Four Free Projects

Normally, I’d space out blogging about projects and make a post for each one but I’m on a time crunch and need to get these Free PDF patterns published so links to them can be included in next week’s Shine On collection Look Book published by Art Gallery Fabrics.

Journal Cover

The Journal Cover project is not a new project for this blog, nor is it going to be part of the Shine On Look Book. The free Journal Cover pattern has been available on the Free Projects page since I first made the scrappy versions for my AGF Sketchbook collection. I am gifting this Sandra Dallas, The Quilt Walk book to my granddaughter and thought how fitting it would be to the theme of the book if I made a quilted cover from Shine On - Woolen Blanket flannel.

I enjoy remaking my old patterns and I went simple this time with a whole cloth cover rather than a scrappy version. The beauty of this type of pattern is it’s a quick and easy project that can be customized to fit any book or journal size you need. The pattern includes how to customize the size for your cover.

Easy Apron

The first time I designed and made an Easy Apron was to feature my Art Gallery Fabrics Sketchbook prints in the Quilt Scene International Quilt Festival magazine in 2015. I’d never published the pattern separately and now seemed like the perfect opportunity to add this as a free pattern to my blog.

This is the perfect project for a beginning sewer because you modify a dishtowel as the apron base (no hemming—yay!) and simply add your own (or pre-made) binding edge and patch pocket.

I’d picked up this fun boho towel at Target a few years back with the very intent of making a dishtowel apron and the color on the towel was just perfect with my Shine On collection! In fact, the entire look coordinated with the An Herb and Spice Cook Book I brought home from my Mom’s bookshelf. That pair of scissors and the Aztec-looking planter were also part of her things. I love that I could include items she used in this photo because I will alway associate my mom with wearing a simple white Baker’s apron—she’d have approved of this apron.

You’ll see more of this Easy Apron project in the Shine On Look Book coming 2/24/22.

Shine On Glasses Case

You may not have some blue-tinted cool vintage sunglasses like the pair that inspired my glasses case pattern but you probably have some sunglasses or readers that could use a protective covering. Now you can make your own case in your favorite prints!

For the Shine On Glasses Case project I quilted Fusible Fleece to a quilting cotton exterior and used Dritz Ruffle and Ruched Elastic to hold the flap in place. No fussy snaps or button closures—just simple but fancy elastic that holds everything in place!

For the prints in my two cases I mixed my new Shine On collection with Bookish prints. You can just see a peek of Shine On - Patchwork Atlas print inside the Bookish - Readers Story case. How perfect is that print for this project!!???

Prairie Point Pals

Last but not least is my Prairie Point Pals pillows. These adorable softie pillows can be used for wall decor or as something for the little loves in your life to snuggle. I love how they look with the Sunrise quilt from the same Shine On collection.

This free pattern includes instructions and templates to make the 9’’ round Sun Flower and the 13’’ round Dandy Lion. The fun petal details on the outer edges are made with Prairie Points—a simple way of folding fabric to make triangles.

The friendly Dandy Lion can be a wall hanging with the optional hanging loop or a cuddly pillow buddy.

Smiley Sun Flower would make a cheery wall decoration for a nursery or a play pal for a toddler with the optional loop omitted.

Have fun experimenting with different types of fabrics and embellishments for this project. For my samples I quilted the Dandy Lions face before assembly and used AGF solid flannel for the Sun Flower’s face and cheeks. The appliqué is raw edge for no-fuss sewing but the pattern gives suggestions for other methods. The prints used in this project are from the Shine On collection.

You’ll see more of these fun Prairie Point Pals project in the Shine On Look Book coming 2/24/22.

Giveaway

I’m so excited for you to get your hands on this collection and either make projects you’ve seen here on my blog or start something fresh of your own—the skies the limit on what to create! This giveaway is for a 16-piece fat quarter bundle of Shine On quilting cotton as my gift to one of my lucky blog readers!

Shine On is my twelfth fabric collection for Art Gallery Fabrics. See more of the collections HERE. I designed this collection as an early spring collection to give the feeling of spring flowers first emerging from the winter snow—that’s why the palette is light and airy but earthy at the same time.

Giveaway Now Closed

Congratulations to Brandy KL!

*Note: This giveaway is open to US addresses only (sorry, International friends). 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 and tell me your favorite project(s) of the post. (Counts as your first comment entry.)

2. Leave a new comment and let me know what you’d make first if you won this bundle! This Counts as your second entry.

3. Do you also follow me on Instagram @sharonhollanddesigns ? Make a new comment and let me know and that’ll count as a third entry.

