Week 6

It’s Week 6, the finale week for the Sweet Home Quilt Along and time to reveal the quilts we’ve have been working on. You’ll also want to visit Maureen’s blog to see her beautiful Cozy and Magical Sweet Home finish.

There’s a lot to share with you this week on the Member’s blog and on the Sweet Home QALTutorial page—let’s get started!

Bookish Sweet Home Quilt

The first of my two 2021 Sweet Home QAL makes to show off is the Bookish version. This quilt is made with prints from my new Art Gallery Fabrics Bookish collection, AGF English Toffee Pure Solid, and Cafe Latte Decostitch Elements. I’m thinking of it as little libraries and the houses nestled between leather-bound books. This fall palette is one of my favorites!

The incredible long arm quilting on this quilt was done by Brook Becker of Lady Belle Fabric. Brooke is also our guest this week on the Sweet Home QAL Tutorials and we have an informative Q&A video interview about working with a long armer and sending your quilt out to be professionally edge-to-edge quilted.

Brooke still has some kits available for this Bookish version.

For batting, I used Hobbs Tuscany Silk inside and it shows off the quilting stitched beautifully. Doesn’t it look like something you’d see on a beautiful tooled leather-bound book?

This was my last styled photo of the Bookish Sweet Home and it’s a sunny corner chair in my office and I believe I found the perfect spot for this quilt!

The backing is Mark My Words (bookmarks) and the binding is Between the Lines, both from the Bookish collection. Remember my half-square triangle pillow project from last week? I love seeing it all come together—don’t you??!!!

If you have any materials left over from making your Sweet Home quilt or just want a fun project to make your own fabric covered books then be sure to check out my Bookish Look Book post on the main blog page and I’ve a video tutorial for covering hard cover books or notebooks with fabric.

Holiday Mix Sweet Home Quilt

My second Sweet Home quilt I made for this quilt along was actually my first quilt made and finished before the quilt along even started and while I was waiting for my Bookish fabrics to arrive. This was a fun quilt because it has a holiday look without any actual holiday prints in it so great for all year enjoyment and I knew I’d be binding it with Chenille-It Blooming Bias in Jade.

As an added bonus to our QAL tutorial videos, Nannette Holmberg, owner and creator of Chenille-It put together an inspiring video on the many uses of Chenille-It and how to add extra texture and creativity to your quilts and other sewing projects. It’ll make you want to add chenille to every project!

I’ve many tutorials for adding Blooming Bias to pillows on my blog Tutorial page. I’ve added my own Chenille Binding Tutorial video from last years Sweet Home QAL to this year’s Members Tutorial page so all the information is in one spot. If you’ve never tried this product before, a pillow is a great place to start!

To prep a quilt edge for Chenille-It binding you need to either zig zag or serge the edge and is further explained in the tutorial videos. In the past, my Chenille-It color was very close to the background color of the quilt and not any more was required than zig zagging the edge and adding the Blooming Bias. This quilt, the background and binding were notably different so I did a little experiment and wrapped the raw edge in a single layer of 5/8’’-wide Blooming Bias tape as I serged the edge (to better hide the raw edge). I started with a full roll of Chenille-It and measured out the wrapped edges and all 16 lengths needed to bind the edges (see tutorials) and JUST had enough to cover my Sweet Home quilt incase you wanted to do this as well—there’s enough.

To “bloom” the faux chenille, you’ll want to pop your finished and bound quilt into the washing machine and set according to your batting manufacturer’s instructions. I use Delicate cycle, low spin with a bunch of light colored hand towels in the load and use the lowest setting on the dryer with dryer balls to help fluff and dry the quilt.

The Hobbs Tuscany Silk Batting launders beautifully and gets softer with every washing! I didn’t press this quilt like I would normally after washing and love the crinkly-soft look and Chenille-It texture on the binding.

The beautiful quilting on this quilt was done by Terri Neil of Quilting Rubies. Terri does hand-guided long arm quilting which means she reproduces an edge-to-edge pattern by hand rather than by computerized process.

All the fabrics in this quilt are from Art Gallery Fabrics and were curated by me from different AGF collections and designers. The fabrics in the quilt are from these collections: Everlasting, Signature, Floralia Fusion, Velvet, Open Heart, Kismet, Lilliput, Vert, and Plaid of My Dreams for backing.

OUR SPONSORS

GIVEAWAY

This is our final giveaway on the Sweet Home QAL and both Maureen and I want to thank our wonderful sponsors for the generous prizes they provided and also those sponsors who gave their time and knowledge to add to our tutorials. Be sure to take full advantage of the videos on the Sweet Home QAL Tutorials page!

We have an extra special giveaway this week and with it being our grand finale, we have a BIG prize package. To enter for the prizes, Members need to leave a comment on this blog post to be eligible for the drawing. Read more about the entry details below.

TODAY'S FEATURED SPONSOR IS Lady Belle Fabric!

Lady Belle Fabric is run by husband and wife team, Rob and Brooke. In their shop you'll find both bundles and single cuts of hand-picked fabrics that are fresh, modern, and fun! Designer fabrics include many of our favorites -- Art Gallery Fabrics, Cotton + Steel, Free Spirit, and Moda, just to name a few! Lady Belle Fabrics goal is to offer the most gorgeous fabric as quickly as they can!

Shop * Instagram * Facebook * Pinterest

As part of the amazing grand finale giveaway, Brooke Becker of Lady Belle Fabric is giving all Sweet Home Quilt Along members 20% off long arm quilting on any Sweet Home quilt sent to her before the end of the year on December 31, 2021.

