Tulip Time Quilt

Let’s celebrate spring with a new quilt! I’ve had this quilt on my mind for several years now just waiting for me to have the time to nurture it into a quilt pattern and this year’s the year! Back in 2017, Maureen Cracknell was asked to design a block for the Aurifil block of the month and she designed a tulip block. I helped her by writing the pattern and instructions. Fast forward, we had gotten so many requests over the years for a quilt using that block that I bought the copyrights from Maureen to eventually publish a quilt pattern from it. Well, last year was my big house move so it never happened last spring as I’d hoped but this was finally going to be the year and today, Tulip Time is available as a PDF pattern in my shop in three quilt sizes!

This springy twin quilt is the cover quilt for the pattern and made using a mix of my collections for Art Gallery Fabrics. Prints are from Kindred, Shine On, and Fanciful with a Pure Solids White Linen background. The backing is from my Lilliput collection. You can get the kit for the Spring Garden version from Brooke Becker over at Lady Belle Fabrics.

Joyce Ulm of Eva Mae’s Custom Quilts did the quilting on all three of my quilt samples. I enjoyed this quilt pattern so much I made all three sizes! This twin is the scrappy version of the twin. Each of the three quilt sizes comes with a scrappy or controlled palette option so you can get just the look you want. Or, in other words, use lots of fabrics for a scrappy look or just six for a controlled version and not have as many fabrics to decide on!

That lovely loft and stitch definition comes from the Hobbs Batting Polydown batting inside. I don’t know the name of the tulip pantograph pattern for the quilting but loved it so much I used it on all three of my quilts.

This sweet Willow version of the Tulip Time quilt is also being kitted at Lady Belle Fabrics and is offered in this crib size and the twin. I made this crib quilt in the scrappy variation because I do love a lot of prints. I have a new grand daughter coming later this spring and this quilt is to be her baby quilt. It’ll go nicely with a crochet-edge flannel blanket I made for her this Christmas using the Yearling flannel from my Juniper collection for AGF.

Buttery-soft Art Gallery Fabrics double-brushed flannel and a crochet-edge! Learn how to create this edging with my free mini workshop, HERE.

For this quilt I used Warm and White cotton batting for a traditional drape and all cotton for baby. This crib quilt is a generous 51-1/2" square so the perfect size for sharing and snuggling together.

You can just see a peek of an AGF knit fabric from my Willow collection made into a crib sheet to coordinate with the quilt. I don’t know if I’ll have time before she comes but I’d like to make her a Quilted Carryall bag, too. But, if not now, then one to match her siblings as a Christmas stocking. See what I did for the kids for Christmas last year on an Instagram Reel, HERE. You can purchase the Quilted Carryall bag pattern from my SHOP.

Details: Tulip panto for the quilting and the tiny key print from Willow for the backing.

And, for my final Tulip Time quilt, I made the full size quilt in a controlled palette so you can see what a palette of just six prints (that includes the background) looks like on this quilt. I’m calling this the Farmhouse version.

Even though tulips and windmills makes one think of spring, this Farmhouse version has a color palette and traditional look that will work in decor all year! This was my first time putting a stripe in a main role on a quilt and absolutely love how it looks! Lady Belle Fabric is kitting this quilt in two size options.

I used the same Hobbs Batting Polydown batting in this quilt as the twin. I love how a polyester batting doesn’t crease (like cotton) and looked just pressed coming out of the box from being shipped back from the long armer.

I want to talk about the prints used for the Farmhouse Tulip Time because they really bring a lot of energy into a very neutral color palette. The background and the dark charcoal fabric in the tulips and flower boarder centers is called Delicate Balance and is one of my favorite prints that’s been recolored many times in different collections. The background is from Listen to Your Heart and the charcoal is from Juniper. The other prints are from Willow, Kismet, Juniper, and Listen to Your Heart (in top and for backing).

