There are collections you unpack and set aside, and there are collections you unpack and immediately start pulling bolts off the shelf to see what they play with. Springtime Splendour is the second kind.
Kirsten Katz designed this one for FreeSpirit Fabrics, and it carries her signature approach: everything begins as hand-painted artwork before it becomes a print. You can see it in the fabric. The brushwork is still there in the petals, the edges are soft rather than mechanical, and the whole collection has a looseness that digital-first designs rarely manage.
A garden in full bloom
The theme is exactly what the name promises — a spring garden at its peak, not its beginning. Peonies open wide across the large-scale florals. Proteas and hyacinths turn up in the mid-scale prints. Tangled brambles wind through the backgrounds. Nothing here is tidy or restrained, and that is very much the point.
Alongside the statement florals there are gentler botanicals and small ditsy prints that give your eye somewhere to rest. Bramble Bush, Botanika, Cottage Garden, Vintage Blossoms and Sunshine Ditsy each work hard in a different way, and the collection is built so the scales stack rather than compete.
The palette does more than you would expect
This is where Springtime Splendour surprises people. The obvious read is soft and pastel — blush, vanilla, mist, buttercup. Those colourways are here and they are lovely.
But the collection also runs deep. There are mulberries, and there is a true ebony ground that turns the same floral artwork into something dramatic and almost moody. Put a blush colourway beside its dark counterpart and you have two entirely different quilts from one collection.
That range is what makes it flexible. Build the whole thing pale and airy for a spring throw. Build it dark and let the blooms glow. Or use the darks as your anchor and let the pastels float against them, which is the version we keep coming back to on the cutting table.
What to make with it
Large-scale florals are made for big, simple pieces. Think oversized squares, a quick strip quilt, or a whole-cloth-style panel border where the print does the work. Resist the urge to chop them small.
Collage appliqué is a natural fit. The painterly blooms fussy-cut beautifully, and the range of scales means you can build depth without reaching outside the collection. If you have been working through a Laura Heine pattern, bring it in and we will help you pull.
Bags and pouches love the mid-scale botanicals. They hold up to hardware and topstitching without getting lost, and the ditsy prints make excellent linings.
Backings and bindings — the tonals and small prints are wide-awake enough to finish a quilt properly instead of just covering the back.
Apparel and home décor — the softer colourways make good summer tops, and the darks are lovely for cushions and table runners if you want the drama without committing to a full quilt.
Pairing suggestions
The collection stands on its own, but it also plays well with others. Shot cottons and solids in the mulberry and blush range will sharpen the florals without fighting them. A low-volume neutral gives the large prints breathing room. And if you want to push the moody direction, a deep charcoal or ebony solid is the fastest way there.
Bring in a piece you already have and we will match it in person — that is always easier than guessing from a screen.
Come and see it
Springtime Splendour is on the shelf now in half metre, fat quarter and fat eighth cuts, and it is live on the website. FreeSpirit collections are produced in limited runs, so once it's gone, it's gone — if a particular print or colourway is speaking to you, do not wait on it.
Shop the collection: artisticquiltswithcolors.com/collections/kirsten-katz-springtime-splendour
Or come in and touch it, which is the better option. We are at 1963 Old Hwy 2 in Belleville.
