to take a Tuffet Class. We had so much fun and I love my Tuffet!… Read more »
- Trip to Florida / I was a studentI just took a wonderful trip to Florida where I was a student enjoying the learning process. I have a wonderful friend named Suzanne Conners who owns Aya Fiber Studio in Stuart, Florida. Her studio is located at the Fish House Art Center and looks out over the beautiful Florida waterfront. This was… Read more »
- I am ready for late NovemberI have always tried to stay quiet about politics and religion. I feel both of these are very personal and I do not want to get into it with my "friends" because most of the time I feel very isolated in my thoughts and views. I am still not going… Read more »