Phoenix Quilt Pattern Release

Phoenix Quilt Pattern Release

Phoenix Quilt by Sharon Holland

Phoenix Quilt by Sharon Holland

Has it really been two months since my last post!? Time really does fly when you’re having fun (and keeping busy)!

I hope this post finds you well. I’ve been staying home and trying to get the most out of what’s left of this dismal year. I’ve had a sudden burst of energy and from now until the end of December I’ve plenty of posts and projects planned to share with you! And, be sure to read down to the end for a special announcement you won’t want to miss!

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August is the first month in the next four that I’ll be releasing a new quilt pattern! That’s not the special announcement but very exciting all by itself non the less. This first quilt is called Phoenix, not for the state but because the idea for this quilt came from me playing around with the left over half-square triangle (HST) trimmings from my Sweet Home quilts I made earlier this year. (That’s a hint to the special announcement.)

The Phoenix quilt was born from scraps! Well, really more like one block was born from scraps. I needed a whole lot more HSTs to make the Phoenix quilt.

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This summer-inspired palette is a mix from several different Art Gallery Fabrics collections: Spirited, Decostitch, Marrakesh Fusion, Pure Solids, and Gossamer for the binding. But you don’t have to source out all these fabrics on your own if you’re wanting to make one just like the pattern sample because Brooke Becker at Lady Belle Fabric has made up Phoenix quilt kits with all the pretties you see in the photo above. Don’t delay—these kits go fast! Here’s a link to the Phoenix Quilt Kit. You’ll also need the quilt pattern and you can find that on my SHOP page.

Bundle photo courtesy of Lady Belle Fabric

Bundle photo courtesy of Lady Belle Fabric

Lady Belle Fabric is your one-stop online shop for fabrics and long arm quilt service. I have sent several of my quilts to Brooke and she has one of mine she just finished up yesterday. You’re going to love the service!

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The entire Phoenix quilt is made from half-square triangles. You’ve probably heard me sing the praises of Bloc_Loc Rulers before and I’m still singing! If you’ve never tried them or feel it’s finally time to invest in a quilting tool that’ll make your life and quilts better, this may be the time—especially if you’re planning on sewing this quilt—there’s a lottttttt of HSTs! If you can only by one HST ruler, by the largest one because you can always trim smaller sizes with a large ruler.

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I did a very simple and quilt machine quilting on the diagonal for this quilt. For my batting I used Hobbs Heirloom Bleached 100% Cotton because my background is Art Gallery Fabrics Snow and I didn’t want any color showing through from an unbleached batting.

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Over the years I’ve been approached by makers wanting to know if I ever use pattern testers. I’ve never done so in the past but thought that this year might be a great chance to use testers and help promote new rising quilt makers.

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So, during July I started work with my testers. I have 17 in all right now which is plenty so the search for testers is closed for this year. Since I have four quilt patterns coming out over the next few months this was as good a time as any to get some help from pattern testers and I’ve split up the testers into groups by quilts. Today I’d like to introduce you to six of my testers who have made and tested the Phoenix quilt.

Meet the Testers

Phoenix quilt make by Brittany Tunison

Phoenix quilt make by Brittany Tunison

Brittany Tunison created a Phoenix quilt in a soft, farmhouse color palette and used a mix of Art Gallery Fabric prints from a variety of AGF fabric designers. I love her Farmhouse style and sweet fabric selection. See more of Brittany’s work on Instagram @brittanytunison and on her Etsy shop at White Plains Quilts.

Phoenix quilt make by Christine Trotta

Phoenix quilt make by Christine Trotta

This lovely Phoenix quilt top was made by Christine Trotta of Serendipity In Love Creations. Christine used Bari J.’s new 365 Fifth Avenue AGF fabric line and it couldn’t have been any more perfect a collection to juxtapose a feminine twist to the geometrics of this quilt design. Let’s all pause a moment to take in this beautiful garden setting for this quilt—it’s gorgeous! For more fabric fun, check out Christine’s shop on Etsy.

Phoenix quilt make by Kathleen Armstrong

Phoenix quilt make by Kathleen Armstrong

Kathleen Armstrong is a prolific quilter. Just check out her Instagram account @creativestitchesbyk and you’ll see exactly what I mean! You can learn more about Kathleen from her website Creative Stitches Quilts where she also takes custom orders. Kathleen used prints from my AGF Everlasting collection for her Phoenix quilt and I love how she mixed up the fabrics in the blocks for a unique twist on the pattern.

