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August 2012

Cherry Autumn Quilt Kit

Hello friends,

I am excited to share with you our exclusive Cherry Autumn quilt kit designed especially for Fat Quarter Shop.

This quilt kit blends in various of Pat Bravo collections such as Modernology and Bohemian Soul with Art Gallery blenders like Lace Elements and Floral Elements. The warm tones of the fabrics used mimic the changing colors of nature during Autumn.

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As Summer fades from view and Fall takes it's place make sure that the Cherry Autumn quilt is there to keep you warm.

Happy Sewing,

<3 The AGF Team

 


Fat Quarter Gang - Patchwork Mat by Don't Call Me Betsy

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All of our Fat Quarter Gang members have posted and our lovely friend Elizabeth from Don't Call Me Betsy was one of the lucky peeps to get a spot as an honoree gang member. Afraid of what being in a sewing gang would entail.. she gave in to the pressures (after some very serious threats to her stash!) and produced this super cute tutorial for all of you guys...

So goes..

Hi everybody! I'm Elizabeth from Don't Call Me Betsy and I'm here to share a new tutorial, using gorgeous Art Gallery fabric.

I love patchwork, and my kitchen is in dire need of sprucing up, so I decided to make a super simple patchwork kitchen rug. This rug is so easy to make and versatile that it truly could be used in just about any part of your house! Using a simple towel as the backing and some fun patchwork for the top, you can make a gorgeous mat in an afternoon.

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Patchwork Kitchen Rug Tutorial

You'll need:
10 various fat quarters (used are Garden Rocket Turquoise, French Sampler Creme, Henna Stripe Mustard, Vintage Fence Lime, Lacis Blueberry, Moire Aquamarine, Rattan Bleu, Flowerpop Zesty, Oval Elements Mist, Oval Elements Smoke)
1 bath towel or bath mat, measuring approximately 20" x 32"

1. Using some of your favorite fabrics, cut a total of 160 - 2 1/2” squares from your ten fat quarters. I used ten gorgeous LillyBelle prints by Bari J. for Art Gallery prints including two Oval Elements.

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2. Sew squares together in rows of 16, using a scant 1/4” seam allowance. You will end up with a total of 10 rows of 16 squares each.  Press seams open as you go.

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3. Sew rows together, again using a scant 1/4” seam allowance, lining up the raw edges right sides together and pinning at the seams, and press well. Continue until all rows are sewn together.

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4. Next, using an old towel or bathmat, align the right side of your patchwork with the right side of your backing. The bathmat I used wound up being smaller than my patchwork slightly, so I just trimmed off the excess after I finished my pinning. NOTE: When you pin your backing and top together, be sure to leave approximately a 6” gap – you’ll use this gap to turn your mat right side out. I like to use two pins to mark my gap, to remind me to stop when I get to them.

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5. Using a 1/2” seam allowance, sew all the way around, making sure to backstitch at the start and stop, leaving your gap un-stitched for now.

6. Reach in through the gap and flip your mat right sides out, taking care to push out the corners as best you can. It can be hard to make perfect corners if you’re using a bathmat, but if you are using a towel, you should have no problem making clean, sharp corners. Press well.

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7. Topstitch all the way around, using pins to hold your gap closed. The topstitching will close the gap. Feel free to quilt your mat as desired, or you can skip the quilting altogether if you’d rather. Enjoy your new kitchen mat/bathmat/front door mat!

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Final look:

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Now onto how you can get your hands on this lovely set of Fat Quarters....

Giveaway Rules:

Leave a comment on Elizabeth's Don't Call Me Betsy blog.

And don't forget to be eligible you must ...

Follow us on your fav social media platform (Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter)

and Subscribe to our blog to stay up to date on all thing AGF & the Fat Quarter Gang!

(We will be holding another giveaway on the Flickr group this week.. so post some of your FQG projects and you could win some cool stuff!)

 

Enter to win today! Giveaway open until Friday, August, 31st.

Happy Sewing,

<3 AGF Team & The Fat Quarter Gang


Take in a Cool Sunrise with Flight Fancies

Hang on to the last days of Summer by grabbing this beautiful quilt and taking it with you to relax in the crisp outdoor breeze. With it's cool tones and modern feel, Flight Fancies will keep you company as you play with the kids or just snuggle up and read a good book.

These blue sky hues will create a romantic combination of vintage prints and modern style.

  FlightFancies_HawthorneADweb
This kit is available only through Hawthorne Thread and comes in the Cool Sunrise pallette from Bari J.'s LillyBelle collection.

Kit includes fabric  to complete the 76 3/4" x 68 1/2" quilt top and binding plus the quilt pattern in a downloadable PDF format.


AGF goes In Color Order with Jeni Baker, new designer.

Happy Tuesday!

Today is a very exciting day for us... We want to share with you how happy we are to introduce to our family a new fabric designer!

So at AGF we are pleased to announce that Jeni Baker is our new gem!

Her love for vintage retro scandinavian kitchen designs is shown throughout her debut collection, COLOR ME RETRO. We hope you to fall in love with it as much as we did!

She also brings with her being a famous blogger... "In Color Order" is her nest, where she shares all her projects, vintage kitchen finds and her life with her adorable bunny named George! We encourage you to check it out :)

Take a look at the video and get to know our new member and sneak peek of her collection..

 

How exciting is this? We couldn't have been happier! :D

Here's a small sneak peek at Color Me Retro - a mini collection:

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This month is an electrifying month for us here at Art Gallery Fabrics and it still gets better. In 2 weeks we will thrill you with another major announcement... and then we swear it's the last one for a little while (maybe ..hehehe)

Thank you for sharing this moment with us and don't forget to follow hashtag #talknt2 for the first chat from 1-3pm EST and #talknt for the second chat from 9-11pm EST! (We use Tweetchat.com to easily follow along and participate!)

 <3,

Pat Bravo, Bari J., Sarah Watson, Jeni Baker and The AGF Team


Fat Quarter Gang - Easy FQ Skirt Tutorial by Diary of a Quilter

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My name is Amy Smart and I write a blog called Diary of a Quilter.  Today I am going to share a quick and easy skirt tutorial made entirely from Fat Quarters.
 
 
I have been in love with Pat Bravo's Summerlove collection and used it to make the perfect summer skirt for my daughter.
Fabric requirements:
1" wide elastic for waistband
10 Art Gallery Fabrics Fat Quarters of Summerlove by Pat Bravo (I used this many because I wanted the variety of fabric but you could get by with as few as 6 FQ's)
Set aside 1 Fat Quarter for the hem finish.  Take the rest of the FQ's and cut them in half lengthwise creating two 9" x 22" pieces.
 You will need 9 total of these pieces. (You can set aside the others for a different project, or use them to make a second skirt.)
Using a 3/8" seam allowance, sew the pieces together to form one long strip of panels.
Keep all the selvage edges on the same edge, lined up evenly. 
Press the seam allowances to the side.
 
Optional: topstitch over the seam allowances for extra stability. 
 
Square off the raw edge (opposite the selvage edges) so that the bottom edge of the skirt panel is even.
From the remaining FQ (to use for the hemming edge) cut 5 strips 3" x 22" wide. Sew the strips together end to end to create one long strip.
Fold the strip in half lengthwise and press.
Pin raw edges of the folded strip to the wrong-side (back) of the bottom (not selvage) edge of the panel. Sew on using a 1/4" seam allowance. Trim off excess.
Fold the panel up to the front of the skirt panel (raw edges should now be hidden underneath the hemming strip).  
Press carefully and then top-stitch at the top and bottom edge of the strip to give a nice finished hem. 

Bring side edges of the skirt panel together, pin, and sew with a 3/8" seam allowance to create a skirt "tube".

