Gifting Handmade 2023 - Week 2 Recap

It’s all over but the Grand Finale Giveaway!

Thank you for joining us for 14 days of inspiring sewing projects during the 2023 Gifting Handmade - Maker’s Showcase. In this post, I’ll be recapping the projects I posted to Instagram on Days 8 through 14 and providing social links for the maker, project links, and other insights and information about the project and the fabrics used. Plus, in this recap post, there’s all the details about Grand Finale giveaway you absolutely don’t want to miss, so keep reading!

If you missed the Week 1 Recap blog post, you can read about all the first week makers and projects, HERE.

Thank you to our Sponsors

In the spirit of giving, I’ve teamed up with sponsors to be able to offer you a chance to win some fabulous, generous, exciting prizes!

Keep reading till the end for how to enter the final giveaway from our generous sponsor and friends at Arrow Sewing!

The Makers

I’m so honored to host such a talented group of makers in this special Thank You tribute to the kind, generous, and skillful ladies that test for me during the year. This is my chance to showcase and feature each of them as artists—not just testers. The parameters of the Gifting Handmade - Maker’s Showcase was for my testers to use any of my fabrics from any of my current Art Gallery Fabrics collections and make whatever they wished and what they thought would make a wonderful gift for friends, family, home, or for keeping for yourself. This event gives you an opportunity to explore new patterns and techniques as well—and is our gift and inspiration to you as our followers.

THE GIFTING HANDMADE PROJECTS

DAY 8

On the 8th day of Gifting Handmade, Lindsey Fuessley of Lindsey Makes on Instagram added to our sewing make-list when she showed off her Emerson Crossbody bag made with the pattern by Blanket Statement.

Lindsey used scraps from my Shine On collection plus AGF Denim and Pure Solids. The woven strap is from Georgia Girl Stitches. This bag looks like it would be perfect for everyday errands and goes with just about any outfit!

This Crossbody bag doesn’t seem nearly as hard when you break it down into these pretty quilted pieces! I know I’ll be making one of these for myself!

It’s the perfect bag for carrying just the basics and when you need your hands free or when traveling. It would even be great for carrying in a larger purse when traveling to have a day trip option when traveling light.

Day 9

On the 9th day of Gifting Handmade, Liza Taylor released her new group of holiday Foundation Piecing Patterns! Liza, of Liza Taylor Handmade is the Queen of FPP and has a fabrics shop, writes patterns, blogs, and has instructional tutorials and definitely a maker to follow!

Four brand new holiday themed FPP patterns include a Gingerbread man, Santa, Mrs. Claus, and a Snowman. They each come in 3 sizes, 5” x 5”, 7” x 7”, and 10” x 10”. Liza turned the four blocks into a lumbar pillow measuring 14” x 40”.

It feels like you’ve stepped into a magical storybook and they’ll certainly have visions of sugar plums in their dreams with this darling pillow! Visit Liza’s Blog for a tutorial for making the pillow, HERE.

The fabrics used to create these blocks are a mix from several of my AGF fabric lines. Shine On, Juniper, Fanciful, and Kismet prints were used to create a pretty winter palette. To purchase the 4 Pattern Bundle, go to Liza’s Shop, HERE.

Day 10

On the 10th day of Gifting Handmade, your hostess, Sharon made a table runner. I know many of you are like me and thoroughly enjoy making and using table runners! This is my free Switchback Trail Table runner pattern made using my new Juniper collection for Art Gallery Fabrics. You can follow me as I post daily to my Instagram account at @shaornhollanddesigns.

Without a doubt, this runner can be made in a weekend! I machine stitched diagonal crosshatch lines and even machine stitched the binding which I rarely do but to save time, I decided not to hand stitch the binding this time. I’ve already gifted this to my Sister in Law for her Thanksgiving table!

This will take her decor from fall to winter and I used the darkest green floral (bottom left) as the backing so the runner has two looks!