Meet the Testers

If three version of this new Tulip Time quilt pattern weren’t enough to convince you that this pattern needs to be your next quilt make, then I have 10 more reason, um, samples made by my talented Tester Team to share! Enjoy the spring Tulip Time (Virtual) Quilt Show…

Liza Taylor

Tulip Time quilt made by Liza Taylor

Liza Taylor of Liza Taylor Handmade always bring a feminine, cottage charm into her work. This crib size Tulip Time quilt in a spring palette of peach, mint, and lilac shows how talented she is with color and design. See more of Liza’s beautiful work @lizataylorhandmade on Instagram and her Etsy shop of the same name.

Marija Vujcic

Tulip Time quilt made by Marija Vujcic

Marija Vujcic on Instagram @maraquiltdesigns and on her blog at Mara Quilt Designs is our Color Girl when it comes to dark backgrounds and bold colors! Just look at that scrumptious palette—it feels very Dutch-inspired for sure! Art Gallery Fabrics Pure Solids Nocturnal and bright Decostitch blenders create a traditional, almost solids palette that really shines!

Amanda Bagin

Tulip Time quilt made by Amanda Bagin

This crib quilt by Amanda Bagin is a wonderful example of how to select fabrics for a quilt to work with your decor and I’m obsessing over this quilt! Art Gallery Fabrics solids with a print by Bonnie Christine’s Wild Forgotten is just sublime. Follow Amanda on her Instagram feed @quiltsbycritter.

Katherine Clark

Tulip Time quilt made by Katherine Clark

Katherine Clark of Katherine Elizabeth Quilts on Instagram has a wonderful eye for detail and selecting the right prints for her quilts. Katherine made a Tulip Time crib quilt using Katarina Roccella’s Florence collection from Art Gallery Fabrics. This is the perfect spring palette for a scrappy version of Tulip Time.

Victoria Newmyer

Tulip Time quilt made by Victoria Newmyer

Victoria Newmyer has a great eye for balance and mixing prints and her inspiration for this Tulip Time crib quilt came from a resent trip to the Caribbean. Victoria used prints from Art Gallery Fabrics West Palm and Capri collections. Be sure to visit Victoria’s beautiful Instagram account @midlife_quilter and her shop, HERE.

Tracey Taber-Perry

Tulip Time quilt made by Tracey Taber-Perry

Tracey Taber-Perry used fabrics from Katie O’Shea’s new Fresh Linen collection for Art Gallery fabrics to create this beautiful spring-fresh crib quilt. Tracey’s sewing skill are top-notch and I love how she created a scrappy binding to finish her quilt. See more of Tracey’s beautiful makes by following her on her Instagram feed at @ttabes80.

Melissa David

Tulip Time quilt made by Melissa David

Melissa David of Quilting Above the Clouds on Instagram used the new boho Soul Fusion collection from Art Gallery Fabrics to create this gorgeous Tulip Time crib quilt. Melissa does her own long arm quilting on her quilts and did an outstanding joy making her sample.

Terri Neil

Tulip Time quilt made by Terri Neil

Terri Neil owner of @quiltingrubies shows us her fearless style of pattern mixing and use of jewel tones in this crib Tulip Time quilt! She used Pollinate prints by Jessica Swift for Art Gallery Fabrics and of course quilting is done by Terri who’s also a profession long armer.

Joyce Ulm

Tulip Time quilt made by Joyce Ulm

Joyce Ulm used assorted prints from Art Gallery Fabrics to make this darling Tulip Time crib quilt. Joyce did the quilting on my three quilts as well as for her crib quilt. You can see more of Joyce’s work on Instagram @evamaescustomquilts, Etsy shop, and on her Facebook blog HERE, and takes custom orders for long arm quilting.

Elaine Satterfield

Tulip Time quilt made by Elaine Satterfield

Last but not least, is Elaine Satterfield of @createjoyquilt. Elaine is so incredibly talented, and always creates such pretty things. Elaine used a variety of Art Gallery Fabrics including several prints by Amy Sinibaldi for a soft and sweet crib quilt backed with Minky fabric for extra cuddle.