That’s THREE possible entries and up to three chances to win! Enter now through Monday, February 21, 2022. 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 Eastern. I’ll post the name of the winner on this post.

Good Luck!

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.

Kismet Look Book

Kismet Look Book

Every aspect of fabric design is exciting but some parts more so than others. I needed to learn to be patient along with how to pull together a beautiful collection. Concept to production can take upwards of a year sometimes so much thought and planning goes into predicting trends and colors that will work for the season the collection finally lands in a shop owners hands at your local fabric store or favorite online shop. All that hard work and waiting pays off when Art Gallery Fabrics releases a new fabric line and collection Look Book!

The Art Gallery Fabrics Kismet Look Book is a virtual publication you can view right on your computer or device—for free. Click HERE to view.

I’ve been secret sewing projects for the Kismet Look Book along with other talented makers. Each contributor makes and photographs their projects and Art Gallery Fabrics puts it altogether into a beautiful virtual publication.

For this blog post I’ll only be showing the four projects I made for the Kismet Look Book plus a quilt made from my Vista quilt pattern. You’ll most definitely want to take some time and pour over the Look Book pages to see all the other amazing contributions by your favorite online makers—this post is just a teaser!

Trapeze Quilt

Trapeze quilt by Sharon Holland

The first and biggest of my project makes is a full-size Trapeze quilt in Kismet and Pure Solids. When I first designed this quilt earlier this fall I had designed it with Kismet in mind but the fabrics had not arrived yet for me to make a sample so I made the beautiful Sky version in blues for the pattern launch last month. Purchase the Trapeze Sky Quilt Kit at Lady Belle Fabrics.

Find the Trapeze quilt pattern HERE in my Shop.

I had Brooke Becker of Lady Belle Fabrics quilt this for me and we selected my favorite panto called, Abstract Butterflies. The batting is Hobbs Heirloom 100% Cotton batting inside for a traditional drape and feel. This quilt pattern is one of my favorite makes this year and the Kismet version has now been put in use on my bed.

With Kismet fabrics selling out so fast in shops we made it real easy for you to shop this look! Lady Belle Fabrics has the Trapeze Kismet Quilt Kit available in her shop. Don’t delay on getting your hands on one of these kits!

Also, now through Thanksgiving weekend US customers will get free shipping on their orders! Plus, Brooke will have SALES running all weekend so this is the time to stock up on all your favorite fabrics!

Charming One

Charming One quilt by Sharon Holland

With every fabric collection I like to have at least one free pattern to add to my Free Projects page. We are sent fabric strike offs from the mill before we get the final rolls of fabric. Strike offs are small pieces of fabric that Art Gallery Fabrics evaluates for color and quality before giving final approval on a collection. The designers are sent these pieces so we can get an early glimpse of the prints and hopefully create something to get ahead of the mad dash of sewing right before the Look Book releases.

I had a handful of scraps that I didn’t want to waste and decided to create a very simple, yet fun scrappy One-Patch quilt. In all my years of sewing I’m not even sure I’ve done a One-Patch quilt before!

To extend the little I had left of prints I included many shade of coordinating Pure Solids, AGF Decostitch Blenders, and AGF Smooth Denim. There were only four squares of the Mudcloth Berries print from Kismet so I decided to make them a feature in the center of the quilt.

To make it a little more special I put everything on the diagonal and kept the quilting very, very simple and stitched in the ditch. If you’re an absolute beginner at quilting or just want to use up some scraps—this is a fun and rewarding quilt to make!

I used Hobbs Heirloom 100% Cotton batting inside this quilt as well and love the traditional feel of it. Sometimes the simple quilts are the best and sure show off the prints beautifully! I made the pattern layer cake friendly that you can get 4 squares per 10” precut. Download the free pattern HERE.

Pillow Shams

Not only do I love making things but I also love photographing them! Once all my Kismet projects were completed I had a couple days of photography, To set up the lovely Charming One quilt bed scene I wanted pillows with Kismet fabric so why not make my own pillow shams! I used the wonderful YouTube tutorial video by Craft Gemini to learn how to make these easy and picture-perfect shams. These are going to go right into use now as well and pillows and pillowcases are the perfect way to freshen up any room.

Meet the Testers

Three of my pattern testers made their own Charming One quilts. I love how each makers personality shines through from their scrap basket fabric pulls. Be sure to visit these talent makers via the highlighted links.

