That Handmade Touch Book Hop

September 5, 2019

That Handmade Touch Book Hop

I’ve been following the work of Svetlana Sotak for years now and am in love with her clean, practical, handmade aesthetic. When I heard she had a new book out I was excited to get my hands on a copy and be part of her book blog hop! Follow along on the hop via her Instagram feed at: @sotakhandmade

Soft Storage Bucket from That Handmade Touch by Svetlana Sotak

The book is called That Handmade Touch and is a Lucky Spool publication. It was so hard to pick just one project to make because honestly, I want to sew everything in this book but I needed to leave projects for the other blog hop makers to sew so I decided to sew the Soft Storage Bucket because:

It’s so darn cool
I can always use more pretty storage baskets
I’ve always wanted to work with leather handles and try adding rivets

Never having added rivets to a project before was the only part of this project that made me nervous. Sewing up the bag was a snap and the instructions and illustrations were easy to follow. I think it took all of a half hour to make the bag and another 4 days to get the nerve to add the rivets!

Turns out, it was really no big deal to use the pre-cut leather and rivets—look for the affiliate product links at end of post. For the fabrics, I used the Sand Bar canvas from my Art Gallery Fabrics Coastline collection on the exterior of the bag and AGF Crosshatched Textured Denim for the lining.

This bag is just the perfect size and there’s so many uses for a bucket bag like this; toys, throw blankets, craft supplies, shopping, and the list goes on. I also like the fun option of rolling the top edge down to reveal the interior print or having it up for a taller bucket bag or easy-carry tote.

Don’t you just love the antique gold rivets with the leather!!!??? The leather adds the perfect accent for the coastal-look of this bag. I plan to make more of these to use as gifts for the upcoming holiday season—their roomy enough to fill with fun items and useful beyond just being the wrapping.

Hello 2018

January 30, 2018

Hello 2018

Bobbin quilt from Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living by Sharon Holland

To be honest, I've done way more work on my computer this year than sewing. I've started at least 6 different projects and all are in a varying states of completion. That's not normally how I like to work. I prefer to start one project, fully immerse myself in it, and finish it before moving on to the next. But for some reason, it's working well this year to be jumping back and forth between projects and I don't feel overwhelmed or feel I'm loosing time switching gears. The nice thing is they will all be finished around the same time and then is will rain stuff to post about!

Until then, here's some fun things happening in the sewing and quilting world you may want to check out!

Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living by Sharon Holland as seen in Curated Quilts magazine.

It was so exciting to see my new book featured in issue 2 of the fabulous Curated Quilts magazine. The write up for my book was so nice--thank you Curated Quilts!

The second issue of Curated Quilts is all about Log Cabin blocks. It's a fascinating issue and packed with incredible inspiration. Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living (affiliate Amazon link) has three quilt projects inspired by Log Cabin blocks because I've always been drawn to the graphic, timeless appeal of that type of quilt.

I want to thank all the quilter's out there you have already bought my book and who are posting their makes on Instagram. I cannot tell you how exciting it is to see the stunning quilts you're all making. We've been using the hashtag #UtilityStyleQuiltsforEverydayLiving and you can use that hashtag to view all the makes in one place. Did you know that IG now has the feature where you can follow hashtags?! It's one of their better "improvements" and by following a hashtag it will now show up in your feed just as if it were an individual you were following. It's a great way to stay connected to what's going on out there.

It's a great day when your favorite notions company teams up with your favorite fabric company! Dritz and Art Gallery Fabrics have collaborated on a tote bag tutorial showing off the amazing assortment of Dritz bag hardware and the beautiful AGF canvas.

Okay, I'm pretty obsessed with all the bags. Just look at the cool details on the two totes above using my Arborescent Seasons canvas and Bari j's Magnolia Study Fresh print.

Photo courtesy of Dritz. Arborescent canvas by Sharon Holland for Art Gallery Fabrics.

Photo courtesy of Dritz. Sand Bar canvas by Sharon Holland for Art Gallery Fabrics.

That was just a look at three of the bags. Be sure to visit Dritz to view all the other fun ways to dress up your totes AND...

If you'd like a chance to win all this Dritz hardware and eight 1/2 yard cuts of Art Gallery Fabrics canvas...visit Dritz on Instagram for all the details on how to enter into the drawing. Drawing runs from 9 am EST on Tuesday, January 30th until 9 am Wednesday, January 31st so don't delay!

Canvas Floor Cloth

January 15, 2016

Now that the holiday decorations are put away and you're getting your house back in order, it's time to start thinking about ways to refresh your space and not spend a ton of money.

Today's trends include touches of interesting trims and layers to give a multi-cultural, world- traveled look to your home.

Canvas floor cloth by Sharon Holland (Photo courtesy of Art Gallery Fabrics)

Art Gallery Fabric now carries gorgeous printed home-dec-weight canvas. My newest collection Coastline comes with this coordinating canvas print called "Sand Bar Lagoon". Heavy weight but soft and drapey, this canvas is great for clothing, purses, and home decor.

When making samples for my Quilt Market booth last October, I decided the best what to show off my canvas sample was in a rug. This Floor Cloth was a quick project and I love the way it turned out! I got to incorporate vintage trims and fringe for a more interesting, bohemian vibe.

There was such great interest in how I made this Floor Cloth that I now have the free PDF instructions prepared for this project. What better time than now to give it a try! Find the downloadable pattern on my Free Patterns page.

Happy sewing!