The fantastic Week 6 grand finale giveaway package will include the following for one lucky winner:

Edge to Edge Quilting from Lady Belle Fabric

15-piece Pure Solids Fat Quarter Bundle from Art Gallery Fabrics

16-piece Bookish Fat Quarter Bundle from Fat Quarter Shop

Batting of Choice from Hobbs Batting

Take a closer look at the Prize Package

Quilting and Batting

One lucky winner will be sending their Sweet Home quilt to Brooke Becker to be edge to edge quilted and filled with the Hobbs batting of their choice. All Members get 20% off their Sweet Home quilting service if sent in before the end of the year.

The winner can select the Hobbs batting of their choice which will be sent directly to Lady Belle Fabric and ready to be used in quilt sandwich sent in by the winner. With #hobbsinside you’ve put the best inside your Sweet Home quilt!

Pure Solids Bundle

To help your restock your stash, Art Gallery Fabrics is giving the grand finale winner a 15-piece Pure Solids fat quarter bundle with colors that coordinate beautifully with Maureen’s Cozy and Magical collection and my Bookish collection. These are a must in any makers fabric hoard!

Bookish Bundle

Our friends and sponsor at Fat Quarter Shop are back again to give our winner a 16-piece Bookish fat quarter bundle. This is the collection I used in my quilt and is only just in shops now!

Giveaway Now Closed

Congratulations to Sandra Jacob!

*Note: This giveaway is open to QAL Members and will ship to US addresses only (sorry, International Members). 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 part(s) of the Sweet Home QAL! (Counts as first comment entry.)

2. Leave a comment and let me know what you thought about the Q&A interview with Brooke Becker of Lady Belle Fabric. Did you learn anything new about long arm quilting? If you’ve never sent your quilts out before are you more apt to do so now after meeting Brooke and listing to this video? (This comment counts as a second entry). 

3. Following me (Sharon), Maureen, Lady Belle Fabric, Art Gallery Fabrics, Fat Quarter Shop, and Hobbs Batting qualifies you to make a third entry and ups your chances to win this fantastic prize! Just let me know the social platform you’re following us on by making a separate comment on this post (counts as a third entry).

4. In my interview with Brooke, we talked about spiderweb quilting design, can you answer my question about what a spiderweb quilt design means when used on a quilt? This counts as a BONUS fourth entry!

That’s FOUR possible entries and up to four chances to win! Enter now through Sunday, October 3, 2021. 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!

After the QAL

Maureen and I have throughly enjoyed bring you this quilt along. I’ll leave the Sweet Home Members Area up even though this will be your last blog post (and email newsletter) from the quilt along—I know you’ll still want to access the tutorials and blog posts as reference in the future and to follow along as the more recent Sweet Home members catch up and finish their quilts. If you’re just joining us, you may want to start at the first blog post in the QAL and work in chronological order to the present.

If you’re not signed up for newsletters of blog posts from my main blog (only email required upon sign up) you may want to do so and you’ll get an email each time I post a new blog post. It’s a great way to keep up to date on pattern releases, new fabric collections, and new projects and events. If you’ve already signed up, then you’re all set!

Those of you who are also on Instagram, we’re loving seeing all your Sweet Home quilt progress photos so keep those coming! Tag us @maureencracknell and @sharonhollanddesigns and use the #sweethomeqal2021 hashtag so we don’t miss any of it.

Thanks for joining us on this fun quilt along,

Sharon & Maureen

Week 5

It’s Week 5 of the Sweet Home Quilt Along and that means it’s time to finish any putting together of the quilt top and sandwiching the layers for quilting or maybe sending it off to your favorite long armer for quilting! Whichever way you decide to finish your quilt, you’ll want to select the type of batting that will be used inside the quilt sandwich and in this weeks tutorial video we’ll be helping to take the mystery out of choosing batting.

I know many of you have only just joined the quilt along so don’t worry about being behind. Even though we have a schedule that my co-host Maureen Cracknell and I are following to present the QAL, this is a go-at-your-own-pace sew along and we want happy makers rather than stressed makers! The Sweet Home Members Area, blog, and Tutorials pages will remain up even after the QAL has ended after Week 6. The Kit Directory page will remain up as long as shops still have kits to offer.

The pattern can be purchased from my Shop page.

For my Bookish version I’m using the Mark My Words print from my Bookish collection as my backing and filling my quilt with Hobbs Tuscany Silk batting. This quilt was sent off to Brooke Becker at Lady Belle Fabric to be long arm quilted. Brooke also has kits for this Bookish version the you can find a link for on the Kit Directory page.

Photo courtesy of Lady Belle Fabric

My Holiday Mix version Sweet Home quilt also has Hobbs Tuscany Silk batting inside. I used Maureen’s quilting cotton Plaid of My Dreams check for the backing and Terri Neil of Quilting Rubies did this beautiful guided long arm quilting on it.

The Holiday Mix Sweet Home quilt will be bound with Chenille-It faux chenille binding and next week we’ll have a special tutorial video all about adding Chenille-It to your quilts and projects. If you’re interested in adding Blooming Bias to your quilt before then I’ve added tutorial links to last weeks post HERE that you can view.

Bonus Project

Remember those half-square triangle (HST) cast off pieces from making your Log Cabin and Bungalow roofs? I hope you hung onto those usable scraps and stitched them together to create new HST units. The stitched units can be trimmed down to an unfinished 4’’ square (3-1/2’’ finished) and used in new projects. I decided to turn my Bookish quilt trimmings into a 16’’ square pillow.

I had kept all the pieces together as I had trimmed the roof sections of my Log Cabins and Bungalows then chain pieced the stack. Once they were trimmed into 4’’ squares I played around with arranging the units to make some sort of pretty arrangement—the possibilities are almost endless when it comes to HSTs.

