Art Gallery Fabrics - The Creative Blog

Hello, my fabric friends! 

I can’t believe I am finally sharing the news… it’s been a couple of weeks now since I spoke about my sewing journey but I’ve been working on something special. I’ve been gone for a good reason, and yes, ladies and gents, I finally decided to tackle my biggest project yet- MY FIRST QUILT! If you have been following along to my journey, I started sewing around 3 months ago, learning about the basic techniques of sewing to making my first quilt block, my first pillow, learning how to bind and all these projects were preparing me to make my first official quilt. My goal ever since I started this journey was to get to this point, I really wanted to dive into the quilting world because I see such beautiful work every day, from all of you! It inspires me, and I needed to understand all the hard work that goes into making one. 

So how did I end up with this quilt, you ask? Well, knowing this was going to be my first, I was thinking simple, yet impactful. Something that can inspire other beginner quilters! You might’ve seen on Social Media all the fun campaigns we’ve been working with our Pure Solids lately in the office, so I thought to myself, let's make a simple quilt with just squares but with really bold colors. Thinking of what colors I should use, yellow has been becoming one of my favorite colors so I challenged myself to use as many yellows in this quilt design, but of course, to add more color, I wanted to create a gradient! After I finished my design, I noticed it looked like a sunset, and I decided to call it just that. 

*Colors used for Sunset Quilt

The time has come, to finally put all that I learned to the test. I began cutting out 8 ½ inch squares and laying it out on the floor to visualize how it’ll look. At this point, I felt really excited, after so long staring at it on the computer screen- my vision turned into reality.

I sewed each square together in each row, and then I sewed each row together and before I knew it, I was already done with my quilt top! 

Once everything was together I made sure all my seams were sewn at ¼ of an inch and checked to see if all my seams matched up. I was pretty happy that all my seams matched up, and if you just starting to quilt- my biggest advice would be to make sure you pin A LOT! Once I finished, I selected Squared Pure Elements in Noir as my backing because the squares resembled my quilt design! As I was laying all the layers out, I recommend not doing it on top of carpet because I made that mistake and I kept wrinkling the backing. It wasn’t until I moved everything to a hard surface, that everything was smooth! I pinned it all down with safety pins to prevent from pricking myself with needles as I quilted (learned that the hard way).

The moment I was really dreading came, the quilting! I know there was no reason to be dreading this moment as I quilted smaller projects before and I had a blast, but this was a big project and I was afraid to mess it up. Well spoiler alert, I definitely did not nail this step. Quilting large pieces, let alone sewing straight lines were not easy and this was the biggest challenge for me. I started quilting from the middle to avoid bunching up the fabric, but this made even more difficult to sew as I had a lot of excess fabric on the side that kept me from feeding it to the sewing machine. Boy, did I work up a sweat trying to keep these lines straight, I even used a walking foot with a seam guide, but that still wasn’t enough. I was upset at first because it wasn't perfect but I had to remind myself that this is my first quilt and mistakes are going to happen.

Imperfections aside, I had some fun playing with the thread in my quilting! I used 4 different colors: yellow, orange, red, and purple. Starting with yellow on the darkest corner (purple side) and once I got to the red part of the quilt I would switch to orange, then red to yellow to create a gradient diagonal lines for some contrast! 

I can see the finish line, I was done quilting my quilt and it was time to move on to the binding- the next skill I learned! It took me some time to decide what I wanted to use for the binding because I didn’t want it to take away from the quilt or choose a Pure Solid color that might not fit. I asked the girls at the studio for some suggestions, and one of them mentioned why not use denim? A little light bulb went off in my head, and I couldn’t think of a better choice! I chose Denim in Endless Paradise and proceeded to cut 2 ½ inch strips long enough to go around the whole quilt. 

If you followed along with my first binding experience, I did a single fold bind because I had a narrower strip of fabric, but found this method a little harder to get down as it involved a lot of folding and more room for mistakes. This time, I tried the double fold and it was a lot easier because once I started sewing in the ditch, it would line-up perfect with the edge of my fabric on the back. 

After days of work, I am so excited to say that I am done with my first quilt! Hurray! Although I had some rough times, I enjoyed every second of it. I’m already eager to start on another quilt with more pieces and even start playing with some prints! I just wanted to give a quick thanks to all of those that commented on the blog before and followed along my sewing journey, from the motivational comments to the sewing advice I received. This is an ongoing journey, with plenty of new skills to learn and I’m thrilled to continue to share here on the blog.  As always, if you have any tips for me for my next quilt, please let me know in the comments below!

Of course, you can always make your own version of this with different colors, downloading the instructions here. BUT just in case you’d like to recreate my quilt, I'M HOSTING A GIVEAWAY!! Now you will have a chance to win all the fabrics I used to make your own Sunset Quilt Top by clicking here!

Good Luck Makers! 

Till next time,

Jannelle

Hi Makers, 

Can you believe it's almost September? This year is flying! If you have kiddies, I'm sure by now you're settling back into the new routine of school starting back up...meeting all the teachers, preppin' lunches, and making sure your kiddo is all set with the list of supplies he or she may need. The first day of school was always exciting, I remember I always had a brand new outfit, haircut, have all my supplies ready to go, and would show up super early to find the first seat in the classroom, so I could wait and see who was in my classroom for the year. 

In case you are still trying to cross off some last-minute items, we put a list together of "Top 5 Back-to-School Essentials" you can sew for the new school season! 

1. Backpack

Can't start a school year without one these! Designed by Alexandra Bordallo using her "Dew & Moss" fabrics, this backpack is super modern and stylish! It's a backpack and tote bag all in one! For the pattern, click here. 

2. Binder Pouch Featuring Bari J's "Bloomsbury" fabrics, I love this project because it just keeps everything extra organized in a binder..right next to notes, a calendar, etc. You can even make it more personalized by having your kids pick out the fabrics or adding their initials. For the binder pouch tutorial, click here. 

3. Emissary Arranger 

I can easily see this hung in a classroom or at home by a kiddie's desk to store their homