Autumn's Last Hurrah -- A New Fabric Collection (and a Giveaway!)

Happy December! Last month of the year. Where did the year go?

art print calendar, desk calendar, Watercolor Art Print Calendar, Anne Butera, My Giant Strawberry

Are you in a full-on winter (and/or Christmas) mood right now or are you still savoring the last days of autumn?

I'm a summer girl through and through. I love the abundance of the summer garden, the warm air and long days. Being barefoot. Eating from the garden. Cutting flowers to bring inside. In summer, I feel truly alive and energized.

Even so, I try to embrace each season as it arrives. There is beauty in every one. Each time one season merges into another, it feels like the first time, but also beautifully familiar. New things to discover and observe; old memories jogged. And there's something comforting about the cycle and rhythm of growth to rest, like the cycles of our days and of our lives.

Nature directly inspires my art, whether I'm painting the first flowers of the year or a tomato plucked from the garden or an acorn found on a walk or a plant growing on my windowsill. I cannot resist the beauty and magic of the natural world.

When I introduced my first fabric collection, it was a love song to summer. I called it Summer Bliss and it celebrated the joys of my favorite season.

And now, with a couple weeks left in autumn, my second fabric collection is here! This one is called Autumn Joy and like Summer Bliss, it celebrates the beauties of the season.

fabric, fabric design, spoonflower, surface pattern design, watercolor, botanical watercolor, watercolor fabric design, Anne Butera, My Giant Strawberry

There are seven different designs, with the themes interwoven and repeating so the fabrics can be coordinated.

fabric, fabric design, spoonflower, surface pattern design, watercolor, botanical watercolor, watercolor fabric design, Anne Butera, My Giant Strawberry

I had fun painting moths for this collection. For some reason moths make me think of autumn. Perhaps it's their nocturnal habits, or maybe it's because one autumn I kept finding fat moth caterpillars and the association stuck in my head.

Of course, I've included more obvious autumnal beauties, too.

fabric, fabric design, spoonflower, surface pattern design, watercolor, botanical watercolor, watercolor fabric design, Anne Butera, My Giant Strawberry

The collection actually consists of 14 prints because I've sized each pattern in two scales.

fabric, fabric design, spoonflower, surface pattern design, watercolor, botanical watercolor, watercolor fabric design, Anne Butera, My Giant Strawberry

Having different options will let the fabrics work for different projects, both singly and combined.

fabric, fabric design, spoonflower, surface pattern design, watercolor, botanical watercolor, watercolor fabric design, Anne Butera, My Giant Strawberry

The same print combined in different scales could be really fun.

fabric, fabric design, spoonflower, surface pattern design, watercolor, botanical watercolor, watercolor fabric design, Anne Butera, My Giant Strawberry

Although I still haven't put together (or even cut out) my Summer Bliss quilt (it's on my unbelievably long Fun-Projects-to-Do list), I'm already dreaming of an autumn one.

These designs are now available for purchase on Spoonflower in a variety of substrates (learn about them here) as well as on wallpaper and gift wrap.

I really love these patterns and I hope you will, too. To celebrate I'm having a giveaway!


2018 Tea Towel Calendar, Nasturtiums, Watercolor Nasturtiums, Spoonflower, Anne Butera, My Giant Strawberry

I'll send the winner my 2018 Tea Towel Calendar.

tea towel calendar, watercolor, nasturtiums, spoonflower, Anne Butera, My Giant Strawberry

To enter simply leave a comment below. Tell me what your favorite season, is or what you love about autumn or maybe a project idea for this new fabric collection.

I'll choose the winner next Tuesday, so get your comment in by December 11th to be entered.

Good luck! And thanks for all of your support and encouragement.


p.s. this is blooming in the window in my studio right now:

nasturtiums, gifts from the universe, magic, joy, nature, flowers, Anne Butera, My Giant Strawberry

A gift from the universe.

Comments

  1. Hi Anne My favorite season is summer, the long hot days and long nights. Loved your post about the autumn and moths, they are so pretty. Your nasturtium is gorgeous, growing and blooming indoors... would love to win your 2018 calendar. thanks for the lovely giveaway. From Nanci (I do not have a URL)

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    1. Hi, Nanci! Nice to hear from another summer lover. :)

      Thanks so much for stopping by and for your kind words!

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  2. Hi Anne, I love summer too.
    Reasons are the same you list in your post but also because, during summer, I can stay at the seaside (a small village at the sea in Italy) or have long travel to discover the world and nature in places completely different from where I live.
    So summer, for the things I like to do, is the period of the year with so much colors, water, smells, shapes, people and places to see; it is a period of freedom and discovery, which I cannot find in other seasons.
    Thanks for giving the chance to win. Have a good day, Cristina

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    1. Hi, Christina! The seaside village in Italy sounds dreamy, as does traveling to interesting places. No wonder you love summertime!

      Thanks for stopping by and good luck to you!