Take unfinished top edge of the skirt and fold down about 2".  Because the selvages have a finished edge, I did not worry about turning that edge under, but if you don't like the look of the selvages there, you could do so.
Sew folded edge down to create a casing for the elastic, leaving a 2" opening at the back to of the skirt open to insert the elastic. 
Measure the amount of elastic you will need and thread it through the casing, gathering the skirt as you go.  
Bring elastic edges together and securely sew them to each other. 
And voila- a very quick and simple summer skirt, perfect for showing off lots of pretty prints.
This skirt perfectly fits a size 10-12 size girl.  You could easily make a smaller version by cutting the panels slightly shorter.  You could also add more panels for a fuller version.

Now enter to win the exact Fat Quarter bundle used...

Giveaway Rules: 

Leave a comment on Amy's Diary of a Quilter blog and let her know "What is your best Summer memory?"

And don't forget to be eligible you must ...

Follow us on your fav social media platform (Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter)

and Subscribe to our blog to stay up to date on all thing AGF & the Fat Quarter Gang!

(We will be holding another giveaway on the Flickr group this week.. so post some of your FQG projects and you could win some cool stuff!)

 

Enter to win today! Giveaway open until Friday, Aug, 24th.

Happy Sewing,

<3 AGF Team & The Fat Quarter Gang

 


Fat Quarter Gang - Fly With Me mini quilt by I Heart Linen

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Hi Lovelies!  Rashida Coleman-Hale from 'I Heart Linen' representing for The Fat Quarter Gang!  *Makes the scissor motion with her fingers* Woot!  That's my FQGang sign.  I know, I'm so hardcore. :P 

Who doesn't love the miracle of Aviation?  I love to travel and I especially love to fly, so I came up with this little project, influenced by an awesome vintage print I saw on Pinterest.

FlyWithMe

You can use this block alone to create a super sweet aviation art quilt, or make a few more and make a quilt filled with Airplanes!  

This project is partially paper pieced.  For those of you new to this method, don’t worry, it’s super easy. Promise! ^_~

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What you'll need:

7 fat quarters from Art Gallery Fabrics:

           Passionate Spirit – Teal, Naivety – Berry, Daydreaming  - Ocean, Malibu -  Haze,

           Beyond Bliss - Ginger

           Impressions - Sachet

           Moorish Rug - Aqua

           Pink Squared Fashion

          White Linen

FQG-AirplaneDiagram(View this template and get Nose templete, Bottom template, Top template)

Basic Materials:

A printer and paper, Scissors, Rotary Cutter, Cutting Mat, Coordinating Thread.

Finished Size: 24 1/2" x 14 1/2"

 

Preparing Templates & Fabric

 **Note seam allowances are 1/4".  Print templates at 100%. 

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Print two copies of the Nose templates and cut out your fabric using the templates.

 

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Print two copies of the Tail and Wing templates. One copy you will use this as the paper foundation for the paper piecing.  Cut out the templates which include seam allowance.

(Please note that the templates will appear to be reversed which is okay. Your fabric panels will be facing the right direction after paper piecing.  I also included the other side of the pattern to save you some time.  This way you won't have to trace the patterns to make the other Wing and Tail.) 

 

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Cut the other set into pieces and use them as patterns for cutting your fabric.  You only need to cut out one section (top OR bottom).  


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Fold your fabric in half and pin these patterns to the wrong side of your fabric and cut around them.  Be sure to add a generous 1/4” seam allowance around them using a rotary cutter and a straight edge. You'll have two sets of fabric pieces for the top and bottom.  Set aside.

 

Making the Tail of the Airplane

Starting with the Tail Bottom template, gather your fabric pieces. (TB1, TB2, TB3 &TB4) You want to use the pieces that are mirror images of the template.  

 

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Take the template and place it in front of you blank side up.  Place fabric piece TB1 on top of the template in it's corresponding position right side up, lining up the edges and pin in place.  You can hold them up to a light to make sure that the lines are positioned properly.  

Place fabric piece TB2 on top of TB1 right side down.  Line it up as shown in the image above and pin in place.

 

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Turn the template over and head over to your machine.  Change your stitch setting to about 1.5, this will help the paper removal easier later on.  Starting and ending with a backstitch, sew through the paper between sections TB1 and TB2

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Open up the seam and finger press. 