I could’ve gone for something more structured or quilt block-like but really liked this very simple HST on point arrangement. I did end up picking some of the HSTs apart to have single triangle edges. Picking apart is easy and the triangles were already trimmed to size so it wasn’t any big deal.

I felt it had a very vintage look to it with the golden brown color and it goes so well with my home decor. It’d be a perfect toss pillow addition in my family room and brought in texture rather than a quilt pattern.

Please excuse my thread-covered design wall but here’s my HST arrangement all sewn together and squared up into an 18’’ square. I have some wonderful Hobbs Batting 16’’ square pillow forms (also part of this weeks giveaway prize) that will be the perfect size for my pillow.

You may be asking why I squared my pillow top to 18’’ if I plan to have a finished 16’’ pillow? Well, since this is an improve sort of pillow, I wasn’t so concerned with the outside edge HSTs getting clipped points so I decided to start larger than I needed, knowing the top was to be quilted and quilting will shrink up the size and a 1/2’’ seam allowance around the outside edge to assemble the pillow will also shrink the finished size. It turned out perfectly!

I used my favorite Hidden Zipper tutorial for adding a zipper closure. This is so easy if you’ve never tried it before or have been hesitant about adding a zip to a pillow. It’s a professional finish and makes switching out pillow covers a breeze!

I used Art Gallery Fabrics Textured Denim in Canyon Sunset to back my pillow. This heavy-weight denim is great for pillow backings. For the quilted top I layered an 18’’ square quilting cotton backing, an 18’’ square of Hobbs Tuscany Silk and a square of Hobbs Heirloom 100% Cotton, and the pieced top. I machine quilted a very simple straight line quilting that followed the lines of the HSTs.

It’s a good feeling using up scraps! I didn’t use all the HSTs from this quilt and the few that are left I think will make a lovely hot pad or mug rugs. What are you planning to do with your left over scraps? My free Journal Cover pattern on my Free Projects page is also a great project for left over scraps!

OUR SPONSORS

GIVEAWAY

Each Wednesday as we begin a new QAL week, we also announce that weekly giveaway prize! To enter for the prizes, Members need to leave a comment on the weekly blog post to be eligible for the drawing. Read more about the entry details below.

This week we have a special guest representative from Hobbs Batting for our tutorial video as well as wonderful giveaway prizes from our Hobbs Batting sponsor. I had the great pleasure to video chat with Stephanie Hackney, Director of Sales and Marketing at Hobbs Craft and Retail Division about all the wonderful Hobbs products available to quilters and makers. I learned so much from the interview and hope you enjoy it as well for taking the mystery out of selecting the perfect batting for your next project! Don’t miss this weeks video on the Sweet Home QAL Tutorials page!

TODAY'S FEATURED SPONSOR IS Hobbs Batting!

Hobbs Quilt Batting has manufactured high-quality batting for hobbyist, commercial, art and show quilters since 1978. They're proud to come from a family of quilters and are committed to providing the same quality Hobbs batting that provide to their own family of quilters. At Hobbs Batting, they never forget that quilts are gifts from the heart - an expression of love, commitment and caring for a specific recipient - or an expression of artistry and skill- artistry and that's submitted and judged in quilt shows and events around the word - or both! At Hobbs they're committed to doing their part to enhance our #JoyofQuilting!

Hobbsbatting.com  *  Blog  *  Instagram  *  Facebook  *  We hope you visiting Hobbs Quilt Batting!

For this week's Sweet Home QAL Giveaway, Hobbs Batting is offering two lucky winners a queen size Hobbs Tuscany SUPREME 100% Unbleached Cotton batting and a 16’’ square Hobbs Poly-down pillow form like the one I used in my pillow. Maureen and I love using these Hobbs products in our projects and know you’ll love them too!

Note: Due to the large box size for shipping this giveaway, Members with US addresses only are eligible for this giveaway. See entry details below.

Tuscany Supreme 100% Unbleached Cotton Batting, is Hobbs thickest and most cuddly cotton batting yet and is especially designed to give a soft hand and even appearance. Exceptionally easy to quilt by machine.

Made with only the finest cotton fibers, this clean, unbleached, long-staple, virgin cotton batting proudly displays the Cotton Incorporated Seal. Containing no scrim or binders, this 100% cotton product is lightly needle punched to resist bunching and shifting.

Hobbs Tuscany Supreme 100% Unbleached Cotton Batting should be paired with medium or dark fabrics – if paired with white or light-colored fabrics, natural (unbleached) cotton can slightly darken the fabrics. We recommend quilters test this batting with their chosen fabric(s) to see if ‘darkening’ will be an issue.

Hobbs Tuscany Supreme 100% Unbleached Cotton Batting may be stitched up to 3-4″ apart, and it is machine washable (once inside a quilt), with shrinkage of 4-6% expected. Please keep in mind that this batting is only lightly needle-punched to allow it to remain soft and fluffy – this can result in more shrinkage unless the quilter heavily stitches/quilts it.

Hobbs Poly-Down Pillow Pals Pillow Inserts (w/ultrasoft, polished cotton covers) maintain their shape, offer superior loft, are completely washable and are non-allergenic.

Created from siliconized, white, polyester fibers, Hobbs Poly-Down Pillow Pals Pillow Inserts are crafted with pride in the USA and weight only 12 oz.

These pillow inserts work well in covers you make yourself or those you purchase, and are perfect for use in living rooms, on sitting benches, or in kids’ room where they’ll likely get a lot of use (and maybe even abuse!).

Giveaway Now Closed

Congratulations to Lana Manis and Mary Reyngoudt

*Note: This giveaway is open to QAL Members and will ship to US addresses only (sorry, International Members). 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 first comment entry.)

