Everlasting Blog Tour - Week 2 Recap + Giveaway

Everlasting Blog Tour - Week 2 Recap + Giveaway

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The Everlasting Blog Tour has been a tour de force of incredible talent and this week’s makers brought their A-game! Every day I swoon over the newest blog post—I hope you’ve been following along but in case you missed a day, here’s the week’s recap.

Art Gallery Fabrics released my Everlasting fabric line this spring in May. The summer-inspired prints make sewing easy with a classic palette of navy, red, turquoise, and blush and what better way to show off sewing with Everlasting than with a blog tour. So, to keep those summer vibes going, I invited the industries finest to make beautiful things with Everlasting fabrics and blog about their projects.

Take a look at the Everlasting Blog Tour Week 1 Recap, here.

EVERLASTING BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE

Friday, July 12 - Sharon Holland

Monday, July 15 - Marija Vujcic

Tuesday, July 16 - Carolina Moore

Wednesday, July 17 - Dana Willard

Thursday, July 18 - Lisa Ruble

Friday, July 19 - Dritz Sewing

Monday, July 22 - Eleri Kerian

Tuesday, July 23 - Marisa Wilhelmi

Wednesday, July 24 - Sharon McConnell

Thursday, July 25 - Modernly Morgan

Friday, July 26 - Alexis Wright

Monday, July 29 - Priscilla Geissler

Tuesday, July 30 - Maureen Cracknell

Wednesday, July 31 - Elina Temmes

Everlasting has been a huge success and is available in shops everywhere. See FABRICS page for stock listings of online shops.

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Week 2 Recap

Day 6 started our second week with the multi-talented Eleri Kerian and her astonishing Seafarer quilt (pattern by Simple Life Patterns) and adorable garments for her daughters. Eleri excels at a challenge and this relatively new-to-quilting quilter masterfully pieced a stunning Mariner’s Compass-style quilt. I love her placement of Everlasting fabrics to get maximum contrast of the pieced elements. Hop over to Eleri’s blog and learn more about this quilt and the sweet romper and dress makes for her youngest daughters.

Everlasting Blog Tour projects by Eleri Kerian

Everlasting Blog Tour projects by Eleri Kerian

Day 7 was a day of many first for Marisa Wilhelmi. If you follow me on Instagram you’d know that I’d held an Everlasting fabrics giveaway this spring for 1/2 yard of each print from the collection for a winner and their tagged friend. Marisa was the tagged friend and was so excited about her bundle of Everlasting fabrics I invited her to be part of this tour. This was really an unknown for me as to what Marisa would create and she even went the extra mile and started a blog in preparations for the tour. Her passion for sewing (again, she’s new to quilting) is apparent in her exciting and creative pieces. I was blown away by all the beautiful quilt projects she made for the tour. Check them out yourself and give her a big hand for all she’s accomplished in such a short time.

Everlasting Blog Tour projects by Marisa Wilhelmi

Everlasting Blog Tour projects by Marisa Wilhelmi

Day 8 was Sharon McConnell of Color Girl Quilts day to wow everyone with her stunning new quilt pattern. I met Sharon through Instagram with my first Art Gallery Fabrics collection, Gossamer. We’ve been friends ever since and even traveled and roomed together at Quilt Markets. Sharon has an eye for mixing prints and playing with color and she certainly shined brightly during the Everlasting tour. All ten Everlasting prints were used in her quilt plus the addition of the green FE-527 Lettuce Floral Element from AGF. Find out more about her rulers and the soon to be released star pattern on her blog.

Everlasting Blog Tour project by Sharon McConnell

Everlasting Blog Tour project by Sharon McConnell

Day 9 comes to us from the UK where Morgan of Modernly Morgan is stationed with her husband. Morgan designs beautifully modern quilts and has a great eye for color. This was my first time collaborating with Morgan on a tour and I was so excited when she could take part. Morgan’s Tropical Storm quilt is absolutely sublime with Art Gallery Fabrics Pure Solids and Bouquet Muse large floral spinning around the central eye of the block. Be sure to take a peek at the back of her quilt that uses primarily Something Blue print with a splash of Crossed Paths. I’m also enjoying her #QuiltsInTheWasher hashtag and images on Instagram!

