Heart Quilt Sew Along - Week 3

Heart Quilt Sew Along - Week 3

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

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

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

Quilting

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

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

Quilting diagram

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

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

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

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

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

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

Photo and Heart quilt by Maureen Cracknell

Bonus Project

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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

Spirited Look Book - The Sundries

Spirited Look Book - The Sundries

Today’s post is Part 3 of a closer look at the projects I made for the Spirited Look Book by Art Gallery Fabrics.

Spirited is my newest fabric collection for Art Gallery Fabrics and with every new collection, AGF publishes a virtual magazine showing you beautiful ways to sew with the fabrics. I contributed a lot of sewing projects to the Spirited Look Book and my three part blog series gives you more images and project information beyond the virtual pages. I’ve split up my blog post coverage into categories: Week 1 was all about The Quilts. Week 2 was about The Garments and this week, The Sundries (or everything else).

Spirited by Sharon Holland

Spirited quilting cottons, knits, and rayons are shipping to quilt shops everywhere. I’ve started a stock lists of online shops for this collection on my FABRICS page and will continue to add links as more shops get their listings up. If your local quilt shop hasn’t ordered it yet, let them know you’d like to sew with these prints and feel the AGF difference for yourself at your favorite shop.

The Sundries

Chenille and Diamond Fleck pillows by Sharon Holland

On November 21, I blogged about these fun Chenille Pillows. I love them so much and would like to make more pillows on this order maybe using the Embellished Threads and Horizon Mirage prints from the collection. The possibilities are endless with how you can use chenille to jazz up fabrics.

Read further on how to make the Chenille Pillow project HERE.

The Diamond Fleck pillow is an adaptation of the Diamond Fleck table runner (free) project by Art Gallery Fabrics. I followed the piecing directions from the pattern but scaled down the size of the blocks to better fit the size of my pillow form.

Simple straight-line quilting on the batting-backed patchwork pillow top adds some visual and tactile texture. I used my Hidden Zipper tutorial for a professional pillow finish that can be easily removed for laundering.

Spirited collection by Sharon Holland

Any of the prints in this collection would be amazing in a pillow to spice up your home. I love that Art Gallery Fabrics has 99 Pure Solids to select from and that so many of them coordinate beautifully with this collection.

Burda Style Softie Horse

Long time ago, when my kids were little I used to sew quite a bit and make stuffed animals and dolls for them to play with. I was thrilled to find this Burda Style softie horse pattern and make a horsey for my granddaughter. I’ll have an Amazon affiliate link for the pattern at the end of this post.

I used the Embellished Threads Deep print from Spirited for the body and accents of Bright Star Washed and AGF Smooth Denim in Nectarine Sunrise. This was a super-fun sewing project and will delight any horse lover young or old.

I really stretched my sewing muscles this collection with a wide variety of makes. Another rewarding project is the Weekender Bag by Delia Creates. This is a free pattern that I modified to have a patchwork exterior. Again, I followed the instructions to the letter but instead of making the exterior panels from a solid cut of fabric, I improv-pieced to get the material up to size. Before assembly I cross hatch machine quilted the pieced panels for extra awesomeness and to make the fabric thicker because I used quilting cotton rather than home decor canvas.

Weekender Bag pattern by Delia Creates

I used leather for the handles and I’ll put my Amazon (affiliate) link for what I bought at the end of this post along with the source for the lovely by-the-yard zippers.

The tutorial by Delia Creates included two interior pocket options. I like them both so I added two pockets: One large patch pocket and a large zipper pocket for the stuff you don’t want loose in the roomy bag.

This bag is the perfect carry-on size. My daughter is now the proud owner of it so I will need to make another one for myself!

Drawstring Bag pattern by Made Everyday

The drawstring bags weren’t a project in the Spirited Look Book but rather something I’ve sewn afterwards. I wanted something large enough to hold Christmas gifts that would be more practical than gift wrap and love how fabrics from my past collections coordinate with my new Spirited line. The top left, white and green print along with the bottom left green print are both from my Signature collection and really play well with Spirited!

