Hello 2018

Hello 2018

Bobbin quilt from Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living by Sharon Holland

To be honest, I've done way more work on my computer this year than sewing. I've started at least 6 different projects and all are in a varying states of completion. That's not normally how I like to work. I prefer to start one project, fully immerse myself in it, and finish it before moving on to the next. But for some reason, it's working well this year to be jumping back and forth between projects and I don't feel overwhelmed or feel I'm loosing time switching gears. The nice thing is they will all be finished around the same time and then is will rain stuff to post about!

Until then, here's some fun things happening in the sewing and quilting world you may want to check out!

Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living by Sharon Holland as seen in Curated Quilts magazine.

It was so exciting to see my new book featured in issue 2 of the fabulous Curated Quilts magazine. The write up for my book was so nice--thank you Curated Quilts!

The second issue of Curated Quilts is all about Log Cabin blocks. It's a fascinating issue and packed with incredible inspiration. Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living (affiliate Amazon link) has three quilt projects inspired by Log Cabin blocks because I've always been drawn to the graphic, timeless appeal of that type of quilt. 

I want to thank all the quilter's out there you have already bought my book and who are posting their makes on Instagram. I cannot tell you how exciting it is to see the stunning quilts you're all making. We've been using the hashtag #UtilityStyleQuiltsforEverydayLiving and you can use that hashtag to view all the makes in one place. Did you know that IG now has the feature where you can follow hashtags?! It's one of their better "improvements" and by following a hashtag it will now show up in your feed just as if it were an individual you were following. It's a great way to stay connected to what's going on out there. 

20 Best Tote Bags by Dritz

It's a great day when your favorite notions company teams up with your favorite fabric company! Dritz and Art Gallery Fabrics have collaborated on a tote bag tutorial showing off the amazing assortment of Dritz bag hardware and the beautiful AGF canvas.

Photo courtesy of Dritz

Photo courtesy of Dritz

Okay, I'm pretty obsessed with all the bags. Just look at the cool details on the two totes above using my Arborescent Seasons canvas and Bari j's Magnolia Study Fresh print.

Photo courtesy of Dritz. Arborescent canvas by Sharon Holland for Art Gallery Fabrics.

Photo courtesy of Dritz. Sand Bar canvas by Sharon Holland for Art Gallery Fabrics.

Photo courtesy of Dritz

That was just a look at three of the bags. Be sure to visit Dritz to view all the other fun ways to dress up your totes AND...

Image courtesy of Dritz

If you'd like a chance to win all this Dritz hardware and eight 1/2 yard cuts of Art Gallery Fabrics canvas...visit Dritz on Instagram for all the details on how to enter into the drawing. Drawing runs from 9 am EST on Tuesday, January 30th until 9 am Wednesday, January 31st so don't delay!

Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living Blog Tour Recap Part 2

Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living Blog Tour Recap Part 2

The Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living book blog tour has felt like a big Christmas present and for 16 days I was surprised by a new and beautiful gift! This tour was so special I had to break up the recap into parts. Part 1 was shared last week and today I will finish the review with Part 2.