Everlasting Blog Tour project by Modernly Morgan

Everlasting Blog Tour project by Modernly Morgan

Day 10 closed out the second week with my dear friend Alexis Wright. I met Alexis through her sewing for Art Gallery Fabrics Look Books and in person at Quilt Market. I knew right away we were kindred spirits and although I’m almost old enough to be her mother, you’ll see in our Instagram comments we call each other Little and Big Sis (sisters) because she feels like the little sister I never had. Alexis can design clothing (Blake dress pattern Violette Field Threads), professionally sew, and I’m insanely jealous (sibling rivalry) of her photography! The garments Alexis made with Everlasting prints are easy, breezy, and summer-time perfection! In fact, I’m hoping next week to do a little garment sewing myself with the Flower Keeper rayon!

Everlasting Blog Tour projects by Alexis Wright

Everlasting Blog Tour projects by Alexis Wright

WEEK 2 Giveaway

That’s two out of the three weeks of Everlasting blog tour and the only way to make it even better is to have a giveaway to keep this party hopping.

The week 2 sponsored giveaway comes to you from:
Bloc_Loc Ruler.

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If you remember on my opening blog post for the tour I posted about my Pineapple Block pillows and BlocLoc Pineapple ruler. These rulers have been game-changers for my patchwork and I seriously don’t know how I ever lived without them! Bloc_Loc has instructional videos to accompany all their rulers.

Bloc_Loc has been a sponsor for this blog since the Community Sampler sew along days and I love being able to introduce you to their company and product line. Bloc_Loc was created by husband and wife team, Paul and Janna. Paul, an Australian, was an aircraft maintenance engineer and Janna, and American, is a quilt designer and author of Courtship Quilts; Inspired by the Victorian Language of Flowers, published by Martingale & Co 2005. Now based in Loveland, Colorado, Bloc_Loc manufacturers, distributes, and sells their own patent pending products which are new and innovative. Their rulers are made of the highest quality materials by the old-fashioned standard of making products and are built tough enough to last from one generation to the next!

 Shop Rulers * Follow on Facebook * Follow on Instagram 

Bloc_Loc is generously giving away a 3” Kite in Square (KIS) ruler set for making 9” finished blocks and the new KIS ME book so you can make beautiful quilt variations from this one ruler set! You could have a lot of fun with this—see entry rules below.


Giveaway Now Closed. Congratulations to Barb K!

* 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 get a hold of you!

1. Simply leave a comment here under this post! (First comment entry).

2. Follow Bloc_Loc on Facebook and/or Instagram. Just let me know that you did by making a separate comment here to record that entry. (Separate comment - second entry). 

3. My followers get a third entry! If you follow via subscribing to my posts, through Bloglovin (or other service), or on Instagram, just let me know by making a separate comment here to record that entry. (Separate comment - third entry). Note: I'm no longer on Facebook.

4. Help spread the word!! I know that many of you already do, so I thought it would be nice to add that as another way to enter! Spread the word about the Everlasting Blog Tour on YOUR instagram, facebook, tweet, pin, blog post, etc... (separate comment - fourth entry). 

That’s four possible entries! Enter now through Tuesday, July 30. The winner will be picked at random around 4 pm Eastern. I’ll post the name of the winner on this blog post once they've been notified and responded to my email.

Don’t forget you have a second chance to win this same prize by reposting any of the the Everlasting Blog Tour makers projects on Instagram. Simply tag the project’s maker with their IG account, #ArtGalleryFabrics, and use the #EverlastingBlogTour hashtag on a public Instagram account and you’ll automatically be entered into all the IG giveaway drawings for this tour! Enter as many times as you’d like by reposting blog tour images—just be sure to give tour makers proper credit and tag them in your repost.

Happy sewing,

Sharon

Ruching Rose Pillow

Ruching Rose Pillow

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It seems that texture is the latest thing in home decor. If you step into any home department in your favorite store there's beautiful pillows with loads of character. I know I want to buy them all but after awhile that gets pretty pricey. Why not make your own decorator pillows at a fraction of the cost!

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As I was coming up with project ideas to show off my new Art Gallery Fabrics Signature fabrics collection I wanted to off course show off the prints but also show you new ways to use fabric. 

Art Gallery Fabrics produces some of the finest quality quilting cotton and garment fabrics on the market. Their knit material is buttery soft and of thick weight that it can be used in more than just garment sewing. 

My Signature collection has three knit prints and for the Ruching Rose pillow I used two of them. Extempore Fest is the large floral background and Lacey Cosmos is used for the ruched flower. 

