Everlasting Look Book - Part 2

Everlasting Look Book - Part 2

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Today’s post takes a closer look at the non-quilt projects I stitched for the Everlasting Look Book. A Look Book is a free, virtual magazine that Art Gallery Fabrics publishes for each new fabric line and is loaded with sewing inspiration. Many talented sewers and designers contribute to the Look Book to bring a variety of projects sewn in fabrics from a collection so you can see the prints, colors, and different substrates in use. This post will just be about what I sewed and contributed.

Myrna Purse

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I wanted to make some different sort of projects this time and was looking for the right print for the Sallie Tomato Myrna Bag pattern. I have also wanted to try working with the Sallie Tomato cork fabric and again, this was the perfect time!

I love the size of this bag and all the exterior zippered pockets. The cork was amazing to sew with and the only extra care needed for sewing with it is to use clips instead of pins. My Crossed Paths print from Everlasting goes with everything from jeans to dresses. I’ll be making a second purse as a gift and when I purchased this natural cork I also picked up a teal colored cork.

The only two things I will do differently in the second bag will be to position the loops for the handle at the top of the bag rather than the sides and add an interior pocket.

Radella Mocassins

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I told you I was looking to make some different sort of sewing projects and these Radella Mocassins by I Think Sew looked so cute I just had to give it a try!

My ruby red slippers are made with Everlasting Cherished Wishes print as the exterior and Art Gallery Fabrics Linen for the lining. I had left over cork from my bag so I used it for the soles of the moccasins and it worked beautifully.

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These slippers turned out so well that my Mom has requested a pair. After I make the new bag with the teal cork I will have left over cork for the soles of her slippers. I’m thinking the Something Blue print will looks perfect on both the bag and the slippers with the teal cork!

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Strawberry Pincushions

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The reds in Everlasting are so delicious that making strawberry pincushions where a must! I found a free tutorial from Down the Grapevine Path for making these quick stitching cuties. I ended up printing out the PDF a few times and adjusting the scale of the pattern to get the size of strawberries I wanted. Just experiment a bit till you find what size you’re looking for.

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These were so much fun to make I stitched one from every print in the collection. To get an old-fashioned feel and heft to the pincushions I filled mine with crushed walnut shells—I’ll put an Amazon link at the end of this post. The walnut shells make for easy filling and add nice weight to the small pincushion. These would make cute ornaments too!

Fabric Haul

Check out this fun look at my Everlasting fabric line with Melissa from Art Gallery Fabrics, it’s a great way to get a personal tour through my prints and find out which AGF Pure Solids and Blenders work well with this collection.

I don’t know about you but I can’t get enough sewing with these prints!! I’ve many more projects on my cutting table and am working on a free quilt pattern to share with you next month.

In fact, during the last half of July I’ll be hosting an Everlasting Blog Tour with 13 other amazing designers from around the world who are already busy stitching up gorgeous projects to share with you. There’ll be three weeks of inspiration and of course, giveaway prizes to giveaway! More details on the tour next month so until then…happy sewing!

Everlasting Look Book - Part 1

Everlasting Look Book - Part 1

The second most exciting thing to having a new fabric collection is to have Art Gallery Fabrics publish the Look Book for the collection!

Over the lasts several weeks I’ve been busy sewing projects with my new collection and photographing them in preparations for the Look Book. In this Part 1 blog post I’ll give you a more personal tour of the quilt and pillow projects I made plus the beautiful Hourglass Quilted pillows Maureen Cracknell of Maureen Cracknell Handmade stitched for this virtual magazine. Next week, in Part 2, I’ll show more of the other pretty (non-quilt) projects I made—there’s just too much for one blog post!

Quilts and Pillows

Lily Pond Quilt

Lily Pond quilt designed by Sharon Holland. Made and photographed by Art Gallery Fabrics.

Lily Pond quilt designed by Sharon Holland. Made and photographed by Art Gallery Fabrics.

Every Art Gallery Fabric collection has with it a FREE quilt pattern. The Lily Pond quilt made with Everlasting prints and AGF Pure Solids is a remake of a quilt I designed a couple years ago for International Quilt Festival magazine 2017, using Maureen Cracknell’s Soulful fabrics for Art Gallery Fabrics.

It’s amazing how fabric placement can change up the entire look of the new Lily Pond quilt (above) compared to the same design of the Celestial quilt (below).

Celestial Quilt design and made by Sharon Holland with Soulful fabrics by Maureen Cracknell for Art Gallery Fabrics

Celestial Quilt design and made by Sharon Holland with Soulful fabrics by Maureen Cracknell for Art Gallery Fabrics

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Hourglass Quilted Pillows

Hourglass Quilted Pillows by Maureen Cracknell

Hourglass Quilted Pillows by Maureen Cracknell

How perfect would these Hourglass Quilted pillows by Maureen Cracknell look with the Lily Pond quilt or the Infinity Loop quilt below!?!? Maureen has a free tutorial on her blog for how to make these beautiful pillows.

Over Memorial Day weekend Maureen’s Facebook and Instagram accounts were hacked and then deleted by the hacker. This malicious act has been devastating and erased years of Maureen’s photo memories and work achievements. I know many of you follow both Maureen and I and if you’d like to continue receiving her beautiful daily dose of sewing inspiration on Instagram please follower her on her new account @maureencracknellhandmade. She’s no longer on Facebook and may not reopen an account there. Read more about what happened to her social accounts on her pillow tutorial post.

Infinity Loop Quilt

Infinity Loop Quilt designed, made, and photographed by Sharon Holland

Infinity Loop Quilt designed, made, and photographed by Sharon Holland

I’ve been waiting since my first Art Gallery Fabrics collection, Gossamer to remake my Infinity Loop quilt and Everlasting was the perfect collection to use!

