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.

Spirited is Here!

Spirited is Here!

Spirited by Sharon Holland

It’s not going to be easy, but I’ll step away from my sewing machine for a bit to put together this post. As you can guess, I’ve been sewing with my new Spirited fabrics for Art Gallery Fabrics and I’m stitching a bunch of pretty quilts and projects for the Spirited Look Book coming the beginning of December.

Spirited quilting cotton by Sharon Holland for Art Gallery Fabrics

My rolls of fabric arrived at my house on November 2nd and before I dug into cutting and sewing, I took a moment to snap some photos of the fabrics. As I write this blog post, quilt shops are getting their shipments of Spirited fabrics. I’ve started a stock list of online shops on my FABRICS page which is certainly not done being filled and I’ll update it weekly. Most shops listed have links but some shops that I know are carrying the line just don’t have the pages up yet.

Spirited - Prairie Moon color way

Available now in your local quilt shops and favorite online shops, Spirited comes tinted in autumnal shades of clay, maize, lavender, turquoise and denim pay tribute to the summer’s last blooms and nature’s majesty. Spirited is a collection with an attitude as big and bold as the Midwest prairie.

Spirited - Prairie Sun color way

Over the next few weeks I’ll post some new, free projects made in my new Spirited collection for Art Gallery Fabrics. I can’t wait to share these projects as they’re perfect for your home and would make wonderful gifts for the upcoming holidays.

Free Range by Sharon Holland

With every new fabric collection comes a new free quilt pattern. Free Range is a baby quilt size made for Spirited prints with it’s scrappy, global-look and perfect as a gender-neutral gift for baby. Download the pattern HERE.

Sneak Peeks

Here’s a peek into some upcoming Spirited projects…

Peppermint Twist baby quilt

One of my best selling patterns is Peppermint Twist which comes in a large throw-size and a table runner. I made a Spirited version of my holiday classic and decided to stitch fewer blocks to make a baby quilt size. I’m in love with this quilt and am hand quilting it for that extra special touch. The full reveal will be in the upcoming Look Book.

Prairie Blossom quilt by Sharon Holland

Around the last week of November I’ll have a brand new quilt design in my shop called, Prairie Blossom. I can’t wait to show it to you and am hoping the weather holds out enough for me to get some good outdoor shots of the finished quilt.

Apple Season Coasters by Sharon Holland

One of my favorite and fast projects are making these Apple Season Coasters from my free pattern HERE. The delicious autumn colors of my Spirited collection are perfect for this project. These make wonderful hostess and teacher gifts. Whip up a few of these to have on hand (and to use)!

So, that’s all I can show you for now, it’s just a drop in the bucket to what I’ve been working on. I can’t wait to see it all come together in the virtual pages of the Spirited Look Book next month. Besides myself, the AGF Studio and other talented designers are creating sewing inspiration and stunning projects I know you’ll love!

I am an Amazon Associate site and earn from qualifying purchases on the products I’ve linked below. I’ve bought and used these products to make the projects in this blog post and recommend to you.

Signature Bedroom

Signature Bedroom

Today I'll be taking a closer look at the Signature fabrics Soho bedroom I put together for a photo shoot to show off my new Signature fabric collection for Art Gallery Fabrics. This room was another mock-room setting I put together in my studio and I had so much fun sewing and decorating for this scene. See the Signature Baby Room posts Part 1 and Part 2.

For this mock-room to make sense, it had to tell a story. I wanted something fun and flirty, just like the fabric collection so I came up with the idea to create a Soho loft bedroom from a 20-something girl who loves sewing, flowers, vintage finds, and a little bit of bling. 

I didn't want a fussy bed frame so I put the mattress and box spring directly onto the rug-layered floor and stood two same-size, narrow boxes on end. You can't see the boxes because they're covered with a wood boards that made a temporary bench of sorts that I could use as my headboard/shelf. This created the perfect look for my bed and kept everything low and modern. 

The quilt on the bed is called Tracery Rose and is an adaptation of the Tracery quilt pattern from my Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living book (Landauer 2017). I wanted layers of fabrics with texture and vintage charm as well as doable DIY projects that my creative girl would want to make for her room. 

Find a tutorial for the fun Fabric Fringe Wallhanging on one of my earlier posts as well as instructions for the Improv Boho Pillow tutorial. These are both great projects to get the kids involved in sewing something for their room.

Crafty touches include vintage pompoms, my grandmother's Singer sewing machine on the desk, knitting yarn in the Bucket Bag tote (another free pattern on this site), Art Roll Up caddy for knitting needles or other art supplies (see Free Patterns page), thrifting treasures of vintage jewelry and furniture, and of course florals to bring the garden inside.

Pile on the layers and let the photo tell a story! I can just image my younger self busy working on crafts in my room and rearranging and decorating my space with pretty things.

