Firelight Quilt

Firelight Quilt

Firelight quilt by Sharon Holland

Firelight quilt by Sharon Holland

Hello, and welcome to my first blog post of 2021 where I introduce my first new quilt pattern of 2021!

I know it’s been two months since my last post—sorry about the gap but I’ve been busy creating new quilt designs and doing some secret sewing. I’ve got plenty to show and tell with you very soon and there’ll be new blog posts showing up in your inbox on a regular basis—you can count on that!

Firelight Quilt on Ladder.JPG

Right before Christmas I’d received a bundle of Little Forester Fusions from AGF and knew instantly this is the collection I’d use to make my grandson a quilt for his upcoming third birthday. The Little Forester collection is a fusion of beloved prints from several AGF designer, recolored and grouped into a new collection under the Fusions division of AGF offerings. FUSIONS are bite size collections featuring prints from AGF designers arranged in conceptual themes and as the name suggest, this is a playful, nature-themed collection.

Little Forester Fusions

Little Forester Fusions

Above is the entire Little Forester Fusions collection. I did not use every print from the collection but instead selected five of the prints and paired them with AGF Pure Solids and a couple prints from my Spirited collection below.

Firelight Quilt AGF Fabric Pull.JPG

The Firelight quilt pattern comes with three quilt sizes: Crib, throw, and twin. The pattern cover quilt is the throw size. Quilt kits, just like my sample quilt, are available at Midlife Quilter and include the fabrics listed below. See the PDF pattern listing on my SHOP page for material requirements for all three sizes.

Firelight kit.jpg
Photo courtesy of Midlife Quilter

Photo courtesy of Midlife Quilter

Photo courtesy of Midlife Quilter

Photo courtesy of Midlife Quilter

I’ve labeled this pattern an intermediate level pattern because there are a lot of pieces per block and the need for accurate cutting, sewing, and trimming will be necessary for maintaining all those points. There are also many pieces to keep track of for orientation as well but the end results are really worth slowing down a bit and taking a little extra care.

Firelight Quilt HST trimming.JPG

The pattern has step by step instruction for making Half-Square Triangle (HST) units and Flying Geese units with no-waste piecing techniques. Units are purposely made oversized to allow for trimming and squaring so your blocks go together effortlessly.

For tips on trimming and squaring these types of units, read my tutorial HERE.

Firelight Quilt Pieces.JPG

I love that this pattern is fat quarter-friendly and encourages mix and match, scrappy blocks. I preplanned my fabric pairing before I started sewing block so I could distribute the fabrics and make each block different.

Firelight Quilt Blocks.JPG

My grandson really loves the quilts his Mimi (that’s me) makes and he’s a snuggle bug! So, to make this quilt extra special for him I added Shannon Minky in Cappuccino to the back of the quilt and quilted it myself on a diagonal grid by stitching in the ditch. It was a breeze to quilt on my domestic machine and oh, so snuggly!

Firelight Quilt Sneak Peek 2.JPG

I used Hobbs Heirloom 100% Cotton Batting inside and it was the perfect thickness with a thick Minky backing but still quilted like a dream. The quilt has some heft to it but still has a lovely, traditional drape and feel to it.

Firelight Quilt Flat.jpg
Firelight Quilt Styled 1.JPG
Firelight Quilt 1.JPG

But wait, there’s more!

I wasn't the only one making a Firelight quilt these last two months. My amazing pattern testers have been stitching away on their own version of this pattern and I can’t wait for you to see these quilts!

Meet the Testers

Pattern tester Brittany Tunison

Pattern tester Brittany Tunison

Brittany Tunison is a talented quilt designer in her own right and an amazing maker. Brittany curated Art Gallery Fabrics from several different designers and included AGF Denim in her quilt and the result is this stunning denim, blush, and gold throw quilt. See more of Brittany’s own work as a quilt pattern designer and blogger at White Plains Quilts . You can also find Brittany on Instagram @brittanytunison

Pattern tester Elaine Satterfield

Pattern tester Elaine Satterfield

Elaine Satterfield chose to make a crib size Firelight quilt and it’s incredible! Elaine also backed her quilt with Minky but rounded the corners which is brilliant idea since the corners of the quilt are created from large background triangle and don’t interfere with any blocks. I love the soft shades of mint, gold, gray, and peach in these assorted Art Gallery Fabrics used in her quilt. You can follow Elaine’s quilt adventures on Instagram @elaines14 .

Pattern tester Joyce Ulm

Pattern tester Joyce Ulm

I’m crazy over Joyce Ulm’s Firelight make! Joyce stitched the twin version of this quilt and used AGF Pure Solids and my Kismet prints—a feast for the eyes! See more of Joyce’s work on Instagram @evamaecustomquilts, Etsy shop, and on her Facebook blog HERE, she’s are real dynamo and does her own quilting as well!