Phoenix quilt make by Marija Vujcic

Phoenix quilt make by Marija Vujcic

My long-time followers may remember my friend Marija Vujcic from my blog tours. Marija is the Queen of Bold Colors and her AGF Pure Solids fabric pull for the Phoenix quilt is pure Marija-magic! I love how she pulled colors from my AGF Bountiful Tartan Field print (the backing) for the color inspiration for the blocks. You’ll definitely want to follow her on Instagram @mvquilts and on her blog Mara Quilt Designs where she has quilting, tutorials, and lots of sewing inspiration to share.

Phoenix quilt make by Mary Grove

Phoenix quilt make by Mary Grove

You’ll find Mary Gove on Instagram as @thecurlyquilter and be equally blown away by her beautiful quilt makes like I was when I first viewed her page. This new comer to quilting has a natural eye and Quilty talent plus I’m very envious of her Wyoming landscape for photography! Mary chose Art Gallery Fabric blender prints and solids form several different AGF collections to create the perfect summer-vibe palette.

Phoenix quilt make by Victoria Newmyer

Phoenix quilt make by Victoria Newmyer

Victoria Newmyer is also brand new to Instagram. In fact she just started her account @midlife_quilter the beginning of this year but don’t let that fool you, this girl has talent! Check out her Etsy shop at Brass Tacks Sewing. I can really connect with Victoria’s aesthetics and if you know anything about me by now, you know my love for this palette she used for her Phoenix quilt. Although her fabric selection is a mix of many AGF designer collections her backing fabric (the trees print) and some of the block prints are from my AGF Tapestry collection.

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Be sure to stop by my pattern SHOP and get the Phoenix quilt PDF so you can start your quilt today! I can’t wait to see what you create with the Phoenix quilt pattern! If you’re posting to Instagram be sure to tag me @sharonhollanddesigns and use the hashtag #phoenixquilt so I don’t miss your posts!

Quilt Along

As I mentioned at the beginning of this blog post I had a special announcement to make…drum roll…Maureen Cracknell (Instagram @maureencracknell ) and I will be hosting a Sweet Home Quilt Along! We’re also going to be joined by a special new quilting friend, Jennifer Jones of Penelope Handmade! Find her on IG at @penelopehandmade. It’s sure to be loads of fun!

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The Sweet Home Quilt Along begins September 9, 2020 and will run for six weeks. If you haven’t already bought the Sweet Home quilt pattern yet you can find it in my pattern SHOP and started gathering your materials. All three of us hosts will be making new Sweet Home quilts from Art Gallery Fabric collections and I can’t wait to show you my fabric pull.

The QAL is going to be so much fun and there’ll be plenty of giveaways and tutorials during the event. Stay tuned for more QAL news—hope to see you there!

Sweet Home quilt by Sharon Holland

Sweet Home quilt by Sharon Holland

I am an Amazon Associate site and earn from qualifying purchases on the products I’ve linked below. The helpful products selected are the same or similar to materials used to make the project(s) in this blog post or related items I think you may enjoy.




Sweet Home & Faux Chenille

Sweet Home & Faux Chenille

Sweet Home quilt by Sharon Holland

Sweet Home quilt by Sharon Holland

Last week I released my newest quilt pattern called Sweet Home and shared images of one of the two Sweet Home quilts I’ve made from this pattern.

This week I’ll be showing the second quilt in a completely different fabric pull and color palette plus I’ve an awesome Chenille-It Blooming Bias giveaway to tell you about at the end of this post.

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I love these quilts so much that I knew my two grandkids would love them too and have fun snuggling and playing on them. The first quilt with the Boho-Chic vibe of pinks, blush, and aqua was made for my granddaughter and her baby brother needed an All-American boy version. At two years old, he’s already showing preferences and one of them is his love for stripes!

Art Gallery Fabrics Sweet Home quilt fabric pull

Art Gallery Fabrics Sweet Home quilt fabric pull

Since this pattern is made for digging into your stash and using lots of prints that’s exactly what I did! I pulled a mix of Art Gallery Fabrics from lines I’ve designed and added in AGF prints from other lines and designers to come up with this American Summer palette.

With all the fabric shortages right now I’m not sure all these prints will be easy to find but, if you’d like to duplicate the American Summer version I’ve made the pattern supplement into a PDF download. Simply click on the graphic above and print it out for your reference when using the Sweet Home pattern.