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Make a Ruching Rose Pillow

You can customize the size of your pillow by adding 1" to the finished dimensions of your pillow form. Example: If you want a 20" square finished pillow, cut two 21" squares for front foundation and backing.

Note: The material list is based on a 16'' finished pillow.

Materials

  • 16" pillow form
  • 1/2 yard knit for background
  • 1/4 yard knit for rose cut into (4) 2'' x Width of Fabric strips for rose
  • Needle and matching thread
  • One package 1/4'' -wide Dritz Wash Away Wonder Tape
  • (1) 12'' - 14'' invisible zipper
  • Zigzag and zipper foot attachments
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Join the (4) 2'' -wide strips into one long strip. Pace ends right sides together at right angles and stitch on the diagonal as shown. Trim seam allowance to 1/4''. Trim dog ears. Press seams open to reduce bulk.

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Fold the long strip in half lengthwise with wrong sides together and press to crease. Unfold and then refold the raw edges wrong sides together toward the center. Press. 

Knot the end of a long length of matching thread. Hand sew a basting stitch in a zigzag design down the length of the long strip, loosely gathering the strip as you sew for ruching. 

Tip: Use binding clips to hold the folded fabric while you stitch. If you reach the end of the thread but need to continue ruching, gather the strip as desired before knotting off the thread on the raw edge side of the strip. Continue with a new length of thread in the same manner. 

Note: For my pillow I only used about 3-1/2 strips out of the 4 strips. If you're making a larger pillow the 4 strips will make a larger rose.

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Fold a 17'' square of fabric into quarters to find the center of the square. Press to crease. Cut a 12'' length of Dritz Wonder Tape. Turn one short end of the ruching strip under 1/4''.

Adhere the tape to the raw edge seam side of the ruching strip, holding the turned end in place under the tape. Remove paper backing.

Starting at the creased intersection, adhere the ruching strip to the pillow front, spiraling it around the center to form a rose. Tip: I let the previous row of petals slightly overlap the subsequent rows to give more of a 3-D effect to the flower. 

Note: Working on a flat surface, rotate the strip around the center while keeping the raw edge seam side down and the ruching flat and evenly spaced. Add more 12'' lengths of tape as needed to continue making the rose. 

Turn the end of the ruching under, tapering the end under the proceeding spiral to finish the rose. 

Starting on the outside ending point, sew down the rose with a zigzag stitch on your sewing machine to secure it to the pillow front. Spiral around as you sew, ending in the center of the rose.

See my Hidden Zipper tutorial for finishing your pillow with an invisible zipper. 

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Bountiful Blog Tour Week 3 Recap

Bountiful Blog Tour Week 3 Recap

The last three weeks have been a virtual feast for the eyes, as 16 highly talented designers blogged about their Bountiful fabrics makes. I love how each Blogger was inspired by the prints in my newest fabric line and the different Art Gallery Fabrics substrates to create amazing and diverse projects for this tour. Revisit week #1 and week #2 to see all the fabulous projects. 

Learn more about my inspiration behind the Bountiful collection in this Art Gallery Fabrics video interview.

And learn more about this week's Makers:

Monday

You all know how much I adore my Sewcial Bee Sampler co-host, Maureen Cracknell! My tour would not be complete without one of Maureen's special makes. Her fearless use of prints and on-trend style is an exciting combination. I am crazy over the tote bag Maureen stitched in her signature herringbone design. Be sure to visit Maureen's blog to see all the details inside and out on this bag!

Photo by Maureen Cracknell

Photo by Maureen Cracknell

Tuesday

Most of you know Lynn Harris (Little Ren Hen) for her intricate patchwork quilts and author of Every Last Piece but did you know she can also sew garments? Lynn and her granddaughter used the Haymow Stack and Vine Umbra knits from my collection to make to most comfy and gorgeous garments. See all the pieces and read about who made which piece on Lynn's blog. I adore this photobombing chicken in the photo of her grand children in the Haymow Stack print. 

