Designer Tidbits: Lynette Anderson

Take a trip to the woods of England with Lynette Anderson as she recounts the adventures of her childhood. Playful animals, swirling flowers and buzzing dragonflies fill this sweet, country themed collection. Lynette is here to tell us more about Wildflower Wood for Lecien Fabrics, so keep reading for a closer look!

Q: Where did you find your original inspiration for Wildflower Wood?
A:I grew up in a small village in the country in the UK, where my brother and I spent most of our days (when the weather was kind) playing in the fields and woods behind our home. We learnt the names of the wildflowers, we picked blackberries and primroses, we learnt which mushrooms are edible and which are not and when the gypsies visited we played with them and learnt how to whittle wood into animal shapes.

Q: What was your “aha” moment in designing this collection?
A:My “aha” moment was when the print ‘Wildflower Wood’, which is the sweet print with the trees, birds, flower and animals, had been created. The rest of the prints followed quite quickly.

Q: What TV show or movie does your collection fit best in?
A:I could see the little prints used in dresses for the girls in The Waltons or Little House On The Prairie. Or better still a quilt on Grandma’s bed!

Q:What projects do you hope to see made using Wildflower Wood?
A:Quilts and related quilty type projects of course. However I believe that this collection lends itself to little kids clothing but since I am not a dressmaker I will have to hope that someone with dressmaking skills will get stitching!

Q:What is your favorite part of the fabric industry?
A:The people, I love people. Then there is the excitement of seeing my drawings/paintings on fabric and then it really strikes home how exciting this industry is when you see a quilt someone else made using your fabrics! Thank you everyone, you all make me smile.

Q:What is your design process?
A:I love my pencil, paper and eraser (my very small eraser as I use it so much). Once the pencil design has been completed I go ahead and ink each shape in. Then everything is scanned into the computer and from there the manipulation and colouring fun begins. Once I have all the prints designed in the colourways I want, I send it in to Lecien so they can get strike offs printed.

Q:What is your favorite print in the collection?
A:My favourite print to look at is the focus print, Animal Toss, in cream, purple and blue, which features all the little creatures I love that used to live in the woods around my childhood home in England. My favourite print to work with is Bouquets and Bees, in cream, purple and light blue.

Q:What is the most challenging part of the design process?
A:I like to work on the focus print first and then using all my little scribbles create lots of ‘itty bitty’ prints, which I love to use in my work. Coming up with a good mid-sized ‘itty bitty’ print was a bit challenging for this collection, but Dragonflies and Butterflies is perfect.

Q:How is this collection the same or different from previous Lynette Anderson collections?
A:I have gone a little bit brighter with this collection, but the colours are still sludgy and soft. I have loved working with these colours and prints.