2. Leave a comment and let me know what you thought about the Q&A interview with Stephanie of Hobbs Batting. What did you learn from the video that you didn’t know before about batting. (This comment counts as a second entry). 

3. Following me (Sharon), Maureen, and Hobbs Batting qualifies you to make a third entry and ups your chances to win this fantastic prize! Just let me know the social platform you’re following us on by making a separate comment on this post (counts as a third entry).

That’s THREE possible entries and up to three chances to win! Enter now through Sunday, September 26, 2021. I’ll be drawing TWO lucky winners from the comment pool on this post. The winning comments will be picked at random around 4 pm Eastern. I’ll post the name of the winners on this post once they've been notified and responded to my email. Good luck!

Next week is the big finale week where Maureen and I will show off our finished quilts! I’ll have two quilt to show you and can’t wait! We’ve also some fun additional tutorial/interview videos planned for next week from special Sponsor guests that I’m excited to share with the Sweet Home QAL Members!

If you’re on Instagram, we’re loving seeing all your Sweet Home quilt progress photos so keep those coming! Tag us @maureencracknell and @sharonhollanddesigns and use the #sweethomeqal2021 hashtag so we don’t miss any of it.

Thanks for joining us on this fun quilt along, we’re so happy you’re here!

Sharon & Maureen

Week 4

We’re over halfway done with the Sweet Home Quilt Along now and welcome back for Week 4! This week Maureen and I are piecing the Corner Stone squares and adding sashing to the Corner Stone blocks and house blocks—basically your goal is to have a quilt top or close to a quilt top by next Wednesday on Week 5 when we finish any assembly to start sandwiching our layers and quilting!

I know many of you have only just joined the quilt along so don’t worry about being behind. Even though we have a schedule that my co-host Maureen Cracknell and I are following to present the QAL, this is a go-at-your-own-pace sew along and we want happy makers rather than stressed makers!

If you’re brand new to quilting or QALs then be sure to check out the Sweet Home QAL Tutorials page where I’ve added helpful step-by-step videos you can sew along with. A new video is added for Week 4 on piecing the Corner Stone squares and for adding the sashing.

The Corner Stone squares will seem really easy now that you have this Log Cabin rounds type of assembly under your belt from piecing the Log Cabin and Bungalow blocks. Just make sure you orient your Corner Squares with the smallest rings at top and bottom when sewing into the sashing and assembling the top. This keeps all those same elements of the blocks running the same direction throughout the quilt.

Embellishing

If you’re planning on adding any trim or Chenille-it embellishments to your house blocks you may want to do so before you assemble the top and add the sashing. I’ve several tutorials for how to apply Chenille-It Blooming Bias to a project. Check these out:

Chenille Pillow with Hidden Zipper

HST Chenille Pillow

Chenille Pillows

Faux Chenille Binding Video

Last year during our first Sweet Home Quilt Along I noticed a typo in the pattern. It doesn’t really affect any of the cutting or material instructions but can certainly cause some confusion if you have an original version and when reading the sashing assembly portion of the pattern. See typo notice below.

OUR SPONSORS

GIVEAWAY

Each Wednesday as we begin a new QAL week, we also announce that weekly giveaway prize! To enter for the prizes, Members need to leave a comment on the weekly blog post to be eligible for the drawing. Read more about the entry details below.

TODAY'S FEATURED SPONSOR IS Oliso!

At Oliso, they believe in the human-centered design process. San-Francisco based team of inventors, engineers and researchers know that great ideas are best inspired by listening to people. See how their products can change your home and lifestyle for the better.

Oliso | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube

Visit Oliso to see all their fine products.

For this week's Sweet Home Giveaway, Oliso is offering an incredible prize where TWO lucky winners will receive an Oliso mini iron—just like the one’s Maureen and I use. The Oliso Mini comes in four fun color options and each Oliso Mini Project Iron™ comes with its solemate™, a silicone trivet that hugs the mini iron for travel and storage and functions as a safe place for the soleplate to rest while ironing.

Giveaway Now Closed

Congratulations to Jane T. and Teresa!

*Note: This giveaway is open to QAL Members and will ship to US and Canada addresses only (sorry Members beyond those boarders). 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 first comment entry.)

2. Leave a comment and let me know if you’ve been keeping pace with the QAL schedule or maybe you’ve already finished your top or quilt—tell me where you’re at in the assembly on Week 4. (This comment counts as a second entry). 

3. Following me (Sharon), Maureen, and Oliso qualifies you to make a third entry and ups your chances to win this fantastic prize! Just let me know the social platform you’re following us on by making a separate comment on this post (counts as a third entry).

That’s THREE possible entries and up to three chances to win! Enter now through Sunday, September 19, 2021. I’ll be drawing TWO lucky winners from the comment pool on this post. The winning comments will be picked at random around 4 pm Eastern. I’ll post the name of the winners on this post once they've been notified and responded to my email.

Next week we’ll put together the quilt top (if you haven’t done so this week) and get ready for quilting and finishing! I’ve a special guest interview video with Stephanie Hackney from Hobbs Batting to help you debunk the mysteries of selecting the right batting for your quilt. Plus, I’ll give you a sneak peek into a pillow project I’m working on using those scrap half-square triangle corners left over from trimming the roofs.

If you’re on Instagram, we’re loving seeing all your Sweet Home quilt progress photos so keep those coming! Tag us @maureencracknell and @sharonhollanddesigns and use the #sweethomeqal2021 hashtag so we don’t miss any of it.

Thanks for joining us on this fun quilt along, we’re so happy you’re here!

Sharon & Maureen

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.

Week 3

Welcome back to Week 3 of the Sweet Home Quilt Along with myself and co-host Maureen Cracknell. Be sure to check in on Maureen’s Sweet Home quilt progress over on her blog at Maureen Cracknell Handmade as she works on her AGF Cozy and Magical version.