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  3. Beautiful fabric, I just love acorns.
    I have a question, did you make or purchase the stand your calendar is on?
    Thank You, Carla

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    1. Hi, Carla! So glad you love the acorns. :)

      I bought that easel at Ikea years ago. They don't sell it anymore, sadly. I had a customer find similar (smaller) easels on Amazon last year and I've seen nicer, larger, sturdier versions at craft/art stores. If you wanted to, it wouldn't be too hard to build one. Just three legs, a ledge and a dowel at the top. I can send you photos if you want.

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  4. Mmm, my favorite season is Autumn! Love the colors of the leaves, the cool temps, it's just seems to be more gorgeous every year! I also love nasturtiums - how lucky are you to have one blooming inside your house! Makes me want to go plant some indoors. Thanks for this sweet opportunity!

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    1. Hi, Jana! I know there are lots of autumn lovers out there. Autumn can be such a beautiful season (I always think of it as an extension of summer!).

      I think it's a little too cold right now for my nasturtium cutting. It's looking a bit sad. I know some people who do grow them inside over the winter, but I've never really tried it (and I don't think my cutting is going to make it).I've thought about starting some seeds in late winter so my plants could get a head start out in the garden... maybe this year.

      Thanks for stopping by! Good luck to you!

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  5. That is a lovely new fabric collection Anne! I think it would be great used as an accent fabric, say as a pocket on the front of a denim or canvas bag. Pencil cases, cosmetic bags and artists brushes roll would also be good! I enjoy all the seasons but I think spring is my favourite because it is a fresh start. I love to see all the spring flowers start to pop up and planning what I am going to grow in the garden through the year. Thanks for the opportunity to be in the giveaway Anne. I love the colours in the 2018 tea-towel calender. :)

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    1. Thanks so much, Simone! Love your ideas for the fabric.

      Spring is such a relief after the wintertime, isn't it!

      Hope you are doing well! Wishing you joy!

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  6. Hi Anne ♡ My favourite season is spring, seeing fresh green leaves bursting out on the trees, starting seedlings in my greenhouse, planting my vegetable garden. Especially the month of May, when my backyard is filled with the fragrance of lilacs! I wilt and hide from the midsummer heat. But then autumn arrives, and I love the cooler temperatures, that crispness in the air, harvesting the garden's bounty, brilliant fall leaves, and long walks with my sweet dog. Each season does have its own beauty! ♡ Thanks for the chance to win your beautiful calendar!

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    1. Hi, Glenda! Another spring lover! It is such a joyful time, isn't it? Ah, lilacs!

      And you're right, each season does have its beauties.

      Thanks for stopping by and for your sweet words.

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  7. Hello Anne! My favorite season is spring, because I do not like the cold gloomy winter and spring is so full of new life: colors and sounds and plants bursting forth. Your fabric is gorgeous ... I like to make zippered pouches and it would be fun to use the complimentary patterns together. Thank you for this giveaway!
    Fond regards from another Anne ;-)

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    1. Fond regards to another Anne with an E! :)

      Spring is the antidote to the gloominess of winter, isn't it? It's so exciting to watch the green start appearing again, and then all the other colors, too!

      Zippered pouches is a great idea.

      Thank you for stopping by and for your sweet words!

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  8. I love the acorn fabric! And I love Fall best of all the seasons. I guess mostly for the cooler weather, but also the colors of the changing leaves. Thank you for the giveaway! ❤️ ps I don’t have any of the choices in the “comment as” section. My IG account is @just_sadie_lane Joanie

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    1. Hi, Joanie! Thank you for stopping by! Fall is lovely, isn't it? Glad you love the acorns. They were really fun to paint. :)

      Thanks for stopping by and the lack of options is why I keep "Anonymous" as a comment possibility here. I appreciate your kind words!

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  9. ohhhhhh....these are beautiful! <3

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  10. Beautiful fabrics! I particularly like the acorn one, it would make a beautiful pillow case for our sofa, a tote bag or a small backpack for my son on autumn adventures! I really enjoy all beautiful colors in the autumn, so the fabric with red leaves also gives me happy autumn vibes. Great work!

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    1. Thank you, Hanna! You have lots of great ideas. The acorn fabric seems to be a favorite!

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  11. We've been having ongoing internet problems, so my time online has been limited lately. I think I've missed the deadline, but that's OK. I've got my eye on the gingko fabric for a zipper bag for Hannah...and a mix and match of prints would make such a lovely baby quilt for the spring. I'm gifting two tea towels at Christmastime. :-)

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    1. Thank you, Karen! Hurray for the ginkgo fabric! I love those gingko leaves. :) The tea towels you shared on your blog and instagram turned out great. My sewing machine has been acting up and I didn't have quite as much fun sewing mine as you did. I think was sad that it had been banished to the closet. Now that it's back out I'm all fired up to start sewing again. I always enjoy seeing what you've been creating!

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