Side note, I’m hosting the first Thanksgiving in our new house and the adult table will be set with a variety of antique dishes—I’m kinda obsessed with dishes and things you can use on a daily basis to admire and enjoy while still being practical. Right before this photo shoot I went thrift shopping with my daughter and found that awesome walnut candle stick holder, get this, for $1.00! It was the perfect Switchback Trail candelabra because the arms move on wooden pegs and the candle sticks can be arranged as you’d like.

Day 11

On the eleventh day of Gifting Handmade, Tamara Darragh of Remi Vail Studio charmed us with her Ella Roll-Up Sewing Kit. Tamara is an on-line shop owner and pattern writer for bags and quilts. You can find her on her website as well as on Instagram, HERE.

The Ella Roll-Up Sewing kit measures 13” wide x 10” high when open and 4.25” wide x 10” high rolled up. It’s the perfect kit for stowing your sewing supplies at home or on the go. Oh, and it makes and amazing gift for your friends that also sew!

Tamara’s pattern comes with all sort of finishing options where you can choose between instructions for a basic fat quarter friendly version or a patchwork version, but the options are endless. You could consider using scraps, orphaned quilt blocks, or yardage in your favorite prints or solids. You can also choose between a long tie, elastic, or button closure. Both allow for expansion of the sewing kit as it gets stuffed with all your favorite things.

Fabrics used in Tamara’s three sample include Art Gallery Fabrics quilting cotton from Juniper and Kindred plus a flannel from Kindred and Tiny Dancer in canvas from my Listen to Your Heart collection.

Day 12

On the twelfth day of Gifting Handmade, Leah Bruski of @lapinsta on Instagram, served up this beautiful Double Oven Mitt. Leah combined her love of cooking and sewing when she created this oven mitt pattern.

Get exactly the look you want for your kitchen (or for the person you’re making it for) when you sew your own accessories like this Double Oven Mitt. Leah chose two Juniper quilting cottons and the Painted Prairie Six flannel from my Listen to Your Heart collection.

The Double Oven Mitt that Leah made is of her own design but due to a busy schedule, she could not get the instructions ready in time for the Gifting Handmade Showcase. Because we know you’ll want to be stitching some of these up for gifts or keeping, we’ve found a very similar tutorial from Vanesa Wilson at Crafty Gemini. Watch her YouTube video to make an Easy DIY Double Oven Mitt, HERE.

I love how this double mitt can hang over the oven door handle or be nearby on a hook. You could even use it as a impromptu hot pad on the table!

Day 13

On the thirteenth day of Gifting Handmade, Mary Gove of @thecurlyquilter on Instagram transported us with her Mini Patchwork Duffle made with Knot and Threads pattern. Keep scrolling to see the prettiest lifestyle photos Mary captured of this beautiful bag…

I want to make this bag and book a getaway somewhere just to show off the amazing duffle! Mary opted for a one fabric panel for the body instead of the patchwork and love how it turned out. The Soft + Stable batting really allows for this bag to keep its shape, and she used 2" webbing purchased from Etsy, HERE.

Fabrics used are: Woolen Blanket Rust flannel from my Art Gallery Fabrics Shine On collection for exterior. Bright Star Washed from Spirited for exterior binding and interior lining, and Burgeon Forth from Kismet or interior binding.

If you or anyone on your gift list is planning any travel, this would be the ultimate gift to make and give! Get a one-of-a-kind look (unless you duplicate Mary’s—which I don’t blame you one bit)!

Day 14

On day fourteen and the last day of Gifting Handmade, Victoria Newmyer brought it all home with her picturesque Winter Village Wallhanging. Victoria can be found online as an Art Gallery Fabrics Sewcialite, shop owner of Midlife Quilter, Blogger, and on Instagram @midlife_quilter and FB.

The Winter Village Wallhanging is the newest pattern in Victoria’s shop and is a beautiful way to create some Christmas magic in your decor. Mix and match building patterns which can be purchased individually or as a bundle.

Discount code for readers:  Gifting10 for 10% off an order at Midlife Quilter’s shop through November 17th, midnight EST

The fabrics used in the sample wallhanging are Art Gallery Fabrics Pure Solid Snow for the background and my Juniper prints for the building. Joyce Ulm of Eva Mae’s Custom Quilts did the long arm quilting on Victoria’s wallhanging.