This week we’ll be making the Bungalow blocks for our quilts and I’ve a new video up on the Member’s Sweet Home QAL Tutorials page giving you tips and tricks for piecing the Bungalow bocks.

Just like when we made the Log Cabin blocks, I’ve broken the Bungalow block down into manageable sections of which can be chain pieced once you’re feeling confident about the construction of the block.

The Sweet Home quilt I’m piecing for this week is made using my new Art Gallery Fabrics Bookish prints and AGF Pure Solid in English Toffee for the background. I’m thinking of this Sweet Home quilt as Sweet Libraries!

Both Maureen and I are following the #sweethomeqal2021 hashtag on Instagram so if you’re posting your quilt progress photos on IG, be sure to use the hashtag and tag Maureen and myself @maureencracknell and @sharonhollanddesigns so we see your beautiful work! I’m blown away by all the beautiful Sweet Home blocks and quilts!

Above are my Bungalow blocks for the Holiday Mix version of assorted Art Gallery Fabrics prints. I can’t wait for Week 6 Finale reveals to show off both my quilts! I know several of you are also starting a second quilt and it’s so fun to see all the infinite versions of this quilt!

There are still a few quilt kits left to purchase from the wonderful quilt shops on the Kit Directory page. It’s a great way to get started on that second quilt in one-stop fabric shopping.

We’re halfway through the quilt along this week and are coming down the home (pardon the pun) stretch in getting the top pieced and ultimately quilted and finished! Next week we will be assembling the quilt top by making the Corner Stone squares and putting those beautiful Log Cabin and Bungalow blocks together with the sashing and corner squares.

OUR SPONSORS

GIVEAWAY

Each Wednesday as we begin a new QAL week, we also announce that weekly giveaway prize! To enter for the prizes, Members need to leave a comment on the weekly blog post to be eligible for the drawing. Read more about the entry details below.

TODAY'S FEATURED SPONSOR IS Omnigrid!

Omnigrid® is a family of measuring and cutting products. When Omnigrid® tools are used together they provide quilters, sewists and DIY aficionados with unsurpassed accuracy and quality. A product concept born of the genius of Peggy and Randy Schafer, Omnigrid® products work behind the scenes allowing makers to flawlessly bring their creations to fruition. - See more at: Omnigrid!

Products  *  Projects and Patterns  *  Instagram  *  Pinterest 

We hope you enjoy visiting Omnigrid!

For this week's Sweet Home Giveaway, Ominigrid is offering an incredible prize! One lucky winner will receive all of the wonderful Omnigrid sewing/quilting products listed below! 

Giveaway prize includes an Omnigrid Ruler Rack, a Omnigrip 10’’ square ruler, and an Omnigrip 9-1/2’’ x 24’’ ruler like the one I’ve been using in my Sweet Home video tutorials! These, by the way, are my favorite Omnigrid rulers and I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love my new Ruler Rack!

Giveaway Now Closed

Congratulations to Kathy Peterosn!

*Note: This giveaway is open to QAL Members with US addresses. 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 first comment entry.)

2. Leave a comment and let me know what’s been your favorite part of the quilt along so far or maybe what sort of new sewing tip you’ve learned from the videos. (This comment counts as a second entry). 

3. Following me (Sharon), Maureen, and Omnigrid qualifies you to make a third entry and ups your chances to win this fantastic prize! Just let me know the social platform you’re following us on by making a separate comment on this post (counts as a third entry).

That’s THREE possible entries and up to three chances to win! Enter now through Sunday, September 12, 2021. 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 once they've been notified and responded to my email.

Next week we’ll put together the quilt top and get ready for quilting and finishing the following week. If you’re on Instagram, we’d love to see your fabric pulls for your Sweet Home quilt. Tag us @maureencracknell and @sharonhollanddesigns and use the #sweethomeqal2021 hashtag.

Thanks for joining us on this fun quilt along, we’re so happy you’re here!

Sharon & Maureen

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.

Week 2

Welcome back to the second week of the Sweet Home Quilt Along! So, how’d you do on your first week’s assignment of gathering your materials and cutting out all those pieces? Maybe some of you bought kits from the shops listed in our Kit Directory page, shopped local (or really local from your stash)? If you’re still looking for kits for your first, second, third quilt or beyond, there’s still a few left at the participating shops! The pattern can be purchased in my SHOP.

Holiday Mix version

Bookish version

Cozy & Magical version

Between my co-host Maureen Cracknell and myself, we’re making three Sweet Home quilts this year. I’m making the Holiday Mix and Bookish versions and Maureen’s making the Cozy & Magical version. All the fabrics (prints and solids) are from Art Gallery Fabrics and each are going to be beautiful!

I’ll be showing off my two quilts here on my blog with a few looks at my past three Sweet Home makes thrown in as well. To see Maureen’s Cozy & Magical version, you’ll want to take a look at Maureen’s blog posts about the QAL.

Bookish Sweet Home

Cozy & Magical Sweet Home

This week in the QAL we’re ready to take all that hard work you did agonizing over fabric selections or which kit to purchase and the cutting out of all those pieces to start making Log Cabin blocks—yay!

These Log Cabin blocks are fun to make and a great beginner block as there’s no seams to worry about matching up. I’ve prepared two video tutorials this week for helping you piece the ten Log Cabin blocks. Check out the Sweet Home QAL Tutorials page and sew along as I piece a Log Cabin block from start to finish. I’ve broken the Log Cabin into two parts: The Base and the Roof.

Bookish Sweet Home

Once you’ve made one full block, base to roof, it’s time to up your sewing game and learn how to chain piece the remaining Log Cabin blocks. Chain piecing saves you time and thread and you’ll have these blocks pieced in no time flat.