Remember I told you about the original collaboration for the tulip block with Maureen Cracknell? Well, to bring it full circle, Maureen has been also making a Tulip Time quilt with prints from a mix of her collections. Lady Belle Fabric will have kits available for Maureen’s quilt and I have a little sneak peek for you. To see more of this quilt, visit Maureen’s Facebook or Instagram page and of course, Lady Belle Fabric to purchase the kit!

Tulip Time quilt made by Maureen Cracknell

Wishing everyone a happy Easter and spring! The weather has not been very spring-like here but I haven’t minded one bit because I’ve been working on this Tulip Time pattern and bringing the spring inside! Be sure to tag my on your social platforms when you post pictures of your Tulip Time quilts—I’d love to see what you make.

Happy sewing,

Sharon

Lilliput Look Book

Time has flown by and I’m behind in posting about my Lilliput Look Book that was released the end of April. My apologies but today’s the day to take a closer look at the projects I made with my new Art Gallery Fabrics Lilliput collection…

Lilliput is my first fabric collection designed with children in mind but it’s not your average children’s line because there’s so many prints an adult would love as well. Think sophisticated kids collection that focuses on nature and imagination.

I wanted Lilliput to have a very magical Look Book and so I created a painted backdrop to use in my home studio and created a fantasy forest in which all my Lilliput projects could be photographed and show the versatility of this collection from crib to kid.

This mural is no little thing, in fact, it’s about 9 foot by 12 foot and was painted onto a painter’s drop cloth canvas with household and acrylic paints. I color matched as best I could the colors from the collection and just freehand painted trees, leaves, and brush. I could only see about a 4 foot horizontal section at a time as I painted this draped over a ping pong table so it was a big surprise to see it up on the wall and coming out as good as it had!

You’ll see most of my projects have used this mural as an underlying theme to help create a magical, secret garden-type of mood.

Firelight Quilt

I’ve two new grand babies coming any day now and what a better excuse to create for my Look Book and make baby gifts at the same time! This crib size Firelight quilt is made from the Firelight quilt pattern released in February and you can find the pattern in my SHOP. I used Art Gallery Fabrics Smooth Denim as the background for the perfect boy quilt. The original Firelight quilt went to baby-to-be’s big brother so both boys will have the same style quilt with different looks.

I did a simple diagonal grid quilting in the ditch and bound the quilt with Smooth Denim in peach and backed with the navy dragonfly print from the Lilliput collection.

Make Your Own Crib Sheets

One of the easiest ways to personalize a nursery is to make your own crib sheets. I used Dana Willard’s of Made Everyday tutorial and whipped up this Forest Friends crib sheet in a matter of minutes.

Fox and Bunny

I don’t know about you, but I’m still a sucker for stuffed animals. I loved them as a kid and still do as an adult. Now I have grandkids I can live through them with new critters to love and cuddle. So, when I saw these patterns by Willowynn I knew I wanted to make them for the Look Book then gift them to the two older grandkids, ages 3 and 5.

Needless to say I had a ton of fun setting up this little tea party.

Whole Cloth Quilt

When I designed Lilliput and the Bog Party print I immediately thought I wanted to make a whole cloth quilt from this print so that’s what I did when it came time to so for the Look Book. I used the same print front and back and sandwiched two layers of Hobbs Tuscany 100% Premium Polyester batting for an extra puffy loft. I hand quilted a simple grid quilting design and used The Willow Markets tutorial for making a quilt like this.

This quilt has already been gifted to my son who’s also expecting their first child any day now.

Pillows, and More Pillows

The Cubist Illusion pillow is a free pattern from Art Gallery Fabrics. I adore this baby block look and want to do an entire quilt in this pattern in the future.

I used my own Hidden Zipper tutorial to professionally add a zipper closer to the pillow. If you’ve never tried it you really must—it’s easy and the perfect finish to a pillow. A pillow is also a great way to test out quilt blocks without the big commitment of doing a quilt.

Making your own pillowcases, like making cribs sheets is a great way to customize a bedroom. Pillowcases are an ideal project for beginner sewers of any age. I made these two cases using AGF knit from the Lilliput collection and they are now in use on my granddaughter’s bed. I used Dana Willard’s You Tube tutorial for these easy knit cases.