Kits are available through @sewdona_fabrics.

Quilt hanger like the one Victoria uses to display her quilts can be purchased from Quilt Hangers and used to hang quilts of different sizes.

THE GIVEAWAYS

To wrap up the 2023 Gifting Handmade - Maker’s Showcase we have a mega grand finale prize to give away! One lucky winner will be randomly chosen on Friday, November 17th, 2023 around 4 pm Central time and receive an Arrow Dixie Cutting Table!

Eligible to US residents only.

You did, indeed, read that right, an Arrow Dixie Cutting Table is this week’s giveaway prize to one lucky winner!

Dixie is the signature height-adjustable cutting table by Arrow Sewing Furniture highlighted an expansive 49″ x 37″ worksurface! Dixie was designed to be a dynamic, durable and dependable addition to your sewing area, featuring 6 heavy-duty locking casters for stability and easy mobility, dual shelving units to store sewing and crafting accessories. $799.00 retail value.

As an Arrow Creator, I can attest to the high quality of Arrow cabinets and furniture. It’s been a dream come true to sew and create projects on my Kangaroo and Joey cabinets. You can use my SHARON20 promo code and get 20% your order placed on Arrow’s website. You’ll love the extra space when you need it and the ability to compact their furniture down to a small footprint when you’re not working.

Arrow understands what makers want in functional furniture (and comfortable chairs, OMG!) and have a model for everyone’s needs. Visit their website, Instagram page, Blog, and FB page today.

Giveaway now closed

Congratulations, Marianne K!

*Note: This giveaway is open to US addresses only, sorry no international shipping. If you're a "no reply" or anonymous commenter, please remember to include your email address or Instagram or FB username in your comment--you can't win if I can't contact you!

Giveaway comment entries sent in via email as replies from the newsletter email are not counted as entries—please click the link at the top of the newsletter and enter directly on my website on this post.

3 chances to win

1. Simply leave a comment in the Comments section for this post. Counts as entry number (1) one.

2. Leave a new, separate Comment and tell me what’s your most favorite handmade gift(s) was from this Week 2 Recap post. This will count as entry number (2) two. 

3. Be following me (Sharon) on Instagram @sharonhollanddesigns and/or be signed up for my blog post newsletters and also be following our friends at Arrow Sewing on any of their social platforms linked to in the company information above. This separate Comment counts as number (3) three entry when you let me know you’re following in a comment section.

That’s THREE possible entries and up to three chances to win a Dixie Cutting Table from Arrow Sewing! Enter now through Friday, November 17, 2023. I’ll be drawing one lucky winner from the comment pool on this post. The winning comment will be picked at random around 4 pm Central. I’ll post the name of the winner on this post once they've been notified and responded to my email.

Happy sewing!

Gifting Handmade Showcase Week 2

Week 2 of my Crafting Handmade Showcase on Instagram has just wrapped up for this year but you’ll get the full recap exclusively here on my blog! In case you missed last week, every day since the beginning of December, I featured a gift idea made by one of my amazing pattern testers on a post on my instagram account @sharonhollanddesigns. Each project features various fabrics from my collections with Art Gallery Fabrics. You can read the Week 1 Recap blog post from last week if you need to catch up or keep reading for the Week 2 Recap.

Let’s review what happened this week…

GIFTING HANDMADE MAKERS

Day 8

Starting out this week is Joyce Ulm from @evamaecustomquilts with these beautiful Peek A Boo Beauty Bags! You can find the pattern for these bags from More Me Know.

Joyce used fabrics from my Shine On and Listen to Your Heart collections. She also added some amazing texture with that cork detailing on the side!

Joyce is an amazing sewer, and long arm quilter! She constantly comes up with the prettiest fabric combinations and her talent always blows me away. You can find these bags and more on her Etsy shop!

DAY 9

Day 9 of the showcase featured Victoria Newmyer from @midlife_quilter beautiful quilt! This is the Retro Garden Quilt Pattern by Rose Petal Quilt Shop, an intermediate level pattern but don’t let curves intimidate you—they’re much easier than you think. Victoria always has great tutorials and projects to share on her instagram feed and blog, be sure to check them out!

