Break of Day Fabric Collection
Designed by Jackie Macdonald of Sweetfire Road for Moda Fabrics
A new day breaks over the countryside and the sky is painted with pretty shades of peach and yellow. The air is sweet with the scent of green, growing crops, and the sun is shining. The world feels fresh, and full of possibilities.
Break of Day is the debut collection from Jackie MacDonald of Sweetfire Road, marrying inspiration from vintage storybooks with the love of a bright, sunny day in the country.
Break of Day Fabric Collection Gallery
Meet the designer . . .
Jackie MacDonald of Sweetfire Road
Hello! I’m Jackie MacDonald of Sweetfire Road. I’m a designer living in coastal Maine with roots in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia. My husband, Neil, and I have a wonderful little boy named Sammy.
I enjoy making my home a comforting haven for both me and my family. I combined my background in product development and home ec to create my brand, Sweetfire Road, so that I could make my own artwork for home and share it with others, too!
When designing, I take cues from things that evoke warm memories for me. Seasonal treats such as jewel-toned pumpkins in the fall and freshly colored Easter eggs in the spring make me so ridiculously happy. And little mementos from family adventures like feathers and pressed flowers are treasures and a constant source of inspiration. My intent as a designer is to nurture your home with patterned art that exudes natural beauty, a touch of wonder, and the comfort that comes from that feeling of being "home."
I am so grateful to be creating artwork with Moda that inspires lovely garments, quilts, decor and cherished keepsakes. It fills my heart with such joy to be a part of the Moda family.
More . . .
“My grandmother worked in domestics in a store called Nichols in Winchester, Virgina, and her job included working behind the fabric counter,” says Jackie, who fondly remembers the book of cloth swatches her grandmother brought home from work. “I would ‘take orders.’ I loved the touch and feel of textiles and I loved color, too, and also played with paint chips.”
That interest in color and fabric comes to fruition in Break of Day, her first line of fabrics for Moda. Its poultry and floral imagery is a nod to her great-grandparents’ farm, which Jackie loved to visit. “There was something about being there and being surrounded by trusty, well-worn things that resonated with me,” she says. “I’m very sentimental and when I’m designing I start with a feeling I want to evoke. I try to sit with an emotion or memory—it might be a scent or flora or fauna—and share that.”
She’s also inspired by the self-sufficiency of farm families, who grew their own food, built sheds and barns, and sewed clothing, curtains, and quilts. In college, Jackie majored in Family and Consumer Sciences (also known as home economics), which enhanced her self-reliance. “Home economics has been key throughout my whole life and career,” she says. “I think it’s magic to have the knowledge to create your own and to be independent.”
Jackie, who spent much of her life in Virginia, now lives in Maine with her
That home features a well-worn color palette and an appreciation for memories. “If it’s old and tells a story, I’m going to love it,” says Jackie. “Shades of green, blue, red and cream? I’m going to buy as much as I can. Ours is a story-telling house where I have old things and sturdy things all mixed together. We’re currently looking for a farmhouse but it’s challenging; Maine has the oldest housing market in the U.S. We’ve seen many places that were built in the 1800s and even a couple from the 1700s!”
No matter where they wind up, you can be sure that Jackie’s home will reflect an aesthetic that mingles nostalgia with a sense of wonder.
“My husband teases that I have two sides:
Dolly Parton and Stevie Nicks. One side
loves sentimental, country farm house
simplicity and the other side appreciates
magic and stories,” she says with a laugh.
“In my work those two sides combine
and I hope it brings something fresh and
comfortable.”