Holiday Mix Sweet Home chain piecing

Back of a Sweet Home Log Cabin block Terrakotta version

Be sure to photograph all those beautiful Log Cabin blocks and share with the over 1K other quilt along members on your favorite social media platform. If you’re on Instagram, we’d love to see your Sweet Home Log Cabin blocks. Tag us @maureencracknell and @sharonhollanddesigns and use the #sweethomeqal2021 hashtag.

OUR SPONSORS

GIVEAWAY

Each Wednesday begins a new QAL week where we cover a new Block or quilting technique on this QAL Member’s blog page. But, we want to make your quilt along experience even more fun and a reason to check in on the blog so this QAL posting space will also announce the weekly giveaway prize! Quilt Along Members need to leave a comment on the weekly blog posts to be eligible for the drawing. Read more about the entry details below.

TODAY'S FEATURED SPONSOR IS Chenille-It!

If you can dream it you can Chenille-it is the tag line for this innovative notions company run by owner/designer/artist Nannette Holmberg. Chenille-it Blooming bias let’s your create a faux chenille finish to all your sewing projects with easy-to-use bias tape. Stitch it, wash it, and you're done—it’s really that simple!

Visit Chenille-It: Shop | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

We’re so pleased to have Chenille-It as a sponsor again this year for the Sweet Home QAL. I’ll be binding my Holiday Mix quilt with 5/8’’-wide Jade faux chenille. Don’t worry, I’ll be going over exactly how to attach this type of binding to your quilt on week 5. But for those of you that like to work ahead, I’ve already a Faux Chenille Binding video prepared for the easy steps needed to achieve this cool look.

Our generous sponsor and friends at Chenille-It are giving away a Lily Pad quilt kit to one lucky winner. I’m sorry that for this giveaway, only US residents are eligible due to outrageous shipping costs right now.

This $80.00 US value kit includes: A quilt kit including all the fabrics needed to make the Lily Pad Quilt designed for Chenille-It by Sharon Holland Designs.

Fabrics include all Art Gallery Fabrics and are from Sharon Holland's Art Gallery Fabrics Lilliput Collection as well as Pure Solids. Kit will include 5/8" Chenille-It to embellish the strips on the quilt, as well as bind the quilt. Customers will also receive a copy of the Lily Pad Quilt pattern.

Kit does not include fabric for backing or batting.

Giveaway now Closed

Congratulations to Jenny!

*Note: This giveaway is open to QAL Members with US addresses. 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 first comment entry.)

2. Leave a comment and let me know how you feel about chain piecing. Whether you’re a serial chain piecer, a complete newbie, or somewhere in-between love and hate. (This comment counts as a second entry). 

3. Following me (Sharon), Maureen, and Chenille-It qualifies you to make a third entry and ups your chances to win this fantastic prize! Just let me know the social platform you’re following us on by making a separate comment on this post (counts as a third entry).

That’s THREE possible entries and up to three chances to win! Enter now through Sunday, September 5, 2021. 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 once they've been notified and responded to my email.

Bookish Sweet Home Log Cabins

Next week we’ll be piecing the Bungalow blocks and getting even more chain piecing practice! If you’re on Instagram, we’d love to see your fabric pulls for your Sweet Home quilt. Tag us @maureencracknell and @sharonhollanddesigns and use the #sweethomeqal2021 hashtag.

Thanks for joining us on this fun quilt along, we’re so happy you’re here!

Sharon & Maureen

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.

Week 1

Welcome to the first week of the 2021 Sweet Home Quilt Along! As I write this blog post on Monday night we have 864 members signed up to make Sweet Home Quilts and be eligible to win our weekly prizes by leaving comments on these weekly posts! Read more about the giveaways at the end of this post.

Many of you just joined this members areas and are discovering the previous QAL blog posts and Kit Directory page with the gorgeous kits available from your favorite shops. There’s still time to either order a kit or shop for your fabrics online or at your local quilt shop or your very own stash because this first week is about gathering your fabrics and cutting out the pieces. The Sweet Home quilt pattern can be purchased in my SHOP.

The fabric pull above is for the first of my two Sweet Home quilt makes and is the Holiday Mix, a non-holiday mix of Art Gallery Fabrics from several of my collections, Maureen’s Open Heart collection, and Amy Sinibaldi’s Velvet collection. This kit is available at Chenille-It and I’ll be finishing the binding with Jade Blooming Bias faux chenille.

I’ve already gotten this Holiday Mix version finished and will be working on my Bookish version (below) in real time during the quilt along. You can preorder the Bookish kit from Lady Belle Fabric.

My co-host Maureen Cracknell and I are so happy to have you sewing along with us as we make our Sweet Home Quilts. Maureen will be making a Sweet Home quilt using her new Art Gallery Fabrics Cozy and Magical collection for a winter village of pure delight! Kits for Maureen’s Cozy version are also available at Lady Belle Fabric.

Photo courtesy of Lady Belle Fabric

Photo courtesy of Maureen Cracknell

But what if you’re doing your own thing and pulling fabrics from your stash or doing a little shopping for new fabrics and don’t know where to start??? You’re in luck because the Members Sweet Home QAL Tutorial page has a video all about how to select fabrics for your Sweet Home quilt.

I’ll be continuing to add new helpful videos as the weeks continue. Topics will follow the weekly prompts and include helpful, timesaving tips and patchwork piecing nuggets and tricks.