Victoria used three prints to create this stunning top, Delicate Balance Six for the background, and Flueron Six with Bright Star Six for the flowers!

Wouldn’t this make the prettiest quilt to display in your home all year long! Or possibly a pillow made with one of the blocks?! It would make the sweetest gift! 

DAY 10

Day 10 kicks off with Brittany Tunison from @brittanytunison and this incredible tote bag! This pattern is the Mod Fresh Granny Tote from Fancy That Design House. I am constantly amazed with Brittany’s eye for colors and fabric combinations which she brings into her own work as a talented pattern designer! Check out her patterns at White Plains Quilts.

Brittany used fabrics from my Willow and Bookish Collections with Delicate Balance Serenity Fusion as the background.

To attach the leather straps to the tote, Brittany used brushed brass Chicago screws for the perfect finishing touch. Wouldn’t this be the sweetest gift to receive? It would be the gift that just keeps giving all year round!

DAY 11

Are you ready to be wowed?!? Marija Vujcic from @maraquiltdesigns brings us this incredible table runner with 3D flowers for Day 11 of my Gifting Handmade Showcase! Marija is always coming up with the most unique and fun patterns and tutorials. You can find the Flower Basket Table Runner tutorial on her website here, and while you are there be sure to check out the rest of her designs!!

Marija used a mix of fabrics from my Listen to Your Heart collection, as well as some prints from my new Fanciful collection.

These flowers make a great hand sewing project for a night filled with hot chocolate and your favorite Holiday movie. You could add them to any sort of project! 

Isn’t the end result so beautiful?! It really takes the flowers from my print and amplifies them in 3D form! I couldn’t love this more!

DAY 12

Day 12 of the showcase shows off this lovely pillow made by Mary Gove of @thecurlyquilter! Mary took a block from the Lottie Quilt pattern by Penelope Handmade and made it into a pillow. Isn’t that such a good idea?! Be sure to give Mary’s Instagram a follow for some serious quilty inspo! 

Mary used prints from my Bookish, Willow, and Listen to your Heart collections, and Delicate Balance six in flannel as the backing. This palette brings such a feeling of calm and serenity, and would make the perfect addition to any room!

You could gift this pillow to someone special, or make it for yourself to add to your holiday decor. Either way, you can’t go wrong!  Mary said this about her pillow:

“My go-to gift lately has been pillows. It’s such a fun way to add texture and beauty to any space, plus anything that is a quick make and has a big impact, is a win in my book.”

I couldn’t agree more!

DAY 13

I am excited to be back again for Day 13 of the showcase! These Market Bags are incredibly fast to make and I put that to the test when I realized I didn’t have a project to fill in the day’s spot! I got to work and whipped these up in no time. I also now have a video tutorial for making the Market Bag that’ll help you better visualize the folding and sewing! I used my recently updated free PDF Market Bag pattern with improved instructions and new illustrations. You can download a copy from my Free Projects page.

For these bags I used prints from my Listen to Your Heart and Willow collections. I also used sherpa fleece for the handle of the Tiny Dancer print, and leather for the Timeless Ticking Stripe print—the mix of materials add such a festive touch!

These also make great reusable gift bags—it’d be like giving two gifts in one! The roomy bag holds a lot and then folds up small when not in use.

DAY 14

Tracey Taber-Perry from @ttabes80 also made an encore make for week 2 and wowed us all again with these incredible handmade beauty set items on Day 14. Tracey’s gift set collection is perfect for traveling or use in the home and would be an amazing gift.

Tracey used fabrics from my Kismet collection as well as a cotton canvas and flannel from my Listen to Your Heart collection.

The Flat Iron - Curling Iron Travel Case was made using this pattern from Sew 4 Home. Tracey lined it with insul-fleece so you can store your hot iron in it right away! It also has a pocket on the other side to put the cord in and keep it separated from the iron.

The free Curve Top Makeup Bag pattern is from Sew Very Crafty and Tracey said it took her less than an hour to make! They are the perfect size bags for your makeup and toiletries!