The free tutorial for these bags comes from Dana Willard of Made Everyday. Dana has a fun video to walk you through the steps to make these useful bags. These drawstring bags would be a great addition to a Weekender Bag to pack sundries and laundry!

Handy Baskets by Sharon Holland

You remember the free Handy Baskets pattern I released prior to the Look Book? If you missed that post, read more about it HERE. I’ve made an update to the original PDF download as I had omitted an important cutting step. If you re-download the PDF it has been amended or you can jot down the cutting information addition to a PDF you’ve already printed out. The addition is highlighted in bold print below:

PREP

From the cork:

Cut three 18'' x 8-½'' (directional) strips for lining then cut into three 8-½'' x 16'' strips (for three baskets).

Using cork as the lining gives these baskets a sturdy shape that wipes up easily. The construction of these bags makes them fully reversible, as well!

Apple Season Coasters by Sharon Holland

One of my most popular free projects has been these Apple Season Coasters. I couldn’t resist remaking them for the Spirited Look Book because the prints and colors of this collection are so yummy and perfect for the holidays. Stitching up a set of coasters as a hostess or teacher gift is a quick project for you gift giving list.

Spirited table scape by Sharon Holland

Christmas and get togethers are just around the corner. I’m basically ready but this weekend will be full-on baking and house cleaning. I’ll leave you with just a few pretty pictures of my house and decorations.

I don’t go all out and in fact this is the first time in I think 7 years that I pulled out the tree to decorate. I do more of a winter garden theme and do love the extra light and joy it brings to the house on the shortest daylight hours of the year.

Wishing you all the best for 2020!

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. Thank you!

Chenille Pillows

Chenille Pillows

Chenille pillows by Sharon Holland

It’s been a pretty intense couple of weeks here as I’ve been sewing and photographing for the Spirited Look Book coming out December 2, 2019. The Art Gallery Fabrics Look Books are a virtual magazine of inspiring projects made with fabrics from the newest collections. I’ve got about one more day to wrap everything up and take a little breather so this seemed like a good time to share my Chenille Pillow project with you before Thanksgiving week rolls around. Who knows, you may be looking for a quick decorating project to spruce things up before the holidays.

This is one of those projects that looks super high-end and difficult but is SO easy! I guarantee once you add chenille to a project you’ll want to chenille everything—the texture it adds is amazing and the application is as simple as doing a straight stitch on your sewing machine.

Here’s How to Make Chenille Pillows

Gather your supplies to make two pillows:

• 5/8 yard SPT-85229 Trail Marker Range print fabric from Art Gallery Fabrics Spirited

• 5/8 yard DEN-L-4000 Soft Sand Linen blend from Art Gallery Fabrics

• Two rolls 3/8’’ -wide Chenille-It in Natural

• Off-white thread (to match chenille)

• Two 22’’ squares of cotton batting

• Two 16” invisible zippers to coordinate with print or linen

• Two 18’’ pillow forms (I used feather pillow inserts)

• Spray baste

Chenille-It Blooming Bias

When I designed my Trail Marker print for Spirited I envisioned embellishing this print with embroidery or some sort of extra details to enhance the geometric-global design.

First I experimented with embroidery but wasn’t in love with the results and it was very time consuming. Then I tried needle punch embroidery but because of the tight weave of Art Gallery Fabrics cotton it was a big fail. I really wanted to see my vision come to life and remembered the wonderful Chenille-It product I used when sewing for my Signature collection Look Book. See the pillow tutorial made with Signature fabric and Chenille-It HERE.

Chenille-It is a blooming bias tape that gave me EXACTLY the look I wanted and is incredibly fast and easy to apply.