In the fabric selection video on the Sweet Home QAL Tutorial page I give a run down on how the material list is organized and give tips for how to select fabrics for the various parts of the Log Cabin and Bungalow blocks. The majority of the house pieces are made from 10 different fat quarters with Log Cabin roofs and windows being the first three fat quarters in the material list. The remaining 7 fat quarters are divided between the outer and middle Log Cabin rings and Bungalows. Think about how the prints look next to each other and how much contrast or blending you want the Log Cabin rings to have as well as how the houses stand out compared to your background choice. General rule is if the fabric pull looks beautiful in a stack, it will look good in the quilt.

I photograph everything and have learned that photographing your fabric pull or fabric auditions will help you to see if there’s any fabrics that don’t play well with the others or if the fabrics/prints are too closely matched that they all blend together. There’s something about seeing all those thumbnail images and your phone that allows you to view your selections with a new perspective and see things there you can’t always see right in front of you.

Our Sponsors

Giveaway

Each week as we cover a new Block or quilting technique on this QAL Members blog we’ll also be announcing the weekly giveaway prize! It seemed fitting to give away fabric on our Fabric Selection first week!

TODAY'S FEATURED 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 

We hope you enjoy visiting Fat Quarter Shop! 

One lucky winner will receive this 16-pc fat quarter bundle of Maureen’s new Cozy and Magical collection for Art Gallery Fabrics from our friends and sponsor’s at the Fat Quarter Shop.

Giveaway now closed

Congratulations to Linsey Matus!

*Note: This giveaway is open to QAL Members. 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 first comment entry.)

2. Leave a comment about yourself. Have you been quilting forever or brand new to quilt alongs and quilting? Are you a shop owner or fabric lover (hoarder, like me)? (Counts as a second entry). 

3. Following me (Sharon), Maureen, and Fat Quarter Shop qualifies you to make a third entry and betters your chances to win this fantastic prize! Just let me know the social platform you’re following us on by making a separate comment on this post (counts as a third entry).

That’s THREE possible entries and up to three chances to win! Enter now through Sunday, August 29, 2021. 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 once they've been notified and responded to my email.

Next week we’ll dive right in to piecing Log Cabin blocks and playing with those pretty fabrics! If you’re on Instagram, we’d love to see your fabric pulls for your Sweet Home quilt. Tag us @maureencracknell and @sharonhollanddesigns and use the #sweethomeqal2021 hashtag.

Thanks for joining us on this fun quilt along, we’re so happy you’re here!

Sharon & Maureen

Pre-QAL Giveaway!

It’s one week out from the official start date of the Sweet Home Quilt Along but my co-host Maureen Cracknell and I are so excited for the QAL to begin on August 25th we thought we’d start a week early with a very special giveaway from our sponsor Victoria Newmyer at Midlife Quilter.

Victoria Newmyer is the owner of Midlife Quilter and her goals for her shop are simple: Sell beautiful fabrics and provide excellent service. Victoria believes every step of your quilting/sewing project should be special--including buying and receiving your fabrics and when you receive your package from Midlife Quilter, there should be a joyful experience.. 

Let Victoria help you curate your next fabric pull from the beautiful fabric selection in her shop!

Follow Midlife Quilter on Instagram @midlife_quilter

on her blog at Midlife Quilter where she has tutorials on How to Build a Proper Stash

and of course, the beautiful fabric selection at the Midlife Quilter Shop.

Quilt Kit Giveaway

Today’s blog post is to tell you about the fantastic Sweet Home Quilt Kit Giveaway from our generous Midlife Quilter sponsor. Yes, that’s right, you as a Sweet Home QAL Member can enter this giveaway, here on this giveaway blog post. See entry details below.

The giveaway prize package will include all the fabrics used in the original (pattern cover quilt) Sweet Home quilt to make the quilt top plus (optional) traditional binding and 1 roll of Chenille-It Blooming Bias tape in Natural to finish the edges of the quilt just like I did on my original Sweet Home quilt. The kit will not include batting or backing fabric.

The winner will also receive the Sweet Home PDF pattern which can be substituted for any other pattern in my (Sharon’s) Shop if winner has already owns a Sweet Home quilt pattern.

Image courtesy of Midlife Quilter

This bundle of beautiful Art Gallery Fabrics includes prints and solids from several AGF designer collections: Spirited, Ballerina Fusion, Marrakesh Fusion, Rosewood Fusion, and Pure Solids. You’ll love the feel of AGF fabrics because of the 100% premium cotton POPLIN that’s mercerized to ensure the absolute brilliancy of all colors and because it’s Oeko-Tex certified.

Image courtesy of Midlife Quilter

Giveaway now closed

Congratulations to Marian!

*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 contact you!

Domestic shipping included. *International Members are welcome to enter and are eligible to win but will pay the shipping difference between domestic and overseas charges.

1. Simply leave a comment here under this post! (Counts as first comment entry.)

2. Leave a comment about the Sweet Home quilt you plan to make, if you’ve purchased one of the gorgeous kits from the Kit Directory page or plan to make your quilt from a particular fabric collection or from your stash—we’d love to get to know more about you! (Counts as a second entry). 

3. Following me (Sharon), Maureen, and Victoria at Midlife Quilter qualifies you to make a third entry and betters your chances to win this fantastic prize! Just let me know the social platform you’re following us on by making a separate comment on this post (counts as a third entry).

That’s THREE possible entries and up to three chances to win! Enter now through Sunday, August 22, 2021. 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 once they've been notified and responded to my email.

Thanks for joining us on this fun quilt along. Next week we’ll officially start the event and there’ll be a new blog post each Wednesday with tips and tutorials added to the tutorial page for that week’s topic. Along with each week’s posts there’ll be a new giveaway prize and more chances to win incredible prizes!

So happy you’re here!