The mesh bag above is actually a lingerie bag that Tracey turned into a reusable makeup remover pad bag—clever idea! You can find the free pattern by So Sew Easy HERE. For the reuseable makeup pads, Tracey said she used 3 layers of AGF flannel and serged the edges. Talk about a quick and easy gift! The pattern for those DIY Reusable Cotton Rounds can be found at Hello Sewing—I definitely need to make all of these for myself!

DAY 15

Day 15 and the final day of my Gifting Handmade Showcase. The last inspiring project was made by Leah Bruski from @lapinsta and features my Phoenix Quilt Pattern you can find in my SHOP. Leah is a very gifted quilter and is a constant inspiration to our group!

Leah used fabrics from my Listen to Your Heart and Fanciful collections. I think they make such a great holiday palette but also a palette that works all year round!

The Phoenix quilt pattern is for an over-sized throw quilt but I also love these blocks for stand alone projects like pillows or bags!

Leah did an amazing job with this quilt, and I am so blown away by her fabric and color placement! I can’t wait to see how she decides to quilt this! 

Big Thanks to My Tester Group!

I hope you enjoyed the last two weeks of my Gifting Handmade Showcase and seeing each makers projects! I’ve loved seeing all the wonderful handmade gifts my testers came up with and anticipate all the joy these items will bring to the recipients this holiday season!

Gifting Handmade Week 2 Giveaway

With all those projects to inspire and Christmas just around the corner there needs to be a fabric bundle giveaway, right??!! I think so too! So, just like last week, one lucky winner will get a bundle of my fabrics I’ve curated.

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED

Congratulations to Jeifner!

I’ve pulled together the 12 quilting cotton prints from my new AGF Fanciful blender collection and added 6 coordinating hero prints from some of your favorite Sharon Holland collections to make an 18-piece fat quarter bundle.

That’s 4-1/2 yards total of fabric to dream and create with!

The giveaway is exclusive to this blog post, so make sure to read below for how to enter by commenting on the blog post (replying to the newsletter email does not enter you into the giveaway). Also, please note this giveaway is eligible to US address only—no international shipping, sorry.

Giveaway Now Closed

Congratulations to Jeifner!

*Note: This giveaway is open to US addresses only, sorry no international shipping. 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 contact you!

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

2. Leave a comment and let me know what’s been your favorite project or projects so for in the Gifting Handmade Showcase. (This comment counts as entry number (2) two). 

3. Be following me (Sharon) on Instagram @sharonhollanddesigns and/or be signed up for my blog post newsletters (counts as number (3) three entry) when you let me know in a comment.

That’s THREE possible entries and up to three chances to win! Enter now through Monday, December 19, 2022. I’ll be drawing one lucky winner from the comment pool from this post. The winning comment will be picked at random around 4 pm Eastern. I’ll post the name of the winner on this post once they've been notified and responded to my email.

Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season and happiest of New Years!

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.

Gifting Handmade Showcase Week 1

December 1st marked the start of my Gifting Handmade Showcase where everyday, for two weeks I’m sharing a new project from one of my talented testers and featuring them on my Instagram feed @sharonhollanddesigns. Each project is made using fabrics from my various fabric collections I’ve designed for Art Gallery Fabrics. We’ve had seven days of the showcase so far, with more to come next week! See the recap of this week’s makers below with links to all the projects.

Gifting Handmade Makers

Day 1

Starting off the event was Lindsey Fuessley from @lindseymakes. Lindsey shared this beautiful quilted garland and ornaments project, which you can find on her blog Lindsey Makes—be sure to check out her quilt patterns while you’re there!

Lindsey used fabrics from several of my collections, Kismet, Bookish, Willow, Fanciful, and Listen to your Heart.

Quilted Garland & Ornament photos courtesy of Lindsey Makes

I love the addition of the dried oranges and pinecones on her garland to create a cozy, farmhouse feel. Lindsey’s tutorial is easy to follow and great for anyone wanting to add some handmade holiday decor to their home—you can even get the kids involved with this project!