Pencil Pouch

This Rectangular School Kit is made using the free Odif pattern. Part of this project’s charm is that Odif makes a product called Odicoat that when applied to fabric will turn it into an oil cloth-like fabric. This makes a pouch nice for wiping off or as a travel or makeup bag to repel spills and stains.

Stitches From the Heart

This Stitches From the Heart wallhanging is a free pattern from our friends at The Fat Quarter Shop and was delightful to stitch up. The pattern also includes a mini version.

Since this project was small I hand quilted a clam shell design across the quilt.

Just For Fun

This had to have been the most fun I’ve ever had photographing a fabric collection because most of it was done in my studio over about 3 days. It was a lot of work but so enjoyable. This hideaway tent idea was just for fun and what I pictured my kids (when they were little) wanting to play in and dream the dreams that kids do.

Lilliput prints of Fort Imagination was used for the tent and Full Bloom covers the bottom cushion. You can see I got a lot of mileage from my backdrop!

Are you inspired to do some sewing? These were only the projects I made so to see more of these and the other incredible contributions by makers and AGF Studio, flip through the virtual magazine pages HERE.

Also, if you’re looking for Lilliput prints or any of my other collections, don’t forget to check out my FABRICS page to see which of your favorite online shops have them in stock. Soon, I’ll be adding my next collection Bookish to the collection list!

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.

Hold Tight Petite Sew Along - Finishing

Hold Tight Petite Sew Along - Finishing

It’s the final week of the Hold Tight Petite Sew Along and today’s post will cover assembling the blocks in a Quilt As You Go (QAYG) quilt sandwich or assembling the top and making a traditional quilt sandwich, quilting, hand quilting and binding.

As Blair Stocker’s Wise Craft Ruby Ruler™ Ambassador series August Ruby Ambassador (Read my interview by Blair—here) I thought what better way than collaborate with Blair on the Petite Sew Along and use her rulers to help navigate color and value in a fun quilt project.

Here’s what we’ve accomplished in three weeks:

Blair’s ruby-hued artist’s viewfinder tools the Ruby Ruler™ and Ruby Minder™ where invaluable tools in the first week’s study on Color and Value. I blogged about how, as a designer, I go about selecting colors for my fabric collections or a color story for a quilt and how I used the Ruby Minder™ to check my selections of Art Gallery Fabric Pure Solids. If you missed the first week, read more here. Plus you’ll find additional color theory materials covered on Week #1 and Week #2 of the original Hold Tight sew along as well as in the skill-building demonstration videos. Find these helpful videos on my Sew Along page which are available for viewing any time.

To catch up on what happened during week 2, read my Cutting & Piecing blog post here. Use templates to cut out shapes and sew curves with ease. Find out how with my videos for Week #2, #3 Part 1, and #3 Part 2 on the Sew Along page.

During the Hold Tight Petite sew along, Blair Stocker will be following up my Wednesday morning blog posts with a Facebook Live session. This workshop-like experience with Blair on Facebook is a huge bonus along with connecting with more than 1,500 other quilter’s via Blairs private Facebook group! Blair will host live sessions to support my sew along blog posts and share with you her expertise. Note: Blair’s FB group is free to join by answering three questions when requesting to be added to the group. If you can’t join in the live sessions—no problem—the videos are available for replay and ready to view when you are!

Hold Tight Petite quilt by Sharon Holland

This sew along is free to join—no sign up forms—just follow along and have fun. You’ll will need, however, the Hold Tight quit pattern. If you don't have my Hold Tight quilt pattern already, you'll want to purchase the Hold Tight PDF pattern from my Shop page. The Hold Tight pattern now includes two sizes—the original over-sized throw and the new petite crib-size quilt. The material lists, cutting requirements, coloring sheet, and full-size templates are part of the fully illustrated PDF pattern. These sew along blog posts serve to supplement the PDF but don't provide the detailed pattern information that you'll find in the PDF available for purchase. If you’ve purchased the original PDF prior to August 5, 2019 and didn’t receive a special newsletter email from this blog sharing the link to the Petite Add-On download, see my SEW ALONG page to get your copy of the bonus size. You’ll find the Add-On download that contains the crib-size material list, cutting guide, and coloring sheet. Note: You’ll still need the original Hold Tight pattern for quilt details. The current PDF in my shop has been updated with both quilt sizes so patterns purchased after August 5, 2019 include both quilt sizes—no add-on necessary.

