Art Gallery Fabrics - The Creative Blog

Hey all! Fab here.

So things are heating up here at the AGF studio with all the new awesome straight-out-of-the-oven-fresh new fabrics that are coming in! Beauties like the in-house designed Poetica, the goooorgeous 70's inspired Summerlove by Pat and of course, LillyBelle by the kick-ass designer Bari J. So yeah, it's pretty much fabric heaven around here.

But let's cut to the chase: Since browsing through zillions of blogs is pretty much my job, I'm always running into some notorious trends (some good, some bad, some ugly), and I wanted to share with you this one I spotted out a few days ago...

This is what I call "Geometric Gorgeousness"; colorful, modern, abstract, a bit crazy, and just yummy! Check it out. 

This strippy pillow from Ekofabrik (looks like a future project for me!)

This super cute tunic dress from the Secret Squirrel (love the name lol)

This cool mugs from SonoDesign... 

And this little purse from Thezakka stole my heart!

Now take a look at the quilt the talented miss. Kati of From the Blue Chair blog is making! Can you guess what fabrics she's using? 

If you guessed "Pure Elements", then you are right. 

And speaking of Pure Elements, here's another fan! (Sorry I don't know who made it, if you are the author of this stunning quilt raise your hand! hahah)

*Thanx Kelly Bowser for giving us the shout out! You're awesome and so is your quilt! 

So how do you like it?? We have been doing some GEOMETRIC GORGEOUS projects ourselves, wanna see??

I'm sure you already spotted out some Oval Elements in that table runner!

This makes me love solids even more, if that's even possible.

So if you're feeling this geometric trend, you'll definitely LOVE two upcoming prints from our collections RHAPSODIA and LILLYBELLE!

This is Weaving Azul from Rhapsodia...

And Vintage Fence Lime from Lillybelle!

What do you guys think? Feeling it? 

We'd love to read your comments!

xo,

Fab.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Poetica is now at your LQS and waiting to be made into beautiful products!

That's right, we held tight onto this release so that you could run to the store after you saw these beautiful pic's and the super cute video for this AGF collecton.

This collection was inspired by two pictures that projected peacefulness and tranquility but with an undeniable quote of modernity. We really played with infusing music into the creation of Poetica and we think it truly shows. 

Fat Quarter Shopwill feature a Jolly Jabber interview and they asked us some questions about the creative process for Poetica. Below is an excerpt from that interview.

"If this collection had a scent what would it be?"

I think if this collection had a scent it would be a combination of a rose and lavender scent, infused with a eucalyptus and mint hint. They are lovely florals but with that exhilaration touch that open your senses!

We love this collection so much because it is so romantic, passionate and harmonious that we have gone crazy making products with this collection.

The Essential tote (pic above) features the main fabric as Serenade Daylight with accents in Spirited Verse Azure.

Below the famous headband (featured in February's Project Challenge 2012) used Delicate Duet Pink, Rhythmic Rose and Pures Quartz Pink and White Linen.

Below is the Verona bag. The main print it uses is Love Notes Citron with accent fabrics of Heartbeats Radiant. This combo works so well together.. Love at first sight??

I know you are all wondering what that music would sound like. Well here are some of the songs that were woven into the designs... the soundtrack if you will:

Rollerblades by Eliza Doolittle
My Moon, My Man by Feist
1 2 3 4 by Feist
Happy Up Here by Royksopp
My Love by The Bird and the Bee (featured in the video below)

And now the PREMIERE of our new video....where we present to you formally.... POETICA..

Do you all love Poetica as much as we do? If so please share... share us everywhere... and tell us what is your fav print...

As always, with much love..

Your AGF Team. XOXO

Jackie blogged about this kit here.

The kit includes all the fabric as well as a downloadable PDF pattern for the instructions on how to piece this baby, and it's available EXCLUSIVELY at her shop

So, if you are madly in love with blue as me... check it out :)

Love,

Pat 

Happy Valentines Day!!!

We are all hopped up on sugar over here because one of my lovely girls brought in Valentine’s themed cake pops!

Take a look:

Here is how to make your own cake pops for your special someone.