Day 2

Next up was Christine Trotta from @sile.wares. Christine has such a talent for putting together curated items to create a very cohesive home. She used the newly recolored India Ink Six from my Listen to Your Heart collection for the decorative tray and Fanciful Pearl from my new Fanciful blender collection for the napkins.

Christine created two projects for the showcase, first was this no-sew fabric tray tutorial which can be found here at All Things Target. After adhering the fabric to the tray, Christine sealed the fabric so the tray can easily be wiped down for clean up - perfect for the holidays!

Fabric Covered Tray and Cloth Napkin photos courtesy of Christine Trotta

Next, Christine shared these classic cloth napkins. You can find the tutorial for Mitered-Corner Napkins right here on my blog’s Tutorial Page. Wouldn’t these make the best gifts for your favorite hostess?!

If you enjoyed Christine’s projects then be sure to watch her social feeds and blog for the launch of her new shop!

DAY 3

Day 3 of the showcase featured this free “Ho Ho Ho” mini quilt pattern from Liza Taylor of @lizataylorhandmade.

Liza used 6 fabrics from my new Fanciful collection: Shell, Peach, Amber, Mauve, Celeste, and Spruce. The star is a Pure Solid from Art Gallery Fabrics called Quartz Pink.

Liza uses non-traditional Christmas colors to create this fun and whimsical holiday wall hanging. It would also be so fun in the traditional green and red colors! You can find the free pattern from Liza’s website, when you sign up for her newsletters.

Be sure to check out Liza’s fabric shop Liza Taylor Handmade and her other quilt patterns!

Ho Ho Ho Mini Quilt photos courtesy of Liza Taylor Handmade

DAY 4

Day 4 brought THREE amazing projects from Tracey Taber-Perry @ttabes80! Tracey has the best eye for color combinations and always creates the most beautiful palettes for her projects.

Tracey used an assortment of fabrics from my Listen to Your Heart, Shine On, and Bookish collections. She also included an AGF Decostitch as the background for her runner. The finished products are just phenomenal!  

See what I mean?! These would be amazing to have on display for the holiday season as well as all year-round. The Desert Stars Table Runner is a pattern from Atkinson Design and sold at sewthankful.com.

The hot pads and apron would make the best gifts for the baker in your family. Who wouldn’t love to receive these! The free Patchwork Potholder sewing pattern can be found at sewcanshe.com

Kitchen set trio of Gifting Handmade projects courtesy of Tracey Taber-Perry

The beautiful apron is made from the Free Color Block Apron Tutorial by Suzy Quilts. Doesn’t my Picking Wildflowers print from my AGF Shine On collection look so pretty and fresh on this apron?

DAY 5

Next up was Terri Neil from @quiltingrubies. Terri made this stunning and incredibly soft plaid baby quilt (it is backed with the coziest AGF Flannel)! She used fabrics from my Listen to Your Heart collection for the quilt top which give such a fun holiday feel.

Terri pulled out all the stops for this baby quilt, including that beautiful hand stitched binding. Who wouldn’t love to receive this cuddly quilt?!

Buffalo Check baby quilt photos courtesy of Terri Neil

The free Buffalo Check Quilt pattern comes in several sizes and can be found at My Favorite Quilt Store.

If you’re looking for a longarm quilting service look no further than Terri! Her business name is Quilting Rubies and she’s an extremely talented longarm quilter—I know because I’ve sent her quilts to finish for me!

DAY 6

Day 6 of the showcase featured Elaine Satterfield from @createjoyquilt and her beautiful journal covers! How pretty are these! Elaine is so incredibly talented, and always adds the most amazing details to all of her projects.

Quilted Journal Cover photos courtesy of Elaine Satterfield

These Quilted Journal Covers use fabrics from my Bookish and Fanciful collections for Art Gallery Fabrics. The free pattern and tutorial is by Maureen Cracknell and can be found on the Janome blog.

This is a great project to use up scraps, and Elaine even used an orphan block of a Criss-cross Star for one of the journal covers. They would make the perfect gift for the reader or artist in your life!

For these and other beautifully made quilts and accessories, visit Elaine’s Create Joy Quilt Co shop on Etsy.