WEEK #3 - QAYG and Finishing

I like options, don’t you? I also like to be able to quilt my own quilts. The original large throw-size Hold Tight quilt and the new Petite crib-size quilts are both nice size quilts for trying machine quilting on your sewing machine as well as adding some decorative hand quilting for the balloon strings.

Hold Tight quilt throw-size by Sharon Holland

For tips on how to machine quilt a traditional quilt sandwich (quilt top, batting, and backing sandwich), like the quilts from my first Sew Along (above), see Hold Tight Sew Along Week #4 blog post.

For those wanting to try Quilt As You Go (QAYG) keep reading as I walk you through how I finished my Petite Hold Tight quilt.

QAYG

Hold Tight Petite by Sharon Holland

My QAYG finishing method is a hybrid of QAYG and traditional quilting to secure block rows to a batting and backing sandwich. Once the horizontal rows have been stitched down to the batting/backing in a QAYG row assembly, the finishing of the quilt is more traditional with the addition of machine or hand stitching.

The quilting on my Petite crib quilt is minimal. The quilting stitches are about 4’’ apart and I could get away with this because I used Hobbs Tuscany Premium Polyester Batting for my batting. The beautiful loft of Hobbs Tuscany Polyester adds to the puffy balloon look and makes for a snuggly-warm quilt and doesn’t shrink.

Securing Horizontal Rows in QAYG

Once all the block are made and squared up see Week 2, sew the blocks into horizontal rows. This is the same for either size quilt.

Cut and piece backing according to the pattern directions and for the size quilt you’ve selected. I selected Paper Flowers Aurora from my Tapestry collection for Art Gallery Fabrics as the print for my backing. Cut batting to size indicated on pattern. Hand or spray baste batting to backing to prepare for QAYG assembly. See Sewcial Bee Sampler Quilt Finishing post for spray basting batting to backing.

Just as if you were assembling a quilt top, place the first two rows to be stitched right sides together, seams nested and edges matched. Pin at seams.

You can start from the bottom and working your way up, like I did (see above illustration) or begin from the top of the quilt and work down—the results will be the same. Center the pinned rows onto the batting/backing near the bottom if working up or at the top if working down. Pin row assembly to backing/batting. Stitch with a 1/4’’ seam allowance through all layers, removing pins as you sew.

Carefully press the top row open and pin the flipped row down to hold flat. I like to roll the quilt batting/backing for easier handling.

Hold Tight Petite QAYG Assembly

Continue adding additional rows in the same manner. Press rows open as you go and continually check that the quilt top is flat and the backing is smooth with each row addition. Remove basting stitches if you hand basted the batting/backing layers.

After all the horizontal rows have been added, machine or hand baste around the outside edge of the quilt with an 1/8’’ seam allowance to secure the outside block edges. Note: Leave the excess batting/backing until all the quilting is finished.

At this point you have the top secured to the batting and backing but will need to add more quilting. You’ve basically better-than-basted your top to the batting and backing. Quilt as desired or you can go minimal like I did and machine or hand quilt in the ditch along the vertical seams. I hand quilted my vertical seams with 40 wt. cotton thread so it wouldn’t be very noticeable. You can just see some stitches if you look at the orange balloon in the above photo. You’ve now secured all the blocks down in a grid.

For the rest of the quilt I selected four DMC Perle cotton threads and hand stitched 1/4’’ from the seam lines to echo the balloon shapes. I love how Blair’s Ruby Minder™ ruler also doubles as a thread minder!

To determine where my balloon strings should go and to avoid having to put marks on my quilt to get the straight guide lines, I used tape to mask out my lines. Watch how to hand quilt using floss and how to use tape as a guide, here.