Monday 12/4  Heidi Staples - Fabric Mutt

Tuesday 12/5  Amy Friend - During Quiet Time

Wednesday 12/6  Maureen Cracknell - Maureen Cracknell Handmade

Thursday 12/7  Amber Johnson - Gigi's Thimble

Friday 12/8  Karen O'Connor - Lady K Quilts Designs

Saturday 12/9  Kori Turner-Goodhart - Olive Grace Studios

Sunday 12/10  Silvia Sutters - A Stranger View

Monday 12/11  Sarah Maxwell - Designs by Sarah J

Tuesday 12/12  Jessica Swift - Jessica Swift

Wednesday 12/13  Lisa Ruble - Love to Color My World

Thursday 12/14  Cindy Wiens - Live a Colorfullife

Friday 12/15  Eleri Kerian - Sew and Tell Project

Saturday 12/16  Anjeanette Klinder - Anjeanette K

Sunday 12/17  Stephanie Kendron - Modern Sewciety

Monday 12/18  Christopher Thompson - The Tattooed Quilter

Tuesday 12/19  Susan Playsted - Hopewood Home

Pillow top and photo by Jessica Swift 

The second half of the Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living book blog tour starts off on Tuesday, December 12th with Jessica Swift of Jessica Swift. Jessica is the newest designer for Art Gallery Fabrics and launched her Tallinn fabrics this fall in Houston. She is a beginning quilter and really the ideal type of sewer to tell you about her experience with using my book. I think her project choice to make a pillow from the Pixel quilt was not only a good selection for a beginner to make but also a great way to show off scraps left-over from Jessica's new collection. I love the machine quilting she did on her pillow top as well. See the finished pillow on Jessica's blog. 

Quilt and photo by Lisa Ruble 

Wednesday, December 13th my dear friend and former colleague Lisa Ruble of Love to Color My World blogged about her scaled down version of the Midsommar quilt. I love the graphic clean lines of this quilt and especially think Lisa's teal, grey, and pop of coral are stunning. I enjoyed reading Lisa's blog post because she takes us through her process of fabric/color selection for her quilt and how the book pushed her a little out of her comfort zone with mixing the different greys. The result is stunning and the baby that will receive this quilt will have a modern looking quilt that will stand the test of time. 

Quilt and photo by Cindy Wiens 

Thursday, December 14th the talented Cindy Wiens of Live a Colorfullife shared her tour make with us. This quilt may seem ordinary but in fact it's a very special quilt. The fabrics Cindy used are her father's repurposed shirts. Cindy chose the Comfort quilt pattern and opted not to include the small triangle corners to the blocks. The utility of this quilt shines through from the "Workday Blues" shirtings and the repurposing of materials into a quilt Cindy can now wrap herself in like a big hug. Read more about this quilt on her blog post and see the clever pillow Cindy made from leftover squares.

Quilt and photo by Eleri Kerian

Friday, December 15th was the day Eleri Kerian of Sew and Tell Project posted about her stunning Night and Day quilt. Eleri is a garment sewer that is new to quilting. She really just picked patchwork up during the Sewcial Bee Sampler virtual sew along earlier this year. Eleri not only made and finished a quilt for the tour but she made a California King-size quilt! She wowed the socks off all of us and you need to visit her blog to read (and see) more about this magnificent quilt. 

Quilt and photo by Anjeanette Klinder

Saturday, December 16th Anjeanette Klinder of Anjeanette K dazzled everyone with this baby quilt made with one block of the Sunday Paper quilt. This bold quilt block makes the perfect size for a baby quilt because just one block from my quilt pattern is 36" square! Anjeanette is an extremely talented quilter and her blog is a must for you to visit. Read more about her beautiful little quilt on the tour post. 

Quilt and photo by Stephanie Kendron

Sunday, December 17th brought us this breathtaking quilt by Stephanie Kendron of Modern Sewciety. A lucky baby boy is going to receive this Goose Chase quilt and what a stunning quilt of blue, white, and a touch of sunny yellow. Stephanie had fun with the large center half-square triangles and made this a thoroughly modern-utility make. I'm really in love with this quilt! Read more about it's story on Stephanie's blog, enter for a chance to win a copy of my book (ends December 29th), and be sure to catch some podcasts while you're there too!

Pillows and photo by Christopher Thompson

Monday, December 18th was the day that Christopher Thompson of The Tattooed Quilter shared his festive pillows with us. My talented friend, Christopher used the Tracery quilt pattern from my book and extended out the block to make it an 18-inch finished pillow. Christopher is a textile designer for Riley Blake and I love the Riley Blake red, green, and black prints he chose created a graphic-cool holiday look. You have to visit his blog to read more and see all sort of sewing inspiration!