Charming One quilt make by Kathleen Armstrong

I’m crazy over this honey and mint Charming One quilt make by Kathleen Armstrong of Creative Stitches by Kathleen. Kathleen used a variety of Art Gallery Fabric prints and blenders from several AGF designers but I spy many Bonnie Christine prints as well as some I’ve designed for AGF. The crinkly quilting makes this an instant classic! Read more about Kathleen and her passion for sewing on her BLOG and @creativestitchesbyK feed on Instagram.

Charming One quilt make by Joyce Ulm

Even though Halloween has come and gone, Joyce Ulm of @evamaecustomquilts, Etsy shop, and on her Facebook blog HERE is still loving the Art Gallery Fabrics Sweet and Spooky collection and I don’t blame her one bit! Just look at how amazing these prints and AGF blender are in a simple One-Patch design like this quilt—stunning and so much fun! I’m excited to see how Joyce ends up quilting this one and if you are too, be sure to follower her on any of the above social platforms via the links.

Charming One quilt make by Lindsey Fuessley

I’d love to see the rest of Lindsey Fuessley’s scrap basket if these were just some of the fabrics she pulled from it to make this gorgeous Charming One top. Some of my favorite colors and you can’t go wrong mixing prints between Art Gallery Fabrics collections. Lindsey is a relatively new quilter and wanted to quilt this 57-1/2’’ square quilt herself. I suggested she do the stitch in the ditch like I did if she wasn’t feeling all that confident. I’ll be watching her feed to see how (and what) she decides to do. Follow Lindsey on her Instagram account @lindseymakes to see more of her work.

Folded Star Hot Pad

The free Folded Star Hot Pad pattern on my FREE PROJECTS page has been newly updated so if you’ve downloaded it before, you may want to try the new and improved version!

Folded Star Hot Pad by Sharon Holland

The pattern change was purely out of necessity. Remember me talking about limited fabrics to work with in making projects ahead of time? Well, I didn’t have enough materials to make the original square hot pad version so I ended up clipping the corners for this new octagon shape. Necessity is the mother of all invention and I’m very pleased I had to improvise!

The three dimensional stars are made by folding squares of fabric and taking them in place. The finished piece is a tactile experience but also makes the coolest hot pad for hot dishes and a great gift idea!

The possibilities are endless for fabric arrangements. I extended my available Kismet prints by adding rounds of AGF Pure Solids which also popped the graphic star shape even more.

Dresden Pouf

Because the prints in Kismet have a worldly, traveled look I wanted to make something extra fun for home decor and found this Dresden Pouf pattern by Amy Barickman for Indygo Junction.

Dresden Pouf by Indygo Junction

This large pouf was a very fast and fun make and the instructions easy to follow. The pattern also comes with instructions to make a Dresden pillow and already on my to-make list.

I ended up only using prints for the top of the pouf to save on the prints I had but again, love the results because all the attention is right where I want it—on the pretty prints! For the sides of the pouf I used AGF Smooth Denim. For the Dresden center circle and bottom I used AGF Textured Denim just to add more of that global feel. A few lines of chunky hand stitching also gives the pouf some additional details and character.

Vista Quilt

Nuria Elkins of Fabric Stork made a Kismet version of my Vista quilt for the Kismet Look Book and I’m over the moon in love with what she created!

Vista quilt make by Fabric Stork

Nuria is an Etsy fabric shop owner and one of the sweetest persons you’ll meet. I love working with her and collaborated on quilt kits and giveaways from her shop in the past. When we started talking about her doing Vista in Kismet for the Look Book we both were on the same page for the type of boho vibe we wanted to see this quilt pictured in—I think she nailed it!

Right now, Nuria is waiting for a shipment of Kismet fabrics to arrive before she can put together the Vista quilt kits in Kismet and Pure Solids like you see here. You’ll want to stalk her shop to know when the kits are ready because they’re certain to sell out fast. Once listed, you’ll find kits here: Vista quilt kit from Fabric Stork but until then check out the rest of her shop for all your favorite prints and designer fabrics!

Find the Vista quilt pattern in my SHOP.

I’ve started an online shop stock list for shops carrying Kismet on the FABRICS page. Please note the inventory for shops change daily and can sell out fast. If you’re a shop that carries Art Gallery Fabric Kitsmet and don’t see your name listed, please email me your link and I’ll gladly update my list.

Once again I’ve written an epic blog post. There’s so much to share at each posting to catch up to what happens in the life of a textile designer. I’m sure there’s plenty I’ve forgotten to write! If you’re not already following me on Instagram and want more of what I’ve been sharing on this post—be sure to follow me @sharonhollanddesigns as I post daily over there and fill in the gaps between (epic) blog posts.