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The print used as the backing on both my Sweet Homes quilt is Lillium from my very first Art Gallery Fabrics collection. I used each of the color ways and in the fabric pull photo, I’ve listed the sku info for the color way used in this American Summer version.

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The geometric quilting design on this quilt was long arm quilted by Brooke Becker of Lady Belle Fabric. Brooke did the quilting on both of my Sweet Home quilts and has a large selection of quilting designs and styles to choose from. I highly recommend her long arm services and as a fabric shop. Brooke’s quilting is perfection and the service incredible!

Sweet Home quilt kits available at Lady Belle Fabric

Sweet Home quilt kits available at Lady Belle Fabric

Find Sweet Home quilt kits at Lady Belle Fabric in a beautiful Art Gallery Fabrics fabrics curated by Brooke. Don’t delay, she sold out of kits last week but has reordered and restocked—they’re sure to go fast!

How to Apply Faux Chenille

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The number one comment or question I’ve had about this quilt is about the chenille binding. So, this week it’s all about adding faux chenille to a quilt! I’ve put together a You Tube video to show you just how easy it is to attach Chenille-It Blooming Bias to a quilt to get this amazing faux chenille finish to the edges. Click video below to watch!

Easy-peasy, right!??! I’ve already ordered more Chenille-It 5/8’’-wide binding for my next new quilt pattern! Visit the Chenille-It Faux Chenille website and check out all the beautiful colors and project ideas! Keep reading till the end for a chance to win Blooming Bias tape for you and a friend!

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I no longer have the Sweet Home quilts here and as soon as I took as many photos as I thought I’d need, I shipped both quilts out to my grandkids. This little guy set right to work servicing the town!

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The quilts couldn’t have been made at a better time because my daughter and her family just this week closed on their new house and can get out of the rental they’ve been in since the beginning of the year. The kids have been sharing this room in a janky little turn-of-the-century house. My daughter painted the room and although it’s not got one straight wall, it was still a fun room to get these “in use” photos of the quilts. They’ll all be happier once settled into a house they can call their own.

Enter for a chance to win some Chenille-It Blooming Bias!

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This week’s giveaway will be held over on Instagram. Visit my Instagram feed @sharonhollanddesigns for a chance for you and a tagged friend to win faux chenille Blooming Bias from Chenille-It. Follow the easy entry steps given in my Friday, May 22, 2020 Instagram post. Thanks to my sponsor, Chenille-It there’ll be 3 winning comments chosen! The randomly selected comments (with a tagged friend) will be picked at random around 4pm Eastern on Monday, May 25th. Winners IG handles will be posted on the IG giveaway post.

Heart Quilt Sew Along - Week 3

Heart Quilt Sew Along - Week 3

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It’s the final week in the Heart Quilt sew along. This fast and fun sew along has been hosted by myself and Maureen Cracknell with special thanks to Allison Harris of Cluck Cluck Sew for allowing us to use her Heart Block in our quilt layout.

If you’re just joining us, you’ll want to get up to speed by reading first weeks post announcing the sew along. If you’re already making heart block or at the point to start adding the sashing and borders—check out week 2 HERE.

This last post is dedicated to turning that top into a quilt plus I’ve added an extra bonus project for all those left over half square triangles from trimming the large flippy corners off the hearts!

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Quilting

Rather than reinvent the wheel, I'm directing you to the blog post for Finishing that was originally posted during the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew along. You'll find all the tutorial information for spray basting, quilting, and binding your quilt. The sizes have changed but the concept for basting, quilting, and binding your quilt are the same. As stated in that post, there are many ways to finish a quilt and I am blogging about how I finish my quilts. If you have a preferred method, please do it the way you're comfortable with. If you intend to send your top off to be professionally quilted, discuss with your long-arm quilter how they'd like you to prepare your quilt top and backing for being quilted. 

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I'm not a professional quilter by any means. I get by and call my quilting style "organic" because it's not perfect and lines are not straight. I love the human touch that non-perfect quilting adds to my quilts. I used my mid-arm Viking Platinum 16 for quilting my top. The quilting guide lines were marked out ahead of time and the quilting went really fast after that to just follow the diagonal lines as shown below in the quilting diagram.

Quilting diagram

Quilting diagram

I used my favorite Hobb’s Tuscany Silk batting inside my quilt and love how light and drapey it is—especially for handling and maneuvering when quilting.

