Souleiado (a word in the Provençal dialect, meaning rays of the sun, breaking through clouds after the rain) got its start in the 1930s making hand-blocked print fabric with a collection of 17th century hand-blocks in Tarascon, France. Today Souleiado produces authentic French Provençal linens for the home in France and quilting-weight fabric in Japan.

This Souleiado print is called La Tramontane, named for the north wind which blows through the French Mediterranean. What I love most about it is the vibrant green background. It’s not the usual deep cool green found in French Provençal designs, but with its traditional dark red and golden yellow accents, it coordinates fantastically with the rest of my French fabric collection. Another great detail about this print is that the larger scale contrasts nicely with Provençal geometric florals, which are usually smaller than La Tramontane but larger than American calicos.

I buy my French fabrics at the French Connections booth each year at the Road to California quilt show in Ontario. You can find Souleiado and other French fabrics as well as African fabrics on the French Connections’ website.