Guest On American Patchwork and Quilting Podcast

Guest on American Patchwork and Quilting Podcast

Graphic courtesy of American Patchwork & Quilting Podcast

It's always a big honor when Pat Sloan of American Patchwork and Quilting asks if you want to be on her radio podcast - um, of course, YEESSSS!!!!!

I love talking with Pat, she's so knowledgeable about this industry and genuinely a wonderful person. This is my second time on her show--I could talk with her all day long!. Listen to my first live podcast interview on episode #336 which aired April 10, 2017 where Pat and I talk about fabric design and style of quilts. 

The new episode #373 will air March 19, 2018 sometime after 4 pm Eastern on Patchwork and Quilting Radio.

Or on Pat Sloan's website under Radio Shows.

Episodes can also be heard at the All People Quilt magazine's website.

Photo by Sharon Holland

In new episode #373 interview, Pat and I talk about my Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living quilt book for Landauer Publishing and what it means to create a utility-style quilt as well as the behind the scenes makings that went into the book and it's photography.

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

There's so much that goes into a craft book. Of course, first and foremost is a concept for the book then comes the making of the projects and writing of the manuscript. For me it snowballed into even more...

Goose Chase from Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living quilt book. Photo by Sharon Holland.

I soon found myself behind the camera shooting the type of life-style photos I wanted depicted in my book. Really, the behind the camera is a happy place for me in my multi-passionate career--I just wish I had a bit more time then was given to meet the 2-week press deadline.

I found surprising and creative solutions for capturing the look I wanted for this book and thank goodness for my wonderful friends that let me trash their homes to get that perfect shot! Hear more on that behind the photos on the podcast interview with Pat.

Star Crossed from Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living quilt book. Photo by Sharon Holland.

I like to give each quilt a personality before I even begin and by doing so, it also helped me streamline how the quilt was to be photographed. Star Crossed has a tween-girl storyline for me and was a fun quilt to style. Pat and I talk more about my process behind selecting which fabrics to use in my quilts and how I came up with the different utility quilt looks for my book.

Fabric stack photo by Sharon Holland

When you listen to the podcast interview, I tell Pat my concept behind this book and how I want to encourgage quilters to find their voice and make beautiful quilts that give you permission to use them everyday and love them to pieces. 

This book is geared toward the beginner but a seasoned quilter will love the quick-make quilt projects and the freedom to explore design. Basically, this book is an excuse to go through your fabric stash and have fun sewing!

I had a ton of fun digging into my stash of fabrics for my 12 quilt projects in my book. Many of the fabrics used are vintage gems I've been holding onto for a long time and I'm so happy they are now in quilts that I can use and enjoy rather than the fabrics being stashed away in a closet.  

See what others are sewing using the patterns in my book by searching the hashtag #UtilityStyleQuiltsforEverydayLiving on Instagram! 

Sewcial Bee Sampler Block #21

Sewcial Bee Sampler Block #21

Here we are, ready to start the last row of our sampler quilt! As we near the end of this incredible journey, my co-host, Maureen Cracknell and I are looking to future collaborations together. The success of the Sewcial Bee Sampler (SBS) has been phenomenal and mostly because of your participation and the remarkable community you've created out of this sew along.  

To help us better understand what you're looking for in a future sew along, Maureen and I have prepared an 8 question survey. This quick questionnaire is completely anonymous and your answers will give us better insight into serving your needs as a quilter. To ensure the most accurate results, please only take the survey once. Many thanks to those who've participated in the SBS questionnaire already. If you've not yet had a chance to take the survey, please do, we're only keeping it open now through the end of the SBS sew along and then we'll close the survey. The link provided on both our blogs will link to the same survey. So, if you access the questionnaire from either Maureen's site or mine, your answers are compiled to the same place.  

We still have a few new Makers joining our sew along and Maureen and I couldn't be more proud of all the gorgeous blocks and the remarkable community that's being built from this sew along. Anyone just joining us may want to take advantage of the in-blog tutorials for the different patchwork techniques used throughout the Sewcial Bee Sampler. Pick up tips and block variations beginning with the first blog post The Start of Something Sewcial.

Time to get sewing this week's block #21--Hourglass. Download the free PDf for the blocks on my Sew Along page.

For the Hourglass block we use three different techniques. 2-at-a-time Half-Square Triangle (HSTs) units, No-Waste Flying Geese units, and Square in Square units. Today's tutorial will be about making Square in Square units. If you need a refresher on how to make the other units used in this block, use the links above to previous tutorials. You may also want to review working with directional prints when making different units.

Square in Square Units

Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of each 2-1/2" square. Noting orientation, place a marked square right sides together on a corner of the 4-1/2" square. Sew just a needles worth outside the line on the corner side to keep the unit square. Press to set the seam. Trim 1/4" past the stitching. 

Press corner open. Noting orientation, repeat on the diagonally opposite corner. Press. Trim and press corner open. In the same manner, add squares to the remaining corners. Note: It's very important to only add one corner at a time, press to set seam, trim, and press corner open before adding more marked squares to the remaining corners. 

