My Signature Sampler Week #2

I'm so excited by how many of you will be sewing along with me on the My Signature Sampler quilting sew along!

I've been anxious to make a sampler quilt with my new Signature fabric for Art Gallery Fabrics so I came up with an idea for a sampler sew along that will be as fun for me as it is for you! The bright idea is to utilize all the block instructions from the Sewcial Bee Sampler (SBS), Community Sampler (CS), AGF Quilt Block Collection (AGF), and the blocks from the Quilter's Planner magazine (QP) and let you be the designer!

Using the previously written PDFs from my past sew alongs, the AGF block tutorials, and the beautifully written and illustrated Quilter's Planner block of the month instructions allows me more free time for other sewing and designing matters. Each week I will provide links to the various blocks I put into my sampler and if I've made any variations to the original block instructions I will give you that information in the blog post.

Remember, you can always refer back to the Sewcial Bee Sampler and Community Sampler blog post tutorials the accompanied each past sew along block by using the search bar at the top of this blog. There you will get additional information on how to piece each block or technique.

If you need extra help with your patchwork or would like to learn how to control the direction of your prints in half-square triangle units and other piecing techniques, visit my Tutorials page for lots of great tutorials all in one place.

For a listing of online shops that carry my Signature and other AGF collections, visit my Fabrics page.

If you're just joining, let me tell you a bit about this sew along: You can create your own sampler quilt or sew along with me as I make my sampler. I've made a handy-dandy fabric and coloring book page for you if you want to make a quilt with the same blocks as mine. Both the colored (fabric) version and blank version have a block list that contains the block's sources and week order in four columns below the illustration. I've even included fabric information for the materials I'll be sewing with on the colored (fabric) version. Find the coloring pages on the My Signature Sampler Begins post.

For this week's block I've made the Friendship Star from the Sewcial Bee Sampler. Download the instructions from the Sew Along page. To get this block up to a 12-1/2" square I followed the instructions and added a frame around the pieced block in the new AGF Pure Elements Flamingo solid.

GIVEAWAY

Every Friday when I reveal a new block to My Signature Sampler, I'll also be posting the weekly giveaway.

This week's giveaway comes from me. I'll be sending a lucky winner a Castle Garden quilt patterns and a signed copy of my book, Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living.

Starting July 1st, 2018 I'll be listing a limited number of hard copy patterns of the Castle Garden quilt to my STORE page. This quilt pattern was written and made by me exclusively for the May Quilter's Candy Box collaboration with Maureen Cracknell's AGF Flower Child fabrics.

My quilt design couldn't have been anymore perfect for Maureen's magical fabric collection of a world filled with lush meadows, wild bouquets & the spirit of the flower child painted with fuchsia, blush pink & teal. The name for this quilt came to me once I placed the crowned girls in the center of the castles, complete with peach bunting flags!

The second part to this giveaway is a signed copy of my book, Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living.

Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living by (moi) Sharon Holland (Landauer Publishing 2017) is as much a lifestyle book as it is an 80-page, beginner-friendly guide to patchwork. Find easy-to-follow instructions, beautiful photos, fully illustrated step-by-step essential techniques and information to stitch 12 different quilt projects from beginning to end.

Each project is fast-pieced and encourages creative changes with skill-building design tips throughout. The lovely patterns are a reason for you to dig into your stash to make quilts you love.

I had the great please to remake the Tracery quilt from my book in my new Signature fabric collection. It was so much fun and by flipping the lights and darks from the original quilt I've come up with a completely different look and vibe to this vibrant variation. I want to find time to remake all the quilts from my book because--there's so much yet to explore!

Giveaway Now Closed. Congratulations to Marianne!

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 me on Instagram or Pinterest. Just let me know that you did by making a separate comment here to record that entry. (Separate comment-second entry).

3. My blog followers get a third entry! If you follow via subscribing to my posts, just let me know by making a separate comment here to record that entry. (Separate comment-third entry).

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 My Signature Sampler sew along on YOUR instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest by pinning any of my pretty images in this post, etc... (separate comment-fourth entry).

That’s FOUR possible entries! Enter now through Monday, July 2nd! The winner will be picked at random around 4pm Eastern. I will post the name of the winner on this post once they've been notified and responded to my email.

*Don't forget to enter into this same giveaway on Instagram by posting images of your sampler inspiration, sampler fabric pull, blocks, or posting the My Signature Sampler badge (below). Use the official #mysignaturesampler hashtag every time you post about this sew along on IG to better your chances of winning. See my Instagram giveaway post @sharonhollanddesigns for full details.

P.S. To Maxime Suchoski, I need you to contact me (use the contact from to email me) about being last week's fat quarter bundle winner. Your fabrics are waiting to be shipped!