This photo of the basket with yarn and fabric is one of my favorite shots because of all the yummy textures, layers, and colors. I had the last minute idea to throw a piece of faux fur on the chair seat and that added a bit of glam to the look plus more texture and interest!

This petite desk's was something I picked up at a garage sale almost 20 years ago! I painted it gold after I bought it and it's normal spot is as a nightstand by my bed. Because I wanted to bring in different metal elements into my Soho bedroom like gold, copper, and silver I thought it would make the cutest sewing table for this scene. The sewing machine was my grandmother's and it still works like a dream. I have it as a backup machine and don't sew with it much but it's comforting to know it's here with me when I need it. 

The chair is another garage sale find and it has a big hole in the caned seat. I've hidden the hole with a piece of faux fur to repeat the look on the other side of the room. 

Although I am obsessed with so many of my sewing makes for the two mock-up rooms, the project that's gotten the most wear is my Signature Extempore Rayon kimono. This garment was an easy make for a non-garment sewer like me and AGF rayon is the perfect fabric for a flowie cover up like this. I used Simplicity pattern 1108 and chose the cropped cut because I'm only 5'2'' and it's a good proportion for my frame. 

I hope you enjoyed this look into some of the photos that went into the Signature Look Book and my styled photo shoot. Are you getting lots of inspiration? What would you sew with these prints--quilts, clothes, or something else?

Signature Baby Room Part 2

Signature Baby Room Part 2

Sometimes my life gets moving so fast, I'm onto the next project like a machine, forgetting to slow down, enjoy, and post about all my accomplishments. My new Signature fabric collection has been such a joy and with each project comes little surprises and great photo ops that I've taken lots of beautiful photos. I thought I'd spend more time with each of these makes and post some additional stories about what I sewed in June for the Art Gallery Fabrics Signature Look Book. I hope you'll enjoy these between the projects posts.

It was so much fun to put together a baby room of Signature fabric projects! Signature is my newest fabric collection for Art Gallery Fabrics and came out this May. Ask your local shop for this line or shop the many online stores that carry it. See my Fabrics page for online stock lists. 

Last week in Part 1, I showed you behind the Look Book projects in a bit more depth and links to the tutorials for the pretty projects. I'll wrap up this week with Part 2 plus a fun stuffed turtle make I stitched up last week as a gift for my granddaughter. 

Possibly to two easiest projects stitched for my Signature Baby Room were the crib sheet and the knit blanket. Find a tutorial for my Ruching Rose pillow HERE.

I wish I'd known how easy it was to make crib sheets when my kids were little! Dana Willard, friend and also an Art Gallery Fabrics designer sister has a fun You Tube video for how to make a fitted crib sheet. AGF fabric is so soft and the perfect designer prints to customize the look for baby's room.

The knit blanket not only is cuddly soft with AGF knits but is another easy make. You wouldn't even have to finish the edges if you didn't want too because knit doesn't fray but to dress it up a bit I added some pre-made bias tape with a crochet edge for a sweet little touch. A nice tutorial for making a knit blanket can be found at Kitchen Table Quilting.

Earlier, in June, I blogged about my free Star Light baby quilt pattern. The inspiration for this quilt came when I was making the Cactus block for the Community Sampler. This shows how you can take a block you love and run with it to make a completely new quilt. Find the free pattern HERE.

Even though my Signature Baby Room was intended as a gender neutral room I still couldn't help seeing it through my granddaughter's eyes. Because she loves butterflies and this fabric collection is about nature and includes butterflies in some of the prints I made several fabric butterflies and used them in various decor projects. Read more about how I created these HERE and learn how to make them. 

There are so many Signature makes I'm obsessed about but maybe the one that brings on the biggest smile is the turtle footstool I wrote about in my Part 1 post. Since this guy is staying at my house for the grandchildren to visit I thought I'd make my granddaughter a turtle of her own. 

I found the cutest free softie pattern on the Make it and Love it blog and of course had to make a version in Signature fabrics!

To add just a little extra to my turtle I stitched some Dritz Make Your Own Chenille to the shell before adding the feet and added a fabric heart outlined with chenille to it's tummy before assembling the body. 

Turtle, as he's called, now has an honorary spot in her bed and she love's her new friend!

Because every turtle needs a home, I painted an old basket up to give it a fresh new look (that coordinates, of course with my fabrics) and made the turtle his own blanket. I had as much fun making this as she's having playing with him!

And, way too much fun photographing this turtle. 

Don't forget to check out the Art Gallery Fabrics Look Books that come out with every new fabric line and all the oodles of free quilting and sewing patterns like the Sunflower quilt I designed for this collection and the AGF Studio Butterfly pillow pattern. 

Have a wonderful summer!

Love,

Sharon