Signature Bucket Bag

Signature Bucket Bag

This month my sixth fabric collection, Signature for Art Gallery Fabrics hits the shops. I couldn't be more excited to share this collection with you in the form of new, free projects!

As the industry gathers in Portland, Oregon this weekend for the Spring Quilt Market, I'm staying home and opted out of displaying my new collection at the show. My decision not to go stemmed from several reasons. One, my second grandchild arrived in April and I took a break from work to go lend a hand. That put me way behind in my normal market prep sewing but I wouldn't have missed being present for the birth for the world! 

Two, I decided, in advance that if I stayed home I would finally remodel my sewing/guest room in my house and turn it into a proper studio space so I could stage different photography scenes for my projects. I was actually able to remodel my room and buy some new props for less than it would have cost me to go to the show and now I can bring you more and better displays here from home. 

This is just a tiny peek into the first of several Signature Looks. Over the next few weeks I will be posting new, free projects and a closer look into each set up. As always, be sure to watch my feed and Stories on Instagram for even more, day-to-day posts.

You first saw my Kantha-Style Bucket Bag when I took part in Jessica Swifts Tallinn blog tour last month. I just didn't have the time then to write up the pattern for it then, and thank you for being patient till I could get it prepared. 

There were so many asking for this pattern after I posted about it I decided to remake it in my new Signature fabrics, get the pattern written, and include it in the Signature LookBook coming out next month. 

You'll find the free PDF download for my Bucket Bag on the Free Patterns page of this blog. 

Bag details include hand-quilted stitching with Aurifloss embroidery thread on the exterior of the bag, eight roomy interior pockets, and fun embellishments like Extra-Large Eyelets and Swivel Hook, and Tassel Cap from Dritz. 

For the interior of the bag I used Art Gallery Fabrics Smooth Denim (DEN-S-2007) in Nectarine Sunrise and Lateral Bud Profusion (SGN-68710) for the pockets. 

For the exterior of my bag I use (from the opening to bottom) Extempore Fancy (SGN-58700), Traveler Raindrops (SGN-58705), Lateral Bud Profusion (SGN-68710), and Small World Sprightly (SGN-68713).

For a quick tutorial on how to make a tassel using the Dritz Tassel Cap kit, take a look back at the Tallinn blog tour post.

There are 20 prints in the Signature collection and comes in two color ways. Between the two color ways there are 14 different prints because in some cases the print only has one coloring. That's what makes this collection so deep and interesting. I'm still making discoveries as I sew! Above is the Foliar color way and below is the Atmospheric color way.

Shops are just getting their stock of Signature in and I've begun adding a few online shop listings to my Fabrics page. Some have already sold out in the first week so keep checking back as they restock and more shops list their new inventory.

Tallinn Fabrics Blog Tour

Tallinn Fabrics Blog Tour

Today's my stop on the Jessica Swift Tallinn blog tour! Tallinn is Jessica's first fabric collection for Art Gallery Fabrics. Now available in shops, Tallinn is inspired by Jessica’s travels through Eastern Europe. Picturesque Estonian villages, graceful swans, & a deep love for combining quirky folk motifs come together in her playful collection. 

I was thrilled when Jessica asked if I wanted to be part of her tour and sew with these beautiful fabrics! Here's the amazing line up of talented designers also posting about their makes.

Thursday April 19 – Mathew Boudreaux | Mister Domestic 
Friday April 20 – Katie Skoog | The Simple Life Company 
Monday April 23 – Sharon Holland
Tuesday April 24 – Eleri | Sew and Tell Project
Wednesday April 25 – Paola Baker | Love of Fabrics
Thursday April 26 – Maureen Cracknell
Friday April 27 – Alexis Wright | My Sweet Sunshine Studio
Monday April 30 – Isabelle Selak | South Bay Bella Studio
Tuesday May 1 – Cassie Massolia | Lily Shine Creates
Wednesday May 2 – Becca Plymale | Sunflower Seams
Thursday May 3 – Alisa Kutsel | A Stitch In Between
Friday May 4 – Sharon McConnell | Color Girl Quilts
Monday May 7 – Karen O’Connor | Lady K Quilt Designs
Tuesday May 8 – Sarai Schuk | Sarai’s Hobbies
Wednesday May 9 – Elise Baek | Elise & Emelie
Thursday May 10 – Jessica Swift
Friday May 11 – Gwyn LaSpina
Monday May 14 – Loni Jakubowski | Havin Sew Much Fun