Quilt and photo by Susan Playsted

Last but not least is Susan Playsted of Hopewood Home on Tuesday, December 19th, the final day of the tour. Although Susan does not have a blog, she is on Instagram. Susan's post is very significant because she also played a role in how my book looks.

When I was unexpectedly handed back my book to finish with 3 weeks until the printer deadline and I was in a panic to get images of my quilts. I didn't even have the quilts in my possession at that time and was wracking my brain how I could get it all done in time. I've been following Susan's Hopewood Home feed on Instagram for years and adore (more like lust) over her home and images she posts. I had the bright idea to contact Susan, tell her my situation, and ask her to kindly allow me use of her photos as inset images in the book--to which she said "Yes"! Since flying to Australia was out of the question, my thought was to use her images from her beautifully decorated home as fill to further enhance the lifestyle feeling I wanted in my book. I was right, the integration of her comfortable rooms and on-trend decor filled in seamlessly with my photos of the quilts and instructions. 

Excerpt from Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living book 

Here's just one example: I had seen a post of Susan's laundry room on her IG feed and knew I wanted to use it in my book. Originally the window was without a shade and since this book is about fabric I asked if Susan could tack up a temporary "shade" for the photo. We didn't talk about colors or fabric, I left that up to her keen discretion. The result was amazing! This section on Fabric and Quilt Care is spread opposite the last page of the Comfort (baby quilt) project and the colors are superb together.

Quilt and Photo by Susan Playstead

The quilt Susan made for the blog tour is a marvelous, non-scrappy Roman Stripe quilt. Roman Strip is the free quilt pattern you can download from Landauer that I designed the accompany the book. Everyone of the quilts and projects made for this tour shows how versatile the patterns in my book can be!

Roman Stripe quilt and photo by Sharon Holland

It brings me incredible joy to see all these projects made and inspired by book. I have added a STORE page to this blog and have a limited number of copies of my book left to sell. By purchasing the book directly from me you can also have your copy signed and dedicated, if you desire. Otherwise you can purchase the book on Amazon (affiliate link), from the publisher (Landauer), your local quilt shop, or other book stores-everywhere.

A big thanks goes out to all the talented designers/bloggers that made this tour so incredible. I hope you had as much fun as I did! Wishing all of you the merriest of Christmas' or other seasonal holiday you celebrate--they're all an opportunity to gather family and friends around. May you also have all the best in 2018. 

Quilt and photo by Sharon Holland

Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living Blog Tour Recap Part 1

Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living Blog Tour Recap Part 1

We're slightly past the halfway mark on this incredible tour for my new book, Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living. It fills my heart with joy to see how these talented designer/bloggers have taken my book and ran with creativity in their makes. 

Many of the bloggers are offering a chance to win a copy of my book from Landauer Publishing so if you want to get your hands on one before Christmas, check out each of their blog posts to see if the giveaway is still open and continue following along on the second part of the tour for even more beautiful makes and giveaway opportunities! I must note that the book giveaways are limited to US address only--sorry international friends.