****REMINDER to Mackenzi and Angela Miller to reply to emails you were sent about winning Rambler PDF patterns from the last giveaway. Check your inbox or spam folder for an email from contact@sharonhollanddesigns.com and hit reply to claim your pattern.****

Wishing everyone a healthy and joyful holiday season

Happy sewing,

Sharon

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 - Week 3

Sweet Home Quilt Along - Week 3

Welcome to the third week of the Sweet Home Quilt along hosted by (me) Sharon Holland, Maureen Cracknell, and Jennifer Jones. We’re halfway through the quilt along and excited to connect with the Sweet Home quilt makers on our Instagram community and here on our blogs!

I hope you’ve been following along on all three hosts blogs and Instagram accounts as we’re each making different versions of this quilt and let me tell you I’m loving ALL OF THEM!! See what I mean when you search the #SweetHomeQAL hashtag on Instagram.

If you’re just joining us you’ll probably want to pop over to the Sweet Home Quilt Along - Week 1 post to get caught up. Purchase the Sweet Home quilt pattern from my SHOP here.

If you’ve been following along since the start then you should already have your fabrics cut out and Log Cabin blocks assembled.

The quilt along will run six weeks total and we’ll cover a different aspect of piecing or finishing for that week. Some of you are working ahead and that’s wonderful—it’ll give you more time for the quilting and finishing portion. This quilt along is very relaxed. If you feel like completing the top in a week—go for it! But, if you’re a beginner and want more instruction along the way—we have that too in the form of LIVE and recorded Instagram tutorials over on my IGTV channel on Instagram. I just added a Bungalow Block tutorial on Monday of this week.

I’ve recorded step by step tutorials for you to access on my @sharonhollanddesigns IGTV channel on Instagram and so far the Sweet Home Quilt series covers fabric selection, Log Cabin block, and Bungalow block construction.

Today we talk about piecing the Bungalow blocks. I’m using Art Gallery Fabrics Terra Kotta prints mixed with AGF Pure Solids Sandstone for the background and one of my Spirited prints for half of the Log Cabin block roofs. The Sweet Home Terra Kotta kit can be purchased from Fat Quarter Shop.

Once you’ve made one Bungalow block all the way through and are comfortable with the construction you can utilize chain piecing to help speed up the repetitive sewing steps.

In the photo above, I’ve added all the long strips to one side of the window units without clipping the threads. Once the same sewing step has been applied to all the pieces needed for the Bungalow blocks I remove the chained pieces, snip the connecting threads and add the long strip to the opposite side before moving on to the next step.

When constructing the roofs for both the Log Cabin and Bungalow blocks there’s usable trimmings from the Flippy Corner construction. I’ve been saving all my trimming and am planning to make something scrappy from them in the near future.

If you’re looking for some ideas of what to do with those leftover half-square triangles (HST) units, take a look at an oldie but goodie blog post were I show examples of what to do with leftover HSTs to create new quilt blocks.

If you don’t want to commit to making another quilt from leftover HST scraps then why not think smaller and make a pillow? I had a similar stack of half-square triangle (HST) trimmings when Maureen and I hosted the AGF Heart Quilt sew along earlier this year. If you’d like some inspiration for a pillow project, read about my pretty pillow that also uses Chenille-It Blooming Bias for an added bit of fun!

Just like the Log Cabin construction, you’ll find the Bungalow block uses much the same piecing techniques. The window sections are assembled in a Log-Cabin fashion and the base of the Bungalow comes together quickly—especially if you’re chain piecing. The roof is constructed exactly like the Log Cabin roof only minus the chimney.

If you’re working with a directional print for your roof like I am then you’ll want to either watch my Instagram IGTV video for this block construction or read about Controlling Directional Prints in Patchwork Units on my tutorial post.

Next week we’ll be making the corner squares and attaching sashing to blocks.

I’m enjoying seeing your postings to Instagram and following along on your progress—you’re all are doing amazing and beautiful work on your Sweet Home quilts!

Don’t forget that this Friday will be a new Friday Giveaway with fabulous prizes from our sponsors. Be following along on Instagram as all the giveaways will be held on that platform and winners will be randomly drawn the following Monday from the #SweetHomeQAL hashtag pool. The quilt along members that post their progress photos to public account on Instagram and use the hashtag #SweetHomeQAL will automatically be entered into every Sweet Home Quilt Along drawing! It’s that easy to enter, so enter often to up your chances!

And, while you’re on Instagram, take a look at the #SweetHomeQAL hashtag on Instagram and see what the other QAL Makers are using in their quilts—it’s an amazing resource not only to see fabrics but to make new friends!

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.

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.