Kantha-Style Duffle Bag

I knew I wanted to play with texture and enhance the ethnic vibe of these prints with Aurifloss embroidery thread so I decided to make a quilted duffle bag. I want to tell you right up front there's no pattern for this bag. It's something I've designed but there just isn't enough time in the days to do it all so I'm very sorry not to be adding a pattern in with this post. Instead, we will enjoy Jessica's prints and learn more about some of the products used to make this fun bag.

The fabrics used in my bag are: Tigris Indigo, Magija Pumpkin, Baltic Swans Sky, Lore Rooftop, and Odessa Dream.

Simple, varied width strips of fabric were sewn together into panels for the front and back of the bag and I free-form, hand stitched chunky running stitches with 3-ply strands of the 6-ply cotton Aurifloss embroidery thread. 

To keep adding texture and interesting details to my duffle bag I incorporated Dritz Extra-Large Eyelets in this marvelous antique brass finish to the closer-edge of the bag and on the boxed corner tabs. Eyelets are super easy to apply with the kit and a hammer. 

Another Dritz product used in this project is their cording for the drawstring and a little extra bling with a tassel made using Dritz Tassel Cap kit. I loved this natural color of the Dritz Twist Cord that picked up the colors in the Odessa Dream tan floral in Jessica's collection. 

Can you believe I've never made a tassel before with these awesome tassel caps!?!? It's so easy! I used Art Gallery Fabrics solid knit fabric. 

I simply cut a piece of knit and folded it widthwise. Then I took a pair of shears and snipped fringe through the folded layers, leaving the folded edge uncut. 

To make the tassel I followed the directions on the back of the Dritz Tassel Cap package and used Aleene's No-Sew Fabric Glue to roll the knit tassel and attach to the antique brass cap. 

Inside my bag I've used more of the navy Tigris Indigo print along with the fun Baltic Swans Sky print for the pockets.

Plenty of pocket room to tote all your gear on your next vacation get away, quilting workshop, or wherever you wander!

I hope you've enjoyed my stop on the Tallinn blog tour! Be sure to follow along with the other makers and on Instagram by following the hashtags #TallinnFabrics and #TallinnFabricsBlogTour.

Explore the Tallinn Fabrics collection:The Collection | The Lookbook | On Instagram

Community Sampler Giveaway Week #8

Community Sampler Giveaway Week #8

Each Friday that Maureen Cracknell and myself are co-hosting the Community Sampler will be a Giveaway Friday. We've coordinated special prizes with our amazing participating sponsors for a giveaway each and every week! If you've happened to miss the first Community Sampler posts, take a look back from the first post Community Sampler Week #1 to get caught up to the present. Feel free to start sewing with us at anytime--it's never too late to join in, and it's free! 

COMMUNITY SAMPLER SPONSORS

Lady Belle Fabric  Omnigrid  -  Aurifil Thread  -  Art Gallery Fabrics  -  Hobbs Batting -  Dritz  -  Fat Quarter Shop -  Bloc-Loc

TODAY'S FEATURED Community Sampler SPONSOR IS AURIFIL THREADS!

Aurifil is a wonderful thread company dedicated to developing amazing, new products based on quality and solutions. Established in 1983, Aurifil is an accomplished Italian company based near Milano, with a full- grown experience in producing superior quality threads for professional and domestic quilters. The company headquarters is the ground where new ideas generate original items, always more refined and advanced, to provide assistance to all the quilting needs through a wide range of threads in several weights & accessories. Aurifil's success is based on developing projects carefully, always looking for high quality and great style, with a commitment to create contemporary products that will appeal to everyone!