Monday 12/4  Heidi Staples - Fabric Mutt

Tuesday 12/5  Amy Friend - During Quiet Time

Wednesday 12/6  Maureen Cracknell - Maureen Cracknell Handmade

Thursday 12/7  Amber Johnson - Gigi's Thimble

Friday 12/8  Karen O'Connor - Lady K Quilts Designs

Saturday 12/9  Kori Turner-Goodhart - Olive Grace Studios

Sunday 12/10  Silvia Sutters - A Stranger View

Monday 12/11  Sarah Maxwell - Designs by Sarah J

Tuesday 12/12  Jessica Swift - Jessica Swift

Wednesday 12/13  Lisa Ruble - Love to Color My World

Thursday 12/14  Cindy Wiens - Live a Colorfullife

Friday 12/15  Eleri Kerian - Sew and Tell Project

Saturday 12/16  Anjeanette Klinder - Anjeanette K

Sunday 12/17  Stephanie Kendron - Modern Sewciety

Monday 12/18  Christopher Thompson - The Tattooed Quilter

Tuesday 12/19  Susan Playsted - Hopewood Home

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Blog Tour Recap Part 1

Photo and pillow by Heidi Staples of Fabric Mutt

Monday, December 4th was the official start of the tour. My sweet friend, Heidi Staples of Fabric Mutt lead us off. Heidi has a distinctive style to the type of prints she works with (and designs!). Her fabric choices are reminiscent of feedsack prints intermixed with playful graphics and always cheery in colors. They fit Heidi's bubbly personality to a T. For the book blog tour Heidi scaled down my Cabin quilt and made a quilted pillow top that is delightfully fun and beautiful! You must put Fabric Mutt on your blog visit list and find all sorts of exciting projects and tutorials. 

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Photo and pillow by Amy Friend of During Quiet Time

Tuesday, December 5th we stopped at Amy Friend's blog During Quiet Time and saw how Amy took one block from my Tracery quilt pattern and turn it into a stunning pillow. Both of the first two post in this tour prove you don't have to make a full quilt to make something useful and beautiful for your home (or gifts) as Amy plans to give her pillow make as a Christmas present. The nature inspired prints and soothing palette make this pillow a standout. I do love the Tapestry fabrics prints I designed for Art Gallery Fabrics included in the mix!

There's still a few days left on the book giveaway on Amy's blog plus you'll always find wonderful quilting and sewing inspiration on her beautiful site. 

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Photo by Sharon Holland. Fabrics by Maureen Cracknell of Maureen Cracknell Handmade

Wednesday, December 6th belonged to my dear friend and Art Gallery Fabrics designer sister Maureen Cracknell or Maureen Cracknell Handmade. My friendship with Maureen has grown so much this year as we co-hosted the Sewcial Bee Sampler together during the first half of the year. We're kindred spirits and hardly a day goes by now that we aren't texting each other and bouncing ideas off one another. It's amazing to have someone you trust completely and know they have your back. We also have so much fun together--it's a wonder we get any work done at all! Maureen's blog post is another of our collaborations. At Fall Quilt Market in Houston, Maureen debuted her next Art Gallery Fabrics collection called Flower Child. I was at the show to debut my book and had time to sew a quilt for Maureen. Maureen's blog post shows the Goose Chase quilt remake in her new fabrics mixed with AGF Pure Elements and Prisma fabric. The quilt is stunning and just shows how different a design can look simply by switching up the fabrics and colors. I did a wavy, diagonal machine quilting that was easy and forgiving with it's organic quirkiness. Look for more about this quilt when AGF publishes the Lookbook for Maureen's new fabrics. 

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Photo and quilt by Amber Johnson of Gigi's Thimble

Thursday, December 7th Amber Johnson of Gigi's Thimble wowed us all with her version of the Cabin quilt from my book. This quilt pattern has to be my favorite from the book (shhh, don't tell the other quilts). It is such a simple quilt to make but is so satisfying and a great throw size. The graphic quality of Amber's quilt in the rustic shades of the season look right at home in her farmhouse-style home. I just want to curl up on that sofa and snuggle under her quilt--especially since she used Minky to back her quilt! This was my first opportunity to work with Amber in a blog tour and you must agree we want to see more from her in the future! In the meanwhile, you can visit her blog and see more of what Amber has made.

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Photo and quilt by Karen O'Connor of Lady K Quilts Designs

Friday, December 8th the blog tour continued with Karen O'Connor of Lady K Quilts Designs. Karen is not only the nicest person you'll ever meet, she can sign like you wouldn't believe! Be sure to visit her on her to see more of her quilt and get links to her Instagram feed to listen to her Christmas carols. Seriously, that girl needs to make a record album! Okay, back to Karen's quilt make for my book tour...she stitched this stunning remake of the Night and Day quilt from my book and instead of making it queen-size like the pattern called for Karen simply reduced the number of blocks in her quilt and made a size she felt comfortable quilting on her domestic sewing machine. Absolutely stunning and I of course, love all the AGF prints she used in this make. This quilt is as lively and full of energy as Karen is and it was so much fun having her part of this tour!