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The backing on my quilt is from my Everlasting fabric collection for Art Gallery Fabrics and is called Summer’s Dance. For the binding I used Woodblock Ballerina that was also used for hearts.

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Here’s another look at the prints that went into my quilt. My Heart quilt’s stitched from a curated mix of fabrics from Art Gallery Fabrics Ballerina Fusion (a recolored mix of AGF designer prints), my Spirited, Everlasting, Signature, and Maureen’s Enchanted Voyage and Mystical Land collections.

My non-traditional Valentine colors remind me of sugared gum drops and candy. I’m crazy over this color palette and went with my heart when I did my fabric pull.

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One of the biggest challenges of photographing quilts this time of year is the gloomy, cold weather. I had some grand plans for how to photograph this out doors but the wind didn’t cooperate. It started to rain shortly after we got these shots…

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Be sure to check out Maureen’s blog to see her finished quilt top and bonus project from left over HSTs all made using a mix of Amy Sinabaldi’s MayFair and the new Foresta Fusion collection. Quilt kits for Maureen’s quilt are available at Lady Belle Fabric.

Photo and Heart quilt by Maureen Cracknell

Photo and Heart quilt by Maureen Cracknell

Bonus Project

Since I finished my quilt by Sunday I could’ve easily stopped there, written this blog post and moved on to the other projects stacking up on my desk but no—that’s too easy!

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Remember in my Instagram Stories videos where I told you to hold onto those large half square triangle (HST) waste pieces???

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I turned mine into this fun pillow! As a bonus, I’ll share with you how to make one (or more) for yourself!

The beauty of this type of project is that it can be customized to any size you want. I happened to have an extra rectangular pillow I wasn’t using anywhere in the house so I used it as my pillow form. It measures around 14’’ x 26’’ and is probably not a standard size.

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I trimmed 36 HSTs to 3-1/2’’ square using my Bloc_Loc Ruler then arranged them into a design. I would’ve loved if the design was symmetrical but no such luck in this improv piece using scraps. I don’t really notice it now that the pillow is done.

I added 2’’-wide strips to the top and bottom to get it all up to the size I needed.

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I’ve done a few projects on this blog where I’ve incorporated Chenille-it Blooming Bias and I can’t tell you enough how much I love this added texture—especially to pillows!

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After stitching quilting lines to outline the chevron shapes 1/4’’ inside the seam allowances I added the 3/8 inch-wide Chenille-it to my pillow top. Stitching the blooming bias down not only adheres the product but also works as quilting.

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I added two echo rows of chenille to the background areas. To read about how to stitch and then bloom the chenille, read more on my Chenille Pillow with Hidden Zipper post/tutorial. Plus, to see the gorgeous decorator pillows I made more recently with my Spirited Trail Marker print and Chenille-it, read HERE.

For more Chenille-it projects, here’s a fun You Tube video!

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Personally I love a zipper closure on a pillow. Especially in a case like this where I’m using an existing pillow as the pillow form and like to switch out or clean the pillow covers regularly. You’ll find my go-to method for adding a hidden zipper on a pillow HERE. It’s insanely easy to do!

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Now, not only do I have a heart quilt to snuggle under this Valentine’s Day but I have a coordinating pillow to go along with it!

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Maureen and I want to thank you for sewing along with us and sharing your progress of your blocks to Instagram. We love seeing your work and encourage you to follow along, share, and tag when you post. Use the sew along hashtag of #agfLOVEquilt and be sure to tag @sharonhollanddesigns @maureencracknell and @cluckclucksew so we can see your progress! If you’re sewing with Art Gallery Fabrics don’t forget to tag them too as they love to see what Makers are making with @artgalleryfabrics !

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I am an Amazon Associate site and earn from qualifying purchases on the products I’ve linked below. The helpful products selected are the same or similar to materials used to make the project(s) in this blog post or related items I think you may enjoy.

Heart Quilt Sew Along

Heart Quilt Sew Along

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I know, I know that just two posts back on January 8th I said that Maureen Cracknell and I had no plans for a sew along, but, turns out that I was wrong about that (insert laugh/cry emoji)!!!!

You know how it is when you see pretty fabrics and the perfect quilt block—you just have to stop everything and make a quilt with it, right?!?!?! That’s what happened with Maureen and I when we both received happy mail from Art Gallery Fabrics with the new Foresta and Ballerina Fusions. Our boxes both arrived on Saturday and by Sunday we were making plans to host a Heart Quilt Sew Along using Allison Harris’s Heart block pattern. It all happened that fast and so will this sew along as we plan to start and finish our quilts and sew along by Valentine’s Day.