Pattern tester Megan Eckroth

Pattern tester Megan Eckroth

Megan Eckroth of @cartellastudio on Instagram is a new member to my tester group. I was instantly smitten with Megan’s work and have enjoyed getting to know her and know you’ll love her, too! Megan made the throw size Firelight and it’s a beauty. The dark background is inspired and sets off the sage, clay, putty, and peach solids and spring-colored prints from Art Gallery Fabrics. Follow Megan on Instagram, FB, and her Etsy Shop.

Pattern tester Mary Gove

Pattern tester Mary Gove

I wait with anticipation to see what Mary Gove will create next. Her Firelight throw quilt version is stunning and is only rivaled by the equally glorious landscape settings she uses as backdrops to her quilts. This beautiful fabric pull of Pure Solids, Homebody prints and Kismet prints is delicious and feels so fresh. Follow Mary’s quilting adventures from her Instagram account @thecurlyquilter.

Pattern tester Terri Neil

Pattern tester Terri Neil

I was real excited when I heard Terri Neil say she was going to make an all AGF Pure solids Firelight throw quilt and beyond thrill when she sent me the reveal photos! Have you ever seen a prettier color palette? The juxtaposition of bright, muted, and jewel tone colors blow away all color theory conventions yet it utterly works and reminds me of museum-worthy antique Amish quilts. Terri on Instagram @quiltingrubies and you’ll be in awe of all the beautiful quilts she makes and quilts for others from her long arm business called Quilting Rubies.

Pattern tester Tracey Taber-Perry

Pattern tester Tracey Taber-Perry

This gorgeous jewel-toned Firelight throw quilt was made by Tracey Taber-Perry. Tracey used the AGF Marrakesh Fusions collection for the blocks and background and I love the big, bold geometric print background to add even more energy to the quilt design. This quilt looks like a beautiful spring bulb poking out of the snow. To see more of Tracey’s beautiful work and you can follow her feed @ttabes80 on Instagram.

Pattern tester Victoria Newmyer

Pattern tester Victoria Newmyer

Victoria Newmyer is the genius behind the Midlife Quilter shop where you can find beautiful AGF fabrics and get personal help curating your next bundle for a quilt project. I love this spring-fresh bundle Victoria pulled for her crib size Firelight quilt. The addition of Chenille-It Just Peachy faux chenille binding is the perfect finish and a product she stocks in her shop as well.

Don’t forget that Victoria is stocking kits for the Firelight cover quilt and you can find all the details on her online quilt shop Midlife Quilter and beautiful Instagram account @midlife_quilter.

Firelight Quilt Styled 2.JPG

I hope you’ve enjoyed this virtual quilt show and have been inspired to discover new Art Gallery Fabrics you may not have seen yet or new color combinations to spice up your life and energize your creativity. Be sure to stop by my testers social pages and say “Hi” and tell them how amazing they are!

Find the PDF pattern for the Firelight quilt in my SHOP and happy sewing!

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.

Sweet Home 2 syled.jpg

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.

Sweet Home 2 front and back 2.jpg

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.

Sweet Home Quilt on Peg.jpg

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

Sweet Home 2 on Bed.jpg

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!

Sweet Home Quilt in Playroom-8.jpg

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!

Sweet Home Quilt in Playroom-2.jpg

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!

Chenille-It 5:8''-wide.JPG

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.

Home, Sweet Home (Quilt)

Home, Sweet Home (Quilt)

Sweet Home by Sharon Holland

Sweet Home by Sharon Holland

Wow, I know it’d been a bit since I last blogged but, I had no idea it’d been this long! I’ve really been so busy these last two months (which incidentally is also the amount of time I’ve not left my house) and the time’s flown by for me.

Just to fill in the gaps between the last post and now I’ve done some more paintings, finished a new fabric collection for fall (October release if all goes according to shipping plans), stitched 244 masks—70+ of which I’ve listed for sale in my new FABRIC MASKS page. I’ve also designed, wrote the pattern, and stitched two quilts in my new Sweet Home quilt pattern, and am working on a new fabric line for 2021.

Sweet Home quilt by Sharon Holland photo and long arm quilting by Lady Belle Fabric

Sweet Home quilt by Sharon Holland photo and long arm quilting by Lady Belle Fabric

Today it’s time to show you the newest pattern in my shop and it’s quilt pattern release day, hooray! You can find this PDF pattern on my SHOP page HERE. This adorable, beginner-friendly design is the perfect scrap quilt and a way to show off all those prints you’ve been collecting.

Sharon Holland Sweet Home Fabric Pull 2.jpeg

I’ve made two Sweet Home quilts but for today’s post I’ll just show the first one since I have a bunch of beautiful photos and don’t want this post to get too epic. I’ll show the other quilt next week along with a new giveaway. See end of this blog for this week’s giveaway.

The fabrics for this blush and turquoise quilt are all Art Gallery Fabrics and use prints from several different AGF collections: Spirited, Ballerina Fusion, Marrakesh Fusion, Rosewood Fusion, and Pure Solids.

I love how you can mix between AGF collections and curate an entirely new look!

Sweet Home Quilt Cut Pieces.jpeg

When I was designing this quilt pattern, I was creating it for a Quilt Along (QAL) to be co-hosted with myself and Maureen Cracknell. Unfortunately, with COVID-19, lockdowns and shipping issue headaches have all played havoc on the fabric availability coming into Art Gallery Fabrics and going out to shops. Even though I pulled the most current fabrics for my quilt, many are already out of stock! My Spirited collection is being reprinted and is probably in a container somewhere waiting to be unloaded.

Until more normal business resumes and shops can get restocked we’re tabling our QAL for now. I’m very disappointed but will be ready with two quilt already made and loads of video tutorials to prepare, sponsors lined up—all to make a sew along extra enjoyable when the time comes.

Sweet Home on bench 2.jpg

The nice thing about a pattern release ahead of a quilt along is that you can start planning and gathering your materials early! I love how different colors and fabrics give this quilt an entirely new look and vibe and have included a coloring sheet of the quilt in the PDF pattern. Did you know you can download virtual fabric swatches from the various Art Gallery Fabrics collections and play around with different looks? Yup, just look for the Download JPEG Swatches button on every collection and start planning.

This Shabby-Chic Boho palette is what I put together for my first quilt and is my happy zone for colors and florally prints! It’s very girly and with the Daisy Chain long arm quilting design stitched by Brooke Becker of Lady Belle Fabric and the chenille edge finish—it’s the perfect finish to this sweet quilt.

Lady Belle Fabric - Sweet Home Quilt Kit

Brooke has curated a beautiful bundle of Art Gallery Fabric to make her own version of the Sweet Home quilt and has kits ready for you to make a quilt too!

Photo and quilt kit by Lady Belle Fabric

Photo and quilt kit by Lady Belle Fabric

All your favorite Art Gallery Fabric designer’s prints are mixed together in this soft and sweet palette with shades of dusty mauve, mint, navy, coral, and terra cotta that’ll look right at home in your decor all year round.

Photo and quilt kit by Lady Belle Fabric

Photo and quilt kit by Lady Belle Fabric

Visit Lady Belle Fabric to find this Sweet Home quilt kit, fabrics, and long arm quilting services. Brooke is the best and genuinely a fabulous person. I love helping support small businesses and quilt shops—especially during these tough times.

Sweet Home Quilt Chenille Binding.JPG

Let’s talk about the Chenille-It Blooming Bias edge treatment to replace traditional binding to add an additional layer of Boho-Chic to this quilt. This stunning look couldn’t have been any easier to create with a double-layer of 5/8”-wide Blooming Bias and took half the time of traditional binding. Instructions for adding chenille binding to your quilt are included in the PDF.

5/8”-wide Chenille-It Blooming Bias

5/8”-wide Chenille-It Blooming Bias

I’m absolutely in love with this chenille binding and have another new quilt pattern in the queue that’ll be finished in this same technique. But, if you’re not feeling adventurous, there’s also traditional binding information/yardage included in the PDF pattern.

See materials list on the Sweet Home pattern listing in the SHOP.

Sweet Home Quilt Folded.jpeg

For both my Sweet Home quilts, I’ve filled them with Hobbs Tuscany Silk Blend batting. This is my very favorite batting for many reasons. The drape of a quilt with silk batting is luxurious and vintage-soft. Tuscany Silk is lightweight, resists wrinkling, and has better insulating properties than traditional cotton batts. It handles much like cotton batting for hand or machine quilting and has less shrinkage when laundered. Oh, and great quilting definition, too!

Sweet Home Quilt on Bed.jpeg

Staying at home never looked so good, right? I hope you like my new quilt design and check it and my other patterns out in my SHOP.

I mentioned a giveaway earlier in this post and a new pattern release wouldn’t be complete without a giveaway or two! Read below on how to enter for a chance to win my new quilt pattern…

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

Congratulations to: Jennifer Lewis, Laura M, and Anne!

Comment to Win a Sweet Home PDF Pattern!

* Note * This giveaway is open to EVERYONE! If you're a "no reply" or anonymous commenter, please remember to include your email address in your comment--you can't win if I can't get a hold of you!

1. Simply leave a comment here under this post! (Counts as first comment entry).

2. My followers get a second entry! If you follow via subscribing to my posts, with Bloglovin (or another service), or follow me on Instagram, just let me know by making a separate comment. (Counts as second entry). Note: I'm no longer on Facebook.

3. Help spread the word!! I know that many of you already do, so I thought it would be nice to add that as another way to enter! Spread the word about this giveaway on YOUR instagram, facebook, tweet, pin, blog post, etc... (Counts as a third entry). 

That’s THREE possible entries and three chances to win! Enter now through Monday, May 18, 2020. I’ll be drawing names for three winners. The winning comments will be picked at random around 4pm Eastern. I’ll post the name of the winners on this post once they've been notified and responded to my email.

Be sure to visit my Instagram feed @sharonhollanddesigns for a chance for you and a tagged friend to win PDF patterns from my SHOP. Winners can pick a substitute PDF pattern if desired for the blog and IG giveaways.

Stay home and sew,

Sharon

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.