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Photo and runner by Kori Turner-Goodhart of Olive Graces Studios

Saturday, December 9th we were treated to this table runner by Kori Turner-Goodhart of Olive Grace Studios. Kori and I go way back but this is the first time we've aligned the stars and moons to work together. It was so much fun seeing what Kori would choose to make from my book and I adore her version of my Viewpoint table runner. Kori used the cheery print Petally Sweet from my Gossamer fabrics for Art Gallery Fabrics as the focal print on the runner. You know I love these colors but what I also love is that this runner fits Kori's sweet, feminine, and graceful style. Her blog or better yet, shop is a must visit to see more of what Kori has to offer in quilt design patterns.

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Photo and quilt by Silvia Sutters of A Stranger View

Sunday, December 10th I cannot deny it, I wish I'd have made this quilt the way Silvia Sutters of A Stranger View has done! Silvia chose the Cabin quilt and an analogous color palette of cool teal with a tiny hint of coral. Both the quilt pattern and the colors are hands down my favorites and pair those with a stunning photography setting and you've got my heart--forever! Silvia and I "met" via the internet and her wonderful personality and talent shine through in everything she does. I've been lucky to have her and several of my blog tours now and she's a powerhouse of talent. If you're not already following this incredible lady, you must! See more of this beautiful quilt on Silvia's blog post for the tour. 

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Photo and quilt top by Sarah Maxwell of Designs by Sarah J.

Monday, December 11th we had the pleasure of visiting Sarah Maxwell of the Designs by Sarah J blog. Sarah cleverly scaled down the Midsommar quilt pattern from my book to make a baby quilt sized project. She incorporated prints from her own fabric lines along with Alison Glass fabrics to create this gorgeous and graphic top. Sarah is a soon-to-be author with Landauer Publishing and an avid designer and quilter. It was fun having Sarah as part of this tour and she has a giveaway of my book open until December 19th so hurry over and enter to win!

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Be sure to continue following along as the rest of the tour unfolds amazing remakes, tutorials, and insights into my new book Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living. You can purchase this book from my newly set up STORE on this website AND get a signed copy (copies are limited)! Or, you can order through Amazon (affiliate link), purchase directly from Landauer Publishing, or from your local quilt shop to name just a few resources. 

Magazine Back Story & Back Issues

Magazine Back Story & Back Issues

You may be aware of the fact that I was the assistant editor for the Quilt-it...today and Sew-it...today magazines published by Valu-Publishing from December 2012 through September 2014. What you may not be aware of is that not only was I the assistant editor but I also designed the magazine from the ground up because these were a brand new titles for the publisher, did 90% of the photography, laid out the magazine to get to press, worked with the copy editor, and designed the covers. But, my job didn't stop there, I was also the liaison with contributing designers and rewrote and illustrated the various projects to fit our format, shipped back the projects, and designed dozens of quilts and sewing patterns for the magazines as well! 

Our small staff turned out a magazine every 4 weeks. In total, 12 Quilt-it...today and 11 Sew-it...today magazines went to press. There were 3 issues that never made it to press because the publisher went bankrupt in August of 2014. 

THE BACK STORY

Before I was approached to take on the role of assistant editor in the summer of 2012 I had been designing fabrics for Paintbrush Studios (Fabri-Quilt). I was well qualified for the challenge of magazine work but had never put my newly acquired skills to the test. A few years before, at age 45 I'd gone back to school to learn Desktop Publishing and Digital Print and earned a certification is both those studies. I was originally hired on to design the magazine and lay out the pages. Well, my one role quickly became more and albeit extremely stressful, I was able to do it all. There was of course a learning curve but on the job training is the quickest way to learn.