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Using the same process as before place TB3 on top of TB1 & TB2 and pin.


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Turn the template over as in the previous steps and stitch through the paper between section TB1/TB2 & TB3 starting and ending with a backstitch. 


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Open up the seam and finger press. 


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One more time!  Place piece TB4 on top of TB2/TB3 and pin.  Turn the template over to the side with the text and stitch between section TB2/TB3 & TB4 starting and ending with a backstitch.  

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Open up the seam and finger press and Voila!  You have a finished Tail piece!  (Don't worry if the seams don't line up perfectly, you can use the paper as a guide once you stitch all of the panels together.) 

Repeat these steps with the remaining tail pieces and the Tail Top Templates to make the second panel.  

 


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Now that you have your two panels, place them right sides together and stitch down the longer edge forming the tail of the airplane. 


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Next stitch your 6 1/2" x 4 1/2" panels to either end.  Carefully remove the paper and press the seams open. The tail is complete! Set it aside. 

 

 

Making the Airplane Wings

Now that you've got the hang of paper piecing (I hope! ^_^),  this next section will be easy, breezy, beautiful! You'll basically be going through the same type of process as you did with the tail.  Let's take a look............


FQG_Plane_14

Starting with the Wing Bottom template, gather your fabric pieces. (WB1, WB2, & WB3) You want to use the pieces that are mirror images of the template.  

Take the template and place it in front of you blank side up.  Place fabric piece WB1 on top of the template in it's corresponding position right side up, lining up the edges and pin in place.

Place fabric piece WB2 on top of WB1 right side down.  Line it up as shown in the image above and pin in place.

Turn the template over and head over to your machine.  (Remember to change your stitch setting to about 1.5)  Starting and ending with a backstitch, sew through the paper between sections WB1 and WB2

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Open up the seam and finger press. Repeat the process as before with piece WB3 to complete the Wing Panels Bottom and Top. 

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Now that you have your two panels take one of your 7" x 2 1/2" pieces and stitch it between the two Wing Panels.  Remove the paper and press the seams open.  You Wings are complete!  Set them aside. 

 

Making the Airplane Body

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Lay the 3 3/4" x 6 1/2"  pieces and the remaining 7" x 2 1/2" piece in front of you using the image as a guide.  Stitch two of the 3 3/4" x 6 1/2" pieces together to form one 7" x 6 1/2" piece and press the seams open.  Repeat with the remaining 3 3/4" x 6 1/2" pieces. 

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Finally, stitch the 7" x 2 1/2" between the two panels you just made.  Press the seams open.  You've completed the Airplane Body!  Set it aside. 

 

Making the Airplane Nose

 Almost done!  

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Gather the remaining fabric, you should have 2 large background pieces and 2 small Nose pieces. 

Taking one of the small Nose pieces and starting at the tip of the Nose, pin it to one of the background pieces.  Go slowly and use lots of pins!

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Head over to you machine and slooooooooowly stitch around the curve, removing pins as you go. Clip the seam allowance on the curves and be careful not to clip your thread.  (Embroidery scissors may help here.)  

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Press the seams toward the Nose. Repeat this with the remaining two fabric pieces.


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Now that you have two panels, stitch them together and press the seams open.  You've made the nose! Woot! 


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All that's left to do is stitch all of your rows together!  Line up the seams on your Airplane. Don't worry about the outer edges of your panels, you can square the whole thing up once you finished. 

Now enter to win the exact Fat Quarter bundle used...

Giveaway Rules: 

Leave a comment on Rashida's 'I Heart Linen' blog and let her know "Where would you travel to if you could hop on a plance right now?

And don't forget to be eligible you must ...

Follow us on your fav social media platform (Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter)

and Subscribe to our blog to stay up to date on all thing AGF & the Fat Quarter Gang!

Enter to win today! Giveaway open until Friday, Aug, 10th.

Happy Sewing,

<3 AGF Team & The Fat Quarter Gang