Heart Block Zip Pouch by Maureen Cracknell

Heart Block Zip Pouch by Maureen Cracknell

Prior to this last weekend, Maureen was stitching zip pouches using Allison Harris’s of Cluck Cluck Sew Heart Block tutorial to make heart blocks that she then turned into Mirrored Hearts zippered pouches for her Etsy shop. She loved making the hearts so much she’d told me she’d love to make a quilt from the hearts next.

Like I said, as soon as the new fabrics came in, now we both wanted to make heart quilts!

Photo by Maureen Cracknell

Photo by Maureen Cracknell

Allison’s Heart Block tutorial has a free download for her heart block with size options and a quilt layout for a 6’’ square block. You’ll also find suggestions for how to customize this block into other projects.

For this sew along we have Allison’s permission to use her block and we’ve selected and designed a quilt using an 8” square block, sashing, and border layout to make a 52’’ x 61’’ throw-size quilt. You’ll find a free download for our quilt layout, coloring sheet, and fabric requirements on the Sew Along page.

We’ve not included piecing instructions in our free download because the Heart Block tutorial at Cluck Cluck Sew will cover what you’ll need to know about making the heart blocks and next week I’ll go over putting the quilt top together with sashing and borders right here on this blog.

You may want to design a different layout for your heart blocks or follow Allison’s quilt tutorial from her site—Feel free to be creative! This is a casual sew along and a customizable project. The end goal is to have have fun sewing along with your Quilty virtual friends and have a finished project to gift, admire, or snuggle under by Valentine’s Day!

Assorted Art Gallery Fabrics from Mayfair and Foresta Fusion photo courtesy of Maureen Cracknell

Assorted Art Gallery Fabrics from Mayfair and Foresta Fusion photo courtesy of Maureen Cracknell

You may have seen our fabric pull posts on Instagram as teasers to this sew along?

Maureen will be making her Heart Quilt from a mash up of Amy Sinabaldi’s MayFair and the new Foresta Fusion collection. Fusions are a group of ten prints from various Art Gallery Fabric designers that have been recolored and curated into the new color story. The two collections pair beautifully and have a romanic look for a heart quilt.

Quilt kits for the quilt Maureen will be stitching are available at Lady Belle Fabric.

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The Heart Block is a fast block to piece and this quilt is a great way to show off your favorite prints! If you’re planning to make quilts like Maureen and mine, we’ve gone with a 30-block quilt and pulled 10 fat quarters. Background, backing, and binding requirements are listed in our free PDF download for the quilt layout in the illustration above.

Heart Quilt fabric pull by Sharon Holland

Heart Quilt fabric pull by Sharon Holland

I’ll be making my Heart quilt from a curated mix of fabrics from: Art Gallery Fabrics Ballerina Fusion (a recolored mix of AGF designer prints), my Spirited, Everlasting, Signature, and Maureen’s Enchanted Voyage and Mystical Land collections.

My non-traditional Valentine colors remind me of sugared gum drops and candy. I’m crazy over this color palette and went with my heart when I did my fabric pull.

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Due to the short notice of our sew along there’s not a quilt kit or bundle that exactly matches my fabric pull. However, Fabric Stork has created two beautiful bundles of ten Art Gallery Prints that would make a gorgeous heart block quilt that has a similar color story. You’ll still need to get your background fabric, backing, and binding.

AGF Bundle from Fabric Stork

AGF Bundle from Fabric Stork

AGF Bundle from Fabric Stork

AGF Bundle from Fabric Stork

We’ll be posting our progress on Instagram and encourage you to follow along and share your fabric pull and progress as well. When posting your quilt to Instagram use the sew along hashtag of #agfLOVEquilt and be sure to tag @sharonhollanddesigns @maureencracknell and @cluckclucksew so we can see your progress! If you’re sewing with Art Gallery Fabrics don’t forget to tag them too as they love to see what Makers are making with @artgalleryfabrics !

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I’ll be adding progress snippets, videos, and tips videos to my Instagram Stories as I work on my quilt. As you can see, I’m pretty far along and have all my 30 blocks made only after two half-day sewing sessions. I’m excited to see it all come together!

I am an Amazon Associate site and earn from qualifying purchases on the products I’ve linked below. The helpful products selected are the same or similar to materials used to make the project(s) in this blog post or related items I think you may enjoy.