DAY 7

Hi, it’s me Sharon Holland and I’m excited to be the maker for Day 7 of my Gifting Handmade Showcase! I shared three different projects that can be gifted together or separately and you can always see more views of my projects on my Instagram account @sharonhollanddesigns.

True confession here, I’d promised my daughter I’d do some sewing for her to help fill out her craft market booth and since she specializes in baked goods, I thought kitchen gift items would coordinate well with her breads and goodies. So… oven mitts were a must and since I could not find a pattern I liked already available online I ended up drafting and writing my own and hence, the new pattern in my SHOP! The Oven Mitt pattern is fat quarter friendly, and the material list will make two mitts.

I used prints from my Art Gallery Fabrics Willow, Listen to Your Heart, Shine On, Kismet, and Fanciful collections plus flannels from Willow, Shine On, and Kismet

The reason I used so many prints is because of sewing for the market and I made four mix and match kitchen sets with the three different kitchen items of mitts, un-sponges, and hot pads—keep reading.

I found the tutorial for the sponges on Better Homes and Gardens. What I love about their Reusable Kitchen Sponge tutorial is that these sponges can be used over and over again and add such a beautiful element to any kitchen! I used AGF Flannel for both sides and repurposed a polyester lace curtain I was not using anymore for the scrubbing side. Another great thing is, just pop them in the washer and dryer and with the polyester fleece (sew-in) fill, AGF flannel, and polyester lace they have no shrinkage and come out looking like new!

And, for the last coordinating kitchen accessory I made a hot pad. I found the perfect Folded Fabric Hot Pad tutorial from Miss Abigail's Hope Chest. I followed the instructions almost to the letter in size and quilting cotton folded front but made one change in using coordinating AGF flannel for the back of the hot pad and an extra layer of flannel under the folded front. I also machine quilted a simple square in the center rather than a button.

Wouldn’t these make the best gifts for any chef or homemaker in your life?! They are so fun to mix and match prints and textures! I held some sets back and have already gifted them!

The photo above is kitchen sets with labels for my daughter’s craft show and a look at the mix and matching of my fabric collections and quilting cotton and flannel.

And that wraps up week 1 of the Gifting Handmade Showcase! I hope you check out all the makers and their websites and social media—they’re definitely ones to follow! Next week will be another blog post plus giveaway where I’ll be recapping Week 2 and seven more makers and their projects!

Gifting Handmade Week 1 Giveaway

Win This 16-Piece Fat Quarter Bundle

Now that you’ve seen some of my fabric collections in the first week of the Gathering Handmade projects I thought you might like to get your hands on some of the same fabrics and start making projects of your own!

I’ve pulled together the 12 quilting cotton prints from my AGF Listen to Your Heart collection and added 4 new coordinating Fanciful blenders to make a 16-piece fat quarter bundle. That’s 4 yards total of fabric to dream and create with!

The giveaway is exclusive to this blog post, so make sure to read below for how to enter. I’m really sorry that I’ll be limiting this giveaway to US address only—shipping is a nightmare as it is with out adding international in the mix.

Giveaway now closed

Congratulations to Tracey Roberts!

*Note: This giveaway is open to US addresses only, sorry no international shipping. 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 contact you!

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

2. Leave a comment and let me know what’s been your favorite project or projects so for in the Gifting Handmade Showcase. (This comment counts as entry number (2) two). 

3. Be following me (Sharon) on Instagram @sharonhollanddesigns or be signed up for my blog post newsletters (counts as number (3) three entry) when you let me know in a comment.

That’s THREE possible entries and up to three chances to win! Enter now through Monday, December 12, 2022. I’ll be drawing one lucky winner from the comment pool from this post. The winning comment will be picked at random around 4 pm Eastern. I’ll post the name of the winner on this post once they've been notified and responded to my email.

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 Quilt Along Grand Finale Giveaway

Sweet Home Quilt Along Grand Finale Giveaway

This is our grand finale giveaway for the Sweet Home Quilt Along. Your QAL hosts, Maureen Cracknell , Jennifer Jones, and myself have coordinated special giveaway prizes with our amazing participating sponsors for each week during the event and a big finish deserves a big prize! A winner will be randomly selected from the growing Instagram hashtag pool Monday, October 19th around 4 pm Eastern with the winner announced on the giveaway post on Instagram.