The Everlasting Infinity Loop quilt is filled with Hobb’s Poly-Down Batting. It’s a slightly different loft than the Hobb’s Tuscany Polyester batting I also love but equally as soft and drapey. I love that you can leave wider spacing between quilting stitches too and chose to quilt a HUGE floral motif on the loop rows and spaces between the loops.

Infinity Loop Quilt designed, made, and photographed by Sharon Holland

Infinity Loop Quilt designed, made, and photographed by Sharon Holland

This intermediate to advanced level quilt pattern uses both foundation paper-piecing and traditional (curved) patchwork piecing. It’s well suited for a scrap quilt and I didn’t even preplan fabric placements—just sewed and put it together with very little fussing. The Everlasting collection has a well balanced mix of light, medium, and dark prints as well as a variety of print scales that gives a scrap quilt a flawless scrap look without being super match-matchy! Find this PDF pattern on my SHOP page.

Diamond-Cut Quilt

Diamond-Cut Quilt designed, made, and photographed by Sharon Holland

Diamond-Cut Quilt designed, made, and photographed by Sharon Holland

For the Everlasting Look Book I designed a new quilt pattern called Diamond-Cut for the SHOP. I’m so in love with this quilt and purposely made it very scrappy. Large Nine-Patch diamonds show off the prints and float in a background of the new Blossomed Pure Solids from Art Gallery Fabrics.

Diamond-Cut Quilt designed, made, and photographed by Sharon Holland

Diamond-Cut Quilt designed, made, and photographed by Sharon Holland

This is a full-size bed quilt that has a modern-vintage style and ease to it. I also used Hobb’s Poly-Down batting inside and chose a simple and quick vertical stitching to create puffy channels. I think it gives the quilt an elder-down cozy look to it. Needless to say, this is now the guest room quilt!

Reversible Pillow Cases

Reversible Pillow Case tutorial by Tidbits made by Sharon Holland

Reversible Pillow Case tutorial by Tidbits made by Sharon Holland

As I was styling the bed and Diamond-Cut quilt for photography I realized that if I made pillow cases it would not only save me from buying something new but also be an opportunity to show off more of my pretty Art Gallery Fabrics!

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I found a great tutorial for these Reversible Pillows on the Tidbits website. I even had just enough of some beautiful trim I bought a few years ago at Quilt Market to finish the edge of these three cases. It was so handy to have reversible cases and three turned into six with a quick wardrobe change.

Everlasting by Sharon Holland

Everlasting by Sharon Holland

These projects in this post are by no means the end to the quilts and pillow projects you’ll find in the Everlasting Look Book, these were just mine and Maureen’s contributions. Next week I’ll blog about the other projects I made that were a fun and delightful change from quilt making. It’s always good for the mind to mix things up a bit and I learned some new sewing tricks!

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Visit the AGF Creative Blog for additional Everlasting inspiration AND a chance to win a bundle of Everlasting fabrics! Hurry, the giveaway ends June 4, 2019.

New Fabric Collection!

New Fabric Collection!

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Spring is an exciting time of year with trees leafing out, flowers blooming, and the weather warming up for spending time outdoors. I’ve been anticipating spring even more than usual because my newest fabric line, Everlasting for Art Gallery Fabrics will be available in May at your local quilt shops and favorite online retailers.

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Everlasting is my seventh collection for Art Gallery Fabrics and it tells the story of love, marriage, and family.

The summertime palette or navy, coral, blush, and teal pull at my heartstrings as I associate this collection with my daughter, Anna. As my only girl, Anna and I have had a special bond. She has a creative mind, is a nurturing mother, is smart, positive, and has a tender soul. Sometimes I see myself in her mixed together with the other important women in my life, my mother and grandmother but mostly she’s her own person and I love her dearly. I’m so proud of the woman she’s become.

Photo credit: Red Tree Photos

Photo credit: Red Tree Photos

Everlasting has a classic elegance to the prints that were inspired by my daughter’s wedding. The colors for her wedding were navy and sunflower yellow. The bridesmaids, groom and groomsmen all wore navy. Anna’s bouquet was simple, ivory roses and the other flowers and colors came from seasonal wildflowers.

Photo credit: Red Tree Photos

Photo credit: Red Tree Photos

My daughter wore my mothers 1959 wedding dress and the cut of this dress couldn’t have been any more perfect for my daughter’s classic yet modest style. See more about this collection and the other spring collections in the AGF Fabric Collections | May-August 2019 Look Book.

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Just as it would be hard to image a wedding or springtime without flowers, I can’t image a fabric collection without floral prints. Joyful blooms and fresh picked wildflowers make this collection feel like you’ve stepped into a summer garden party.

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Rather than calling my Everlasting collection a mini collection (because there’s only 10 quilting cotton prints in one color way) I think of this collection as being an intimate gathering. 

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Everlasting has all the things needed for stitching beautiful quilts from the large floral hero print, medium scale prints in coordinate colors, and beloved, low volume blenders. Think of this fabric line as a marriage ceremony with only close loved ones in attendance.

There’s three knits and one rayon prints—perfect for summer garment sewing!

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In just a few short weeks, the Everlasting LookBook will be published for inspiration viewing and quilt shops will have these prints in stock for your next make. Let your local shop know you’d like them to carry Everlasting from Art Gallery Fabrics and as online stores start listing their inventory I’ll be adding links to those shops on my Fabrics page.

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Meanwhile, myself and a bunch of other super talented makers will be busily stitching up beautiful and inspirational projects from Everlasting prints. Here’s a peek at a new quilt pattern I’m working on called, Diamond-Cut. I can’t wait to show you more!