I've never talked publicly about those magazine days and my website went practically dead during that duration. My recent experience with my book brought back all the thrills and stress of those days, making me think it's time to share a bit of that part of my life with you. 

My dear friend and editor on both titles was Deborah Hearn. You may remember her as the editor of Quilt magazines and other titles by the now defunct Harris Publications. Deb had such a clear vision for these magazines and I owe much of who I am as a quilt designer, photographer, and pattern writer to her desire to create projects for the beginning sewist and still make them fun and exciting for more advanced sewers. I swear my book Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living is photographed with Deb's voice in my ear. Those photography days were my favorite as we were on the phone all day long! 

In the spring of 2014 I'd hit the burn out phase. My only daughter was getting married in July and I was nearing a nervous breakdown! I made up my mind that I wanted to get back to the slower paced life of a textile designer (it's not really, but in comparison to what I was doing on staff for the magazines it's night and day difference). At spring Quilt Market that year I took a portfolio of designs to show Pat Bravo of Art Gallery Fabrics. I had only one fabric company I wished to design for and that was AGF. My thought was if I don't get picked up by AGF I was going to give up on being a textile designer for good and continue work in publishing and if I did get picked up by AGF I was going to quit as an assistant editor. Well, I was blown away and so excited that Pat liked my work and signed me on the spot! 

So, since I couldn't leave everyone in a lurch and just quit I agreed to stay on until the middle of August of 2014 and train people to replace me on the magazine. So, that summer was really the lowest I've ever been emotionally and mentally and I really think I was having a breakdown--I cannot even describe the amount of stress. So, while I was still putting out magazines I had to train four people to replace me in my one job. And when I say train, I mean teach them how to use Illustrator, format the issues, and fill all my other rolls. There was a wedding, of which my daughter did a lot of the work but it was still a logistics issue at the very least, and I had a fabric line to design for the fall show! Unreal when I think about it all now how I even made it through all that.

Funny thing is, I did make it through all of it and 2 weeks before my quit date the publisher went bankrupt! ARGH!!!!! Well, the experience made me stronger, smarter, but probably not wiser. I wouldn't trade those years for anything and I learned so much.

THE BACK ISSUES

I have limited back issues of the no-longer in print Quilti-it...today and Sew-it...today magazines originally distributed November 2012 through October 2014 by Valu-Publishing. Since I've just added a STORE onto this website I thought I'd use this new feature to sell off my extra issues. There are limited numbers of each issue available and these will only be offered for sale until January 5, 2018.

The projects are beautifully photographed, easy to follow with clear instructions and full illustrations. Geared toward the beginning quilter/sewer but great for all level of stitchers. Each issue is filled to the brim with delightful quilting and sewing projects, tips, lessons, and special features. Only 10 pages of ads per issue and 58 pages of content. Because I was the assistant editor for this title I also created many projects for these magazines under my name or my nom de plume Norah Seels (at least one project per issue). Since that time I've republished many of my patterns as stand alone PDF patterns priced at $8 each. Now you can see what a great value these magazines really are!

Magazines are sold individually at below newsstand price as well as an additional listing of one complete set--sold as a set. See the individual listings. For every 4 individual issues you purchase you will receive a free surprise fat quarter from one of my Art Gallery Fabrics collections as a thank you. Receive 8 surprise thank you fat quarters with the purchase of the complete set.

Shipping to US addresses only

See the individual listings for photos of issue contents. The images posted show a majority of the projects in each magazine but not all are represented with photo thumbnails. Each issue is packed with quilting/sewing projects. See cover image and Table of Contents for total count. 

The magazines have been stored in a dry, light-free, and smoke-free environment. Issues are like new but may show some slight shelf wear.

So, now's your chance to get your hands on these amazing magazines. Don't delay, issues are limited and I'm only listing these in my STORE until January 5th, 2018.

Happy sewing,

Sharon