Once all the quilting is completed, add binding according to the pattern’s instructions. Trim batting and backing to edge of binding. Turn binding to the back of the quilt and hand or machine stitch to finish.

Hold Tight Petite by Sharon Holland

I hope you’ve enjoyed this petite quilt along and a further chance to play with with fun pattern, learn more about working with color and value, and sewing with curves. The Hold Tight Petite quilt is the perfect crib-size quilt and I love the puffy batting for it’s warmth and drape. My grandson needs a second quilt that he can drag around and snuggle with and he’ll be getting this one when I see him next month.

I’m excited to see Blair’s finished quilt and would love to see yours too! If you’re on Instagram, tag me @sharonhollanddesigns and Blair @blairs use the #holdtightquilt or #holdtightsewalong hashtag so we can follow your progress. If you’re sewing with Art Gallery Fabrics be sure to tag #artgalleryfabrics too! Don’t forget that you can join Blair’s Facebook group and meet others working on this quilt along with value and color insights from Blair’s expert knowledge of the subject.

Thanks for sewing with us!

Hold Tight Petite Sew Along - Cutting and Piecing

Hold Tight Petite Sew Along - Cutting and Piecing

Welcome back to Week #2 of the Hold Tight Petite sew along. As part of Blair Stocker’s Wise Craft Ruby Ruler™ Ambassador series and being August’s Ruby Ambassador (Read my interview by Blair—here), I thought it would be the perfect opportunity for Blair and I to collaborate on a project and explore the world of color through fabrics.

August Ruby Ambassador - Sharon Holland

Blair’s ruby-hued artist’s viewfinder tools the Ruby Ruler™ and Ruby Minder™ where invaluable tools in last week’s study on Color and Value. I blogged about how, as a designer, I go about selecting colors for my fabric collections or a color story for a quilt and how I used the Ruby Minder™ to check my selections. If you missed the first week, read more here. Plus you’ll find additional color theory materials covered on Week #1 and Week #2 of the original Hold Tight sew along as well as in the skill-building demonstration videos. Find these helpful videos on my Sew Along page which are available for viewing any time.

Ruby Minder™ by Blair Stocker of Wise Craft Handmade

For more Color and Value study, Blair has a wonderful online class, Make Modern Scrap Quilts Using Color Value which is an evergreen class—you buy its and it’s yours forever, there are no "sessions". Read more about this class on Wise Craft Handmade.

Plus, for this Hold Tight Petite sew along, Blair Stocker will be following up my Wednesday morning blog posts with a Facebook Live session at 11 am Pacific on Wednesday, August 14 cutting pieces with templates and curved rulers as well as sewing curves. This workshop-like experience with Blair on Facebook is a huge bonus along with connecting with more than 1,500 other quilter’s via Blairs private Facebook group! Blair will host live sessions to support my sew along blog posts and share with you her expertise. Note: Blair’s FB group is free to join by answering three questions when requesting to be added to the group. If you can’t join in the live sessions—no problem—the videos are available for replay and ready to view when you are!

This sew along is free to join—no sign up forms—just follow along and have fun. You’ll will need, however, the Hold Tight quit pattern. If you don't have my Hold Tight quilt pattern already, you'll want to purchase the Hold Tight PDF pattern from my Shop page. The Hold Tight pattern now includes two sizes—the original over-sized throw and the new petite crib-size quilt. The material lists, cutting requirements, coloring sheet, and full-size templates are part of the fully illustrated PDF pattern. These sew along blog posts serve to supplement the PDF but don't provide the detailed pattern information that you'll find in the PDF available for purchase. If you’ve purchased the original PDF prior to August 5, 2019 and didn’t receive a special newsletter email from this blog sharing the link to the Petite Add-On download, see my SEW ALONG page to get your copy of the bonus size. You’ll find the Add-On download that contains the crib-size material list, cutting guide, and coloring sheet. Note: You’ll still need the original Hold Tight pattern for quilt details. The current PDF in my shop has been updated with both quilt sizes so patterns purchased after August 5, 2019 include both quilt sizes—no add-on necessary.