Chenille the Pillow Tops

• Cut two 21’’ squares from the printed fabric. These will become the fronts for two pillows. Layer in this order: 22’’ square batting and 21’’ print square right side up. Spray baste according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

• Working in one diagonal direction at a time and starting near the center of the layered fabric, apply the chenille by stitching down the center of the blooming bias tape, sewing through both fabric and batting layers. There’s no need to pin the bias tape down, I just eye-balled the diagonal line as I sewed. Trim bias to edge of fabric then start a new row parallel to the first.

• Continue adding parallel bias strips that run in the same diagonal direction.

• Repeat to attach blooming bias to the diagonal lines running in the opposite direction by crossing the tape right over the previously applied diagonal lines.

• Once all the chenille bias tape has been sewn to the foundation, follow the instructions on the package to “bloom” the chenille. I lightly wet the stitched pillow top under the faucet to get it damp-wet and vigorously rubbed the chenille with my hand to fluff it before tossing into the dryer with some damp towels to bloom and fluff further by tumbling. In the photo above, the pillow top on the right has been fluffed lightly. I ended up fluffing it more when I bloomed the second top on the right that hadn’t been bloomed yet.

• Carefully press the dried, bloomed pillow tops. Trim and square to 19’’.

Assemble Pillows

• Cut two 19’’ linen squares for the pillow backs.

• Referring to my Hidden Zipper tutorial, to finish the pillows using the 19’’ linen squares and 16’’ invisible zippers. Again, a hidden zipper sounds super intimidating but you’ll be amazed how easy this technique is and your pillows will have a professional, high-end look when finished.

Chenille pillows by Sharon Holland

Be watching for the Spirited Look Book coming the first week of December and find more inspirational sewing projects for your home and family.

Have a happy Thanksgiving!

Spirited fabrics by Sharon Holland

Everlasting Blog Tour - Week 3 Recap + Giveaway

Everlasting Blog Tour - Week 3 Recap + Giveaway

I wish this blog tour was really everlasting because I’ve loved seeing all the magnificent sewing projects by the blog tour makers! Hasn’t it been incredible!!???!!!

Art Gallery Fabrics released my Everlasting fabric in May and the classic palette of navy, red, turquoise, and blush has stolen my heart in this collection created about love, marriage, and family.

I invited the industries finest to make beautiful things with Everlasting fabrics and blog about their projects. The results have been astonishing and over the past three weeks each day has felt like Christmas morning. I want to give a huge round of applause and my sincerest thanks and gratitude to the following fabulous ladies:

EVERLASTING BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE

Friday, July 12 - Sharon Holland

Monday, July 15 - Marija Vujcic

Tuesday, July 16 - Carolina Moore

Wednesday, July 17 - Dana Willard

Thursday, July 18 - Lisa Ruble

Friday, July 19 - Dritz Sewing

Monday, July 22 - Eleri Kerian

Tuesday, July 23 - Marisa Wilhelmi

Wednesday, July 24 - Sharon McConnell

Thursday, July 25 - Modernly Morgan

Friday, July 26 - Alexis Wright

Monday, July 29 - Priscilla Geissler

Tuesday, July 30 - Maureen Cracknell

Wednesday, July 31 - Elina Temmes

Take a look at the Everlasting Blog Tour Week 1 Recap, here and the Everlasting Blog Tour Week 2 Recap, here. To find this collection online, find shop stock lists on my FABRICS page.

Week 3 Recap

Day 11 began our week with Priscilla Geissler of Cotton Stitch Collective. Priscilla doesn’t have a blog but can be found on Instagram and on Etsy. Her ability to transform fabric into useful and beautiful objects is a true talent. I’m still swooning over her Melinda Handbag she made in the Everlasting Bouquet Muse print and cork. The bag pattern is by Sotak Handmade and with left over fabric, Priscilla made a Slimline Wallet by @cpeicheff. Priscillas craft(woman)ship is outstanding—find out more about her work on Instagram and Etsy!