What you will need:

1. Cake mix (choose any cake flavor.. its your choice)
2. ½ package of frosting (any will do… best to choose one that goes with the cake flavor)
3. Candy Melts (for Valentines we recommend Red or Pink)
4. Lollipop Sticks
5. Styrofoam block (this is where you will stand the cake pops to dry)

Directions:

Bake cake according to box instructions. If possible make cake the night before or at least 2-3 hours prior to making the pops. Cake must cool down completely.

Crumble the cake completely… let the kids join in… have fun with it! Remove any edges or large parts of cake that will not give in to your cause!

Now that your cake is in crumbles spoon in ½ of the package of frosting… best to use less frosting than to have too much. If you use too much frosting it will be too mushy and if you use to little it won’t hold right…. So the trick is in the frosting!

 (via Bakerella)

Now mix the baby up…. use those muscles! I know it burns but push through…… mix the frosting and cake until it is fully blended and looks like below… 

All the sweat, blood and tears have paid off and you now have a giant cake pop… give yourself a round of applause (and maybe a taste)

Now the next step is to make smaller cake pops. Some use a melon baler but we used a good ol’ spoon. Make sure the cake pop is not too big and not to small…. The outer shell will add size so be careful!

Roll out all the cake balls and set them onto wax paper.  You should be able to get 35-40 cake balls from a single batch of cake mix

(via Bakerella)

When finished rolling them out (how are your hands doing?) put them into… refrigerator for 2 hours OR freezer for 15 minutes. That depends on the time you have…

Melt the candy melt according to instructions….

Dip the lollipop stick into the candy melt (about 1 inch) and insert into the cake pop…. This will secure the cake onto the stick)

After you have stuck all your pops, dip the cake pop into the candy melt. DO NOT STIR the pop into the candy melt as that may loosen the cake from the stick.

Trick: place pop in sideways and spoon the candy melt over it. Do this rather quickly before the candy melt begins to harden. Then lightly tap the stick on the edge of the bowl so that any excess chocolate drips off.

If you would like to add sprinkles now would be the time… do so before the candy melt dries… hurry!

Place stick on Styrofoam to dry… and YAY you have your first cake pop! Now repeat until you have covered all the pops…

Getting Creative: If you would like a shaped pop for Valentine’s Day find a small cookie cutter or mold in the shape you would like. We could not find a small mold so we used a small heart shaped slinky to make the heart shape :)

Well that's all for now. I hope you have the most romantic and love filled day possible and that it is spent with those you love.

<3 Pat & AGF team

XOXO

The winners of Art Gallery Fabrics "Mended Heart's" kit Valentine's Day Giveaway are:

Kate Schmidt - Romantic "Mended Heart" kit

Ga447  -  Traditional "Mended Heart" kit

Nurseli - Modern "Mended Heart" kit

Beth - Funky "Mended Heart" kit

Congrats Ladies!!!

Please send an email to [email protected] with your address so that we can promptly ship these beauties to you.

We would like to thank everyone that participated and commented. The responses were so beautiful and really made us so happy. It is heart warming to see and hear all the positive feedback.

Check back frequently because we have something else in the works and another chance to win some cool stuff!

Below is the random.org app we used to select the winner. :)

Jeni Baker  is the lucky girl this month. She shows us how she has transformed the second bedroom of her apartment into a "Sewing Haven" and explains the difficulties of doing so in a rented space. You can see how she used her creativity to overcome the obstacle. Bravo Jeni!!

"Sewing Haven"

I live in a tiny two bedroom apartment in Wisconsin with my boyfriend and pet bunny George.  I am very lucky to have the second bedroom for my sewing space.  It may be small, but it's mine, and I squeeze a lot into the space!
 

Since we are renters and we can't paint, I've tried to cover the white walls with as many mini quilts as I can, to bring color to the room. I love sewing mini quilts to test out a design or color scheme, and they make great wall art!

In addition to my fabric collections, I have my favorite vintage kitchenware pieces in the room, simply because they make me happy! I also use a lot of vintage tins, wooden boxes, and dishes to store threads, pincushions and other odds and ends.

I love being surrounded by color, it's pretty hard to be unhappy when you're surrounded by fabric and quilty goodness! :)

.... Thank you Jeni for showing us your space. Your creative use of fabrics and quilts to bring life in a rented space is exceptional. I also LOVE the kitchenware's... They are quite cheerful!

*** If you would like to submit your sewing room for "Sewing Room of the Month" please email [email protected] ***