Week #2 - Cutting and Piecing

Even though I’ve labeled this pattern an intermediate skill level quilt pattern, I firmly believe that even a confident beginner can tackle curved patchwork with ease because you’ve completed the following:

1. You’ve printed out the PDF instructions and templates to 100% scale (with borders) onto US letter size paper and because you’ve cut your fabrics true to size (see Hold Tight Sew Along Week #2 post).

2. You’re sewing with an accurate seam allowance. As with any patchwork sewing its imperative to stitch with an accurate 1/4” seam allowance. Take a moment to read the Seam Allowance section on my Perfect Patchwork tutorial.

I’ve prepared bonus video tutorials and you’ll find the Hold Tight Sew Along Week #3 parts 1 and 2 are extremely helpful for pinning, sewing, press, and squaring up your blocks. Find all the Hold Tight Sew Along videos on my Sew Along page.

This week’s blog post is going to be an easy one for me to compose compared to last week’s epic Color and Value post because the information about Cutting and Piecing hasn’t changed from my first sew along. Instead of copying and pasting all that information to this post, I’ll refer you to Week #2 and Week #3 of the first sew along. So, go ahead, take a look at that information and then come back to this post for some additional tips, pretty photos, and information about this week’s giveaway!

Learning Live

The beauty of an event like this being co-hosted is you get to experience different perspectives, sewing tricks, and in the case of Blair’s Live Facebook sessions, a new way of viewing information. This week, Blair will be cutting and piecing her blocks and carrying on what I started in my video demonstrations. This is your chance to ask Blair questions and maybe gain a few new tricks to sewing with curved patchwork.

Sew On

As I briefly talked about last week when looking ahead, I’ll be covering Quilt-As-You-Go (QAYG) as a quilt assembly option in the next post for Week #3. If you’re interested in trying the QAYG finishing method, regardless of what quilt size you’re stitching, resist the urge to start sewing all the blocks together to form the balloon shapes and quilt top. A background square and the A/B block, and B/B/C blocks like you see in the above photo are ALL considered blocks. For this week, concentrate on sewing the blocks and only go so far as to sew the blocks together into horizontal rows. Alternate seam pressing directions on your rows so the rows will nest together when assembling. Example: Even rows press all the seams to the right and odd rows, press all the seams to the left.

Next week on the third and final sew along post I’ll blog about QAYG assembly, hand quilting, and finishing your quilt. If you’re wanting to finish your quilt as a traditional top with batting and backing sandwich to be quilted, you can work ahead. Find tutorials and tips on the Finishing post and videos created during the first sew along. It’s always nice to have options and work at your own pace!

I’m excited to see what colors Blair selected for her quilt and would love to see your inspiration for your color story, fabric pull, and progress as you sew along. If you’re on Instagram, tag me @sharonhollanddesigns and Blair @blairs use the #holdtightquilt hashtag so we can follow your progress. If you’re sewing with Art Gallery Fabrics be sure to tag #artgalleryfabrics too!

There’s also a wonderful resource of inspiration and a look at all the Hold Tight quilt posted to Instagram if you search the #holdtightquilt and #holdtightsewalong hashtags! If you’re on Pinterest, I have a Hold Tight Sew Along board—you can find and follow me at ShareDesigns (Sharon Holland Designs).

WEEK #2 GIVEAWAY

Our Art Gallery Fabrics sponsor will be giving away an amazing prize of a quilt kit! The kit will include: The Hold Tight PDF pattern (which can be substituted with a different pattern in my SHOP if you already have purchased), fabric to make a Hold Tight Petite quilt top just like the one I created for this sew along, binding, and your choice of any AGF print for the backing!

Art Gallery Fabrics Pure Solids

This giveaway and the giveaway rules and details will be announced on Instagram Thursday morning around 9 am eastern. The giveaway will be held on my Instagram account @sharonhollanddesigns and you’ll be prompted for how to enter on that post. Be sure you’re following myself and Blair @blairs and Art Gallery Fabrics @artgalleryfabrics so you don’t miss a thing!

Happy sewing,

Sharon