Photo by Lynn Carson Harris

Photo by Lynn Carson Harris

Wednesday

On Wednesday, Anjeanette Klinder showed us her stunning hexagon quilt design. Because of family health emergencies, Anjeanette was not able to have a finished quilt by the time of the blog tour. I highly encourage you to follow her progress on this quilt and her other makes because Anjeanette is an extremely talented designer and exceptionally skilled quilter. See more of her makes on her blog

Photo by Anjeanette Klinder

Photo by Anjeanette Klinder

Photo by Anjeanette Klinder

Photo by Anjeanette Klinder

Thursday

I knew when I asked Mathew Boudreaux of Mister Domestic to be part of my blog tour he'd make something extraordinary--even before he knew what that make would be--I knew it would be good! M.D. is always pushing the creative envelop and I love how he incorporated all the latest and greatest quilting tools and techniques to bring us something new. This guy's amazing and you need to find out what he's up to and get the tutorial for this cushion on his blog. The two cushions he made for my tour are spectacular from the Tumbling Block top to the AGF denim handle! A big thanks to his daughter Helena for letting me borrow these pillows for my Bountiful booth at Quilt Market next month. xxx

Photo by Mathew Boudreaux

Photo by Mathew Boudreaux

Friday

Friday was a special day because we had the dynamic duo of Alexis Wright of My Sweet Sunshine Studio and Sue Stone, owner of Needle in a Fabric Stash quilt shop teaming up to blog on our final day of the tour. Each Maker blogged about their project but the two joined forces in photographing their projects, bringing us beautiful in-use photos and settings. You may remember these two pairing up during my Coastline blog tour for the amazing quilt and garments shoot by the ocean. 

Alexis is a garment pattern designer and sewer extraordinaire for Violette Field Threads. She took the Evelyn dress pattern to a higher level by adding Flying Geese to the bodice. For those of you making Sewcial Bee Sampler blocks, this Flying Geese pattern she used is next week's block #13! Too bad the weeks didn't align but Alexis's points sure did! I'm blown away by the creativity of this dress and the levels of meaning it has to myself and my friend Alexis. This is truly thoughtful design at it's best! See more of this remarkable make on Alexis's blog. 

Photo by Alexis Wright

Photo by Alexis Wright

With Earth Day on April 22nd, what better way to use your fabrics and save the world at the same time with Sue Stone's Use, Stash, and Repeat pattern. Sue brought us three re-usable shopping tote bags made from an assortment of prints from my Bountiful fabrics. I want to make all of them! Roomy totes in pretty prints make shopping even more fun. Best of all they fold up small to always have on hand. See these hard working totes in use on Sue's blog and stop (or shop online) at Sue's shop for Bountiful fabrics!

Photo by Sue Stone

Photo by Sue Stone

In the past, I've always had a fabric bundle giveaway at the end of a blog tour. This Bountiful blog tour will be a little different in that the bundle giveaway will be an Instagram, one day only event, for Cat Callicoat's Autism Awareness drive. On Saturday, April 29th, for 12 hours only, you will have an opportunity to enter your name into a drawing for a fat quarter bundle of all 20 prints from the Bountiful collection. Visit Cat's instagram feed as she helps us to understand more about Autism through her family's struggles and triumphs. Daily prize drawings from your favorite shops and makers help to spread awareness on the month long event. Follow me on Instagram for next Saturday's prompt and how to enter your name into the drawing. 

Be watching Art Gallery Fabrics this week for the Bountiful Lookbook release. AGF Lookbooks are virtual magazines full to the brim with gorgeous photos of sewing inspiration. I can't wait to see how the creative AGF team has put together the Lookbook for this collection. 

It fills my heart to have so many people joyfully creating with my fabrics and I want to give a huge thanks to all the talented designers that made the Bountiful Blog Tour a success.

Heidi Staples - Fabric Mutt

Emily Dennis - Quilty Love

Minki Kim - Minki Kim

Heather Andrus - Quilt Story

Sharon McConnell - Color Girl Quilts

Silvia Sutters - A Stranger View

Elina Temmes - Elina Temmes

Kim Niedzwiecki - Gogo Kim

Katie Skoog - The Simple Life Company

Cindy Wiens - Live a Colorfullife

Maureen Cracknell - Maureen Cracknell Handmade

Lynn Harris - The Little Red Hen

Anjeanette Klinder - Anjeanette K

Mathew Boudreaux - Mister Domestic

Alexis Wright - My Sweet Sunshine Studio

Sue Stone - Needle in a Fabric Stash

I'm also excited for next month when I bring you new quilts and projects for Spring Quilt Market in St. Louis. I've been busy, busy, sewing and quilting. At some point I have to stop thinking of new projects to make and finish all the one's I've started--I'm having so much fun with this collection!