Sharon & Maureen

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 Base

Hello Sweet Home members! I’m so happy you’ve signed up to sew along with myself and my co-host Maureen Cracknell on the 2021 Sweet Home Quilt Along! This blog/email newsletter will be your Sweet Home QAL home base throughout the event.

It’s just two weeks out till the August 25th starting day of the QAL and as I write this this blog post we’ve got 618 members signed up to sew along!

Most of you already have the pattern and are gathering your fabric pulls or ordering kits. If you don’t already have your Sweet Home quilt pattern, then pop over to my Shop and purchase the PDF pattern.

Don’t forget to visit the Kit Directory page in the QAL Members Area to be inspired or order a kit for the quilt along. Many shops are running low on available kits so don’t delay too long!

Maureen and I have been busy behind the scenes lining up sponsors for the quilt along, making our sample quilts, and creating helpful tutorials so you’ll have the best QAL experience over the six week long QAL event.

Here’s a look at the six week schedule that begins August 25th. The first week is devoted to Fabric Selection and cutting out all the pieces needed to start piecing the Log Cabin blocks on week 2.

Each week there’ll be a new blog post newsletter sent to members. In the newsletters you’ll find pattern tips with extra tutorials available on the Sweet Home QAL Tutorials page.

Plus each Wednesday (starting nex week) a weekly newsletter will announce which wonderful sponsor and prize(s) are part of that week’s giveaway package. You’ll need to log in to your Members account and leave a comment on that week’s blog post to be entered for that giveaway prize(s). More details to come on giveaways that start next week—definitely something you wont want to miss!

I’m excited for the quilt along to begin and to make my two new Sweet Home quilts! If you’re on Instagram, post your Sweet Home progress and blocks using the #SweetHomeQAL2021 hashtag so Maureen and I can see what you’re creating—I can’t wait to see what you make! While you’re on IG, be sure to follow both Maureen @maureencracknell and myself @sharonhollanddesigns as we post about the QAL, our pretty images of our Art Gallery Fabrics collections, and whatever other the projects we’re working on—we love staying connected that way!

Soft Launch and Quilt Kits

Thank you for signing up as a Sweet Home QAL Member! Last week was our soft launch to announce the quilt along and getting the new Member area up and running on this blog. My co-host Maureen Cracknell and I are thrilled with the response so far and as of writing this post, we have 344 members signed up (and growing) to sew along with us when the event starts on August 25, 2021.

Have you had a chance to browse the Kit Directory page? We’re now up to 16 different kit versions to choose from and recently added The Cotton Box from Canada to our Sweet Home kit offerings. The kits are going fast so shop early to get the ones you want to make and you’ll have your materials ready when the QAL begins!

Right now the only kit without a lot of fabric bundle photos is my Art Gallery Fabrics, Bookish kit from Lady Belle Fabric and that’s because the collection is so new the fabric isn’t in shops yet. Expected delivery for Bookish fabrics is sometime in mid-August so it will be one of the last kits shipping but hopefully arrive in time for the QAL.

The first week of the QAL is about fabric selection so you really have until September 1st to start actual cutting of pieces. But, you can preorder the kit from Lady Belle Fabric and it’ll ship when ready—right before the QAL.

While I’m waiting for my Bookish fabrics to arrive I’ll be making a second quilt from the Holiday, non-holiday prints mix of Art Gallery Fabrics from several of my collections, Maureen’s Open Heart collection, and Amy Sinibaldi’s Velvet collection. This kit is available at Chenille-It and I’ll be finishing the binding with Blooming Bias faux chenille.

View all the kits HERE on the Sweet Home Kit Directory page.

Many of you will want to work from your stash or have an excuse to go shopping for new fabrics to curate your own look for your Sweet Home quilt and I encourage you to do so because this quilt is so much fun to play with all those different fabrics! Here’s some resources for you if you’re unsure where to start and want to use this time before the QAL begins to decide on your fabrics:

• Search the #SweetHomeQuilt and #SweetHomeQAL hashtags on Instagram and see what makers did last year.

• View this @sharonhollanddesigns IGTV video I made last year about how to select fabrics for your Sweet Home quilt

We’re looking forward to sewing along with you in August! For daily quilting and fabric inspiration, follow both Maureen @maureencracknell and myself @sharonhollanddesigns on Instagram.

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.

Welcome to the 2021 Sweet Home Quilt Along

I’m so happy you’ve signed up to sew along with my co-host Maureen Cracknell and myself for the six weeks of fun quilt construction, tutorials, and weekly giveaway prizes from our amazing sponsors.

Right now, only this Sweet Home QAL 2021 welcome post and the Sweet Home Kit Directory page are accessible to members but once the quilt along starts on August 25, 2021 the tutorials page will also open up and include additional tips, videos, and tutorials for you to get the best quilting experience as we make our Sweet Home Quilts.

The Sweet Home QAL 2021 page works like as private blog posts just for this QAL. This page is for all quilt along news, quilt inspiration, and the giveaways! You’ll get an email update each time a new post is added. Expect a couple emails before the actual QAL gets started on August 25th.

If you’ve not already purchased a Sweet Home PDF pattern then you can find it in my SHOP and have the pattern ahead of time. You may want to start gathering your materials as well and if you need some inspiration or want to purchase a kit ahead of time then check out the Sweet Home Kit Directory page and take a look at the dozen differnet kits options available at the time of this post. Availability is limited so shop early or sign up for preorders if the shops don’t have the fabrics in stock yet.

I can’t wait to get started making this year’s Sweet Home quilts and reconnecting with past quilt along makers as well as meeting new members! If you’re on Instagram, be sure to be following me @sharonhollanddesigns and Maureen @maureencracknell for our Instagram posts about our Art Gallery Fabric collections, Sweet Home quilts, and all our sewing and creative happenings on a daily basis.