Everlasting projects by Cotton Stitch Collective

Day 12 belonged to my good friend and Art Gallery Fabrics designer-sister, Maureen Cracknell. You know how much I love Maureen and adore her Quilt As You Go, scrappy style of patchwork. Maureen has an amazing eye for mixing prints and getting the perfect boho-chic look. Maureen used all the prints from my Everlasting collection and lined the bag with AGF canvas from her Sun Kissed collection—I love how our collections play so nicely together!

Everlasting Project by Maureen Cracknell

Day 13 and the final day of the Everlasting Blog Tour stopped at Elina Temmes from Finland. Elina can be found on Instagram and she’s a prolific and masterful sewist. When I say prolific, I mean it! Elina made three quilts (all hand quilted) and three pillows for this tour and each one of them are a masterpiece. My four-image recap collage could not possibly show you all the incredible photos of her projects so go to her IG account and see everything for yourself—you’ll be blown away!!!

Everlasting projects by Elina Temmes

Have you been inspired to sew with Everlasting fabrics? —I sure have been!! Between this stunning display of creative projects from the blog tour and the Art Gallery Fabrics Everlasting Look Book you could be sewing with Everlasting fabrics for years just to make everything found in these resources!

Now it’s your turn to make something with my Art Gallery Fabrics Everlasting prints and when you do, be sure to tag me @sharonhollanddesigns on Instagram and use the hashtag #agfeverlasting —so I don’t miss your post.

Week 3 Giveaway

This week’s giveaway and final prize for following along on the tour is a chance to win a 10-piece fat quarter bundle of Everlasting prints from our sponsor the Fat Quarter Shop!

Everlasting fabrics photo courtesy of Fat Quarter Shop

THIS WEEK'S GIVEAWAY SPONSOR IS: THE FAT QUARTER SHOP

The Fat Quarter Shop was founded in 2003 by Kimberly Jolly. An avid quilter, Kimberly began her shop as a side business while still working a corporate position, cutting, packing and shipping right out of her house during evenings and weekends. From the very beginning, she was committed to delivering top-notch service for every single order and customer. As the Fat Quarter Shop's reputation grew, Kimberly decided to make it a full-time operation. Her husband Kevin joined her not long after, and with his help, lots of hard work, and a tireless commitment, the store began to grow. Over the past few years a few more people have joined the staff! As a team, they continue to branch out with the best fabrics, exclusive kits, quilt clubs, BOMs, and more. And they will always be driven by the passion that Kimberly founded the store upon, which is always giving you the best products and service!

SHOP  *  PINTEREST  *  TWITTER  *  BLOG  *  FACEBOOK  *  YOUTUBE 

Giveaway now closed. Congratulations to Sarah Suter!

* 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! (First comment entry).

2. Follow Fat Quarter Shop on at least one of their social platforms -see links above. Just let me know that you did by making a separate comment here to record that entry. (Separate comment - second entry). 

3. My followers get a third entry! If you follow via subscribing to my posts, through Bloglovin (or other service), or on Instagram, just let me know by making a separate comment here to record that entry. (Separate comment - third entry). Note: I'm no longer on Facebook.

4. 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 the Everlasting Blog Tour on YOUR instagram, facebook, tweet, pin, blog post, etc... (separate comment - fourth entry). 

That’s four possible entries! Enter now through Monday, August 5. The winner will be picked at random around 4 pm Eastern. I’ll post the name of the winner on this blog post once they've been notified and responded to my email.

Don’t forget you have a second chance to win this same prize by reposting any of the the Everlasting Blog Tour makers projects on Instagram. Simply tag the project’s maker with their IG account, #ArtGalleryFabrics, and use the #EverlastingBlogTour hashtag on a public Instagram account and you’ll automatically be entered into the IG giveaway drawing for this tour! Enter as many times as you’d like by reposting blog tour images—just be sure to give tour makers proper credit and tag them in your repost.

Happy sewing,

Sharon