It’s been a bit since I’ve made a blog post! I’ve been so busy because we’re building a house right now and there’s so much that needs my attention on that front but I’ll make it all up now with a look at the projects I stitched for my Art Gallery Fabrics Listen to Your Heart collection, news about my first-ever blender collection for AGF called Fanciful, and an announcement about the Gifting Handmade event I’m hosting on Instagram starting December 1st!
Listen to Your Heart is a very special fabric collection from Art Gallery Fabrics because it’s part of the Season of Tribute series from AGF where the major fabric designers have a 12-piece quilting cotton collection of their most iconic and best loved prints that are recolored and grouped into this new fabric collection. There are also other substrates that coordinate with the collection and my group also includes a Tiny Dancer Home Decor canvas and three flannels.
Showing off Sharon Holland’s talent of effortlessly mixing the vintage with the modern, this group encapsulates her range of styles from whimsy romantic prints to courageous color palettes.
Sweet Home Quilt
The very first project I thought to make when planning my Look Book contributions was to make a Sweet Home quilt. I’ve hosted and co-hosted a couple sew alongs for this quilt pattern that can be purchased from my SHOP and this is my sixth Sweet Home quilt I’ve made—needless to say, it’s one of my favorites!
I love how the Listen to Your Heart collection looks great year round but if paired right, can become a cheery Christmas palette. The Delicate Balance background print is the perfectly playful background to the houses and because this print in the same coloring comes in flannel, I backed the quilt with Delicate Balance in flannel to match!
Brook Becker at Lady Belle Fabrics has kits available for a Sweet Home quilt just like this one plus the flannel for backing. That fantastic Baptist Fan and Heart quilting was long armed by Brooke at Lady Belle Fabrics so you can one-stop shop your fabric, kit, and long arm quilting needs in one great shop!
Charming One Quilt
Another all-time favorite quilt pattern of mine I love to make is the Charming One (and the Charming Nine) quilt(s). Both are free patterns on this blog. This Listen to Your Heart Charming One was made with 12 fat quarters (12 squares cut from each fat quarter).
This over-sized throw is a great beginner size and easy to quilt yourself. I used Hobbs Batting Tuscany Polyester batting for a very puffy quilt and it’s seen in the above photo on a double bed as a topper quilt for a comfy cottage look.
To get the list of the fabrics used to make this quilt, visit the Listen to Your Heart Look Book page for the Charming One quilt, HERE.
Juniper Basket
I love making quilts but I also like to stretch my sewing skills making small projects. I needed a project basket for my yarn and crochet needles and I wanted to make something using the beautiful Tiny Dancer home dec canvas from the collection. Svetlana Sotak or Sotak Handmade designs the nicest bag patterns so I was sure she’d have just what I was looking for in the Juniper Basket.
The pattern was so easy to follow and comes in two sizes. This is the smaller basket and just the perfect size for yarn, needles, and supplies.
Art Gallery Fabrics canvas is very draped and soft so it can be used for apparel, drapes, bags, home decor, and more! I used the Kantha print from the Listen to Your Heart quilting cotton and some AGF Denim for my project.
Crochet-Edge Flannel Napkins
I’d recently hosted a mini workshop on how to add a crochet edge to napkins or receiving blankets and was on a roll to make a set for the Look Book in Painted Prairie flannel.
The the Look Book flannel napkins I used Crochet yarn and the clamshell stitch around the edge to keep it simple and classic with all the emphasis on the pretty print!
I love photographing table scapes and especially love fall decor. I would love to phase out paper towels and have only cloth napkins—it would make even the simplest meal feel special!
Apple Season Coasters
And for the final project contribution, I made a set of Apple Season coasters from my free pattern. These are fast and fun to make and also make great hostess and teacher gifts. You can even get the kids involved in making them!
I think these would be fun in flannel, too and are addictive to make!
See these projects plus so many wonderful other makes from your favorite makers and sewers in the Listen to Your Heart Look Book produced by Art Gallery Fabrics. Prepared to be inspired!
Fanciful Collection
Here’s a look at my next collection that’s in shops now—it’s called Fanciful and is my first-ever blender collection!
Art Gallery Fabrics has created a new division called Designer Essentials and Fanciful is the first collection as part of that division! The blender print in Fanciful was first seen in my Bookish collection for AGF. The print is called Flights of Fancy.
There are 10 new colors in the Fanciful collection plus the original 2 colorings in Bookish for a total of 12 blenders that coordinate with my fabric collections. So, if you’re a fan of my collections and want to expand your stash with blenders, then this is a must for any Sharon Holland fabric stash!
You’ll get to see this blender collection a lot in upcoming projects…
Gifting Handmade
Starting this Thursday, December 1st will be a special event hosted by me, showcasing my talented team of testers. Gifting Handmade will run for 2 weeks. Each day I’ll be collaborating with a maker and posting about their project on my Instagram account @sharonhollanddesigns. Each maker (including my projects) will be made with fabrics I’ve designed for Art Gallery Fabrics. You’ll see a wide range of collections used and mixed along with looks at the new Fanciful blenders, too!
Top row left to right: Lindsey Fuessley, Christine Trotta, Liza Taylor
Second row left to right: Brittany Tunison, Terri Neil, Victoria Newmyer
Third row left to right: Joyce Ulm, Mary Gove, Tracey Taber-Perry
Last row left to right: Marija Vujcic, Elaine Satterfield, Leah Bruski
There’ll be a weekly recap here on the blog showing highlights from the makers along with links to their projects AND, yup, some fabric giveaways because I want you to have fun sewing with my fabrics, too!
I hope you’ll join us on Instagram on Thursday, December 1st and be inspired to gift handmade this year—there’ll be projects for every skill level and most are quick makes to get done in plenty of time before the holidays.