Just Getting Started Sewing?

If you’re just finding out about the quilt along you can still work on your own and take advantage of the quilt along tutorials. Take a look at the Week 6 review post which contains all the links from the beginning.

Recent #SweetHomeQAL posts in the Instagram hashtag pool

Is your Instagram post featured in this #SweetHomeQAL hashtag pool snapshot for this week???

We’re using Instagram as a Sweet Home QAL community share spot where we can follow along and comment on each others quilt progress and share beautiful photos of our work.

Every time you share a post to your public instagram account and use the official #SweetHomeQAL hashtag in your post caption your post is automatically entered into the giveaway hashtag pool! That’s right—it’s as easy as that—just do what you’d do anyway! So, to up your chances, post a lot of of progress shots of your fabric pull, cut pieces, blocks, sashing, assembly, tops, and ultimately, finished quilts.

You may notice I keep saying you need a public Instagram account to be entered into the giveaway drawings. That’s because if you have your IG account set as a private account, Instagram does not add any hashtags to hashtag pools from private accounts—it’s just the way they roll. So, you may want to go into your IG settings and turn your account to public for the QAL or if not, and I totally get the need for privacy in this strange world we live in, just know that you won’t be eligible for the giveaways.

After this week, there’ll no longer be giveaways but please, keep adding your progress and finish quilt photos to the hashtag pool as our growing community would love to see your finished work.

SWEET HOME QAL SPONSORS

TODAY'S FEATURED SWEET HOME QAL SPONSOR IS Lady Belle Fabric!

Lady Belle Fabric is run by husband and wife team, Rob and Brooke. In their shop you'll find kits, both bundles and single cuts of hand-picked fabrics that are fresh, modern, and fun! Designer fabrics include many of our favorites -- Art Gallery Fabrics, Cotton + Steel, Figo, Robert Kaufman, Moda, and more! Lady Belle Fabrics goal is to offer the most gorgeous fabric as quickly as they can. Visit them today for an online, one-stop shop for all your fabric and edge to edge quilting needs! 

Right now, all Sweet Home quilts sent to Lady Belle Fabric by December 31, 2020 will get 15% off their long arm order!
   
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Our grand finale prize is an amazing package from Lady Belle Fabric in which the randomly drawn winner will receive free long arm quilting, batting, and return shipping for their Sweet Home quilt! Incredible, right!!??

I’ve gotten several quilts edge to edge stitched by Brooke and she’s really the best! She works with you to pick out the right quilting pattern for your quilt, advices on thread color, and does the most professional job! But, rather than me just tell you about it, let me show you her work from quilts done this year.

Above is the original Sweet Home quilt in the Daisy Chain pattern. My second Sweet Home quilt (in blue) was also quilting by Brooke.

Prairie Flower by Sharon Holland

The exquisite Abstract Rose pattern was used on my Prairie Flower quilt.

We went all out on my Vista quilt and selected the all-over Feathered Spiral design to fill the large open spaces on this quilt. I think it looks like tooled leather and so perfect for this quilt.

Trapeze quilt by Sharon Holland

Here’s a sneak peak at Trapeze, a new quilt release for next week that’s also quilted by Lady Belle Fabric. I mixed things up a bit and had Brooke quilt this quilt with a design called Triangle Loops and am so happy with it—I can’t wait to show it off.

These are just a few examples but you will want to check out all the beautiful quilting designs Brooke has to select from yourself, HERE.

Sweet Home quilts by Sharon Holland

Don’t forget to share your Sweet Home quilt makes with your fellow quilt along makers over on Instagram and you’ll automatically be entered into this week’s drawing if you have a public IG account. One winner will be drawn from the growing hashtag pool on Monday, October 19th around 4 pm Eastern and the winner will be tagged and notified on Instagram on the original giveaway post.

I want to thank everyone who joined in on our quilt along and made a Sweet Home quilt. I’m so honored you selected my pattern to put all your love and time into and wish you years of good health and snuggles under those colorful roofs.

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.