Aurifil.com  *  Instagram  *  Facebook  *  We hope you enjoy visiting Aurifil!

For this week's Community Sampler Giveaway, Aurifil is offering the lucky winner my Sharon Holland Color Story Aurifil Thread Collection! This hand-selected set of threads includes TEN colorful spools of Aurifil thread. Five spools of 50-wt sewing thread and five spools of Aurifloss in colors chosen to coordinate with my Art Gallery Fabric collections!

Giveaway now Closed. Congratulations Crystal Conrad Kauffman!

* 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 Aurifil on their Blog and/or Instagram. 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 Community Sampler on YOUR instagram, facebook, tweet, pin, blog post, etc... (separate comment - fourth entry). 

That’s FOUR possible entries! Enter now through Monday, April 16th! The winner will be picked at random around 4pm Eastern. I will post the name of the winner on this post once they've been notified and responded to my email.

Love,

Sharon

Community Sampler Week #8

Community Sampler Week #8

Welcome to week #8 of the Community Sampler sew along and the last block in our second column. My co-host and sister Art Gallery Fabrics designer Maureen Cracknell and I are so happy to have you sewing with us!

There are eleven blocks in our quilt and each Wednesday will be a new PDF block release or finishing step for the quilt. If you are just joining us, pick up the Introduction PDF on the Sew Along page and you'll get a material list along with coloring pages so you can get started planning your quilt. Then, work your way through the first Community Sampler post to the present.

Many of the patchwork units (like Quick-Corner, Flying Geese, Half-Square Triangle, and Square-in-Square units) used in this year's sampler have already been oversized to allow for trimming and squaring of units before assembling your block. Please cut your pieces EXACTLY as given in each of the PDF instructions because bumping up the size of the pieces from the measurements give will not bring great results in some cases. Take advantage of my in-blog tutorials for each of the different quilting techniques used in our sampler.

Accurate cutting and use of a true 1/4'' seam allowance is a must for successful patchwork piecing. All your blocks will measure 12-1/2'' square (unfinished). Review how to cut strips, sew with a true 1/4'' seam allowance, and other helpful piecing tips on my "Are You Ready to Sew" post.

Let's start sewing the Weathervane block. Download the free PDF on the Sew Along page.

To make this week's block we will be using techniques we've already played with in earlier Community Sampler blocks. If you'd like to review how to make the Quick-Corner units see the tutorial from Week #2.

If you need a refresher on how to make Half-Square Triangle (HST) units see my in-blog tutorial from Week #3.

For help on controlling those obvious directional prints, read my tutorial from the Sewcial Bee Sampler posts. Remember, these blocks will be set on-point so you may want to fussy cut that center square on-point.

For my sampler quilt I'm using Art Gallery Fabrics Pure Elements solids. Using all solids is a personal challenge for this pattern designer and is not without it's own set of additional challenges because solids are very unforgiving and show every little missed point. Again, this is a good challenge even for a quilter that's been doing this awhile and I will need to take extra care in my stitching!

Art Gallery Fabrics has the most beautiful colors for their solids and of course the quality of the material in un-matched! Above are the color name and sku number information for the fabrics I used in my block. 

Maureen and I both love seeing your blocks you post to Instagram and of course the community of support you give to your fellow CS makers. Be sure to use the #CommunitySampler hashtag when you post to Instagram and tag @maureencracknell and myself @sharonhollanddesigns so we don't miss any of your beautiful blocks.

Don't forget to visit Maureen's blog to see her Weathervane block!

COMMUNITY SAMPLER SPONSORS

Lady Belle Fabric  Omnigrid   Aurifil Thread  Art Gallery Fabrics 

Hobbs Batting  Dritz  Fat Quarter Shop  Bloc-Loc

Don't forget that this Friday's a Giveaway Friday on the Community Sampler sew along. Maureen and I will take turns hosting a giveaway each week where one of our generous sponsors will be featured and offering amazing prizes both here on our blogs and a second chance on Instagram. I will be hosting the giveaway this Friday and you'll be instructed how to enter at that time.

Happy sewing!