Because you're simply replacing the corners of the original 4-1/2" square with a second material, the Square in Square unit does not change size and should measure 4-1/2" square when the unit is completed. To better understand the sizes of the unfinished units (the size of unit before sewing into a block), look at how the individual units fit together. Since the center Square in Square is 4-1/2" square, we then can guess the size of the finished Flying Geese units to measure 4-1/2" long by 2-1/2" high. Same goes for the corner HST units. They should measure 2-1/2" square. The Hourglass block, once sewn together, will measure 8-1/2" square before adding the frames. To double check your piecing, you will always know the square size of the block (with frames) by looking at the smallest frame length listed on the instructions. Our sampler has 20 blocks with frames and the five without frames and all should measure 12-1/2" square (unfinished) once and before setting into the final sashing at the end. 

This sampler quilt is pieced using fabrics from my Bountiful collection and Pure Elements solids from Art Gallery Fabrics. Find where to shop online for my prints by using the handy Shop Fabrics page on this blog. Right now, Llama Fabrics has a 30% off sale going on!

I liked this Square in Square unit so much that I went back to block #9-Wedding Ring and replaced the center with a Square in Square unit. It's the same size as we made for this week's block. Here you can see an example of a block with a frame and a block without a frame being the same 12-1/2" square (unfinished) size once assembled. 

It's very exciting to see projects popping up all over the interweb made from my Bountiful fabrics. I have made several quilts that will be featured in magazines over the next few months and love getting a copy of the magazine in the mail. This week I was so pleased to see my Staggered Tin Tiles quilt on the newsstands and part of the July/August 2017 issue of Modern Patchwork. 

Staggered Tin Tiles by Sharon Holland

Don't forget that this Friday's Giveaway Friday and this week I will be hosting the giveaway from this blog. We've got a great giveaway planned from Needle and Foot you won't want to miss!

Aurifil      Circa 15      The Intrepid Thread      Fat Quarter Shop      Omnigrid      Llama Fabrics      Color Girl     Lady Belle Fabric      Needle in a Fabric Stash      Dritz      Knotted Thread    Needle and Foot      Stash Builder Box    Hobbs Batting   Thread Cutterz

Featured and Free Quilts

Sharing quilt patterns is the best part about having this blog. I especially love when one of my designs is featured in a magazine and I can finally post about it! The Spring 2016 issue of Modern Patchwork has one of my favorite quilts sewn with Gossamer fabrics from Art Gallery Fabrics. 

Spring 2016 Modern Patchwork Magazine

I called this baby quilt the Gunta Quilt. Named for the Bauhaus textile designer Gunta Stölzl. My quilt design was inspired from a period textile design I found online. The straight line quilting stitches mimic the black line element seen the inspiration textile study below. 

Textile design by Gunta Stölzl

Spring 2016 Modern Patchwork Magazine

Last year I did some house cleaning on the Free Patterns page of this blog. I have offered free patterns and tutorials since first going live in 2010. The Orange Peel Table Runner pattern was the first quilt pattern I wrote and published and was a huge success! It has been downloaded thousands of times but was in dire need of a makeover and re-write! 

When I designed my latest Art Gallery Fabrics collection called Tapestry, I knew this was the fabric line for updating the runner. The prints and colors were just perfect! 

I am happy to announce the new and improved (and easier to follow) Orange Peel Table Runner pattern is ready to download for free from the Free Patterns page once again. 

Keep in mind that this is an intermediate skill level block and although not that hard, could be slightly frustrating if you are new to patchwork quilting. The runner is shown here with several of my new Tapestry fabrics along with the Netting String print from Coastline on the front and Buoyant Fog print from the same collection for the backing. I love how prints from past collections can mix seamlessly with new collections.

Thanks for your patience while waiting for this pattern to be reformatted. Happy sewing!

Spring Grab Bag

Normally I like to have a singular idea or project to post about but this time it will be a little bit of everything all stitched into one blog post.

The current issue of Simply Moderne (issue no. 4) from Quilt Mania features the Bloomescent quilt I made with my Sketchbook fabrics, Pure Elements, and Squared Elements from Art Gallery Fabrics.

I had a little down time (a week) to do some garment sewing and play around with the new Art Gallery Fabrics Denim Studio fabrics. This new substrate for AGF is so beautiful and perfect for all sort of sewing applications. I intend to incorporate some in quilts but wanted to also see how it handled in clothing. 

My first adventure was sewing a blouse for myself. I love the clean lines of the Japanese garments found in book like Sew Chic Kids and Stylish Dress Book.

There's a little learning curve on these books because you need to transfer the patterns to tissue and add the seam allowances. I am not one to do a lot of garment sewing so it probably took me longer than someone with more experience. I am very happy with the end product and made this Button Front Blouse for my first project from the Stylish Dress Book. I definitely want to do more sewing with these fabrics and books!

With the weather getting unseasonably warm I made some bonnets for my granddaughter using the floral print from my Gossamer fabrics and lining from peach colored denim. The free pattern for this adorable Baby Sunbonnet is from Purl Soho. It was easy to make and a great pattern.

Spring also bring Spring Quilt Market! This year the spring show will be in Salt Lake City, Utah and I am already gearing up for the show. My fourth collection will be out in May and over the next couple of weeks Art Gallery Fabrics will be revealing all the new spring/summer collections. Here's the sneak peak for Tapestry.

Be watching as I show more prints from my new collection and glimpses into the Quilt Market preparations and projects for the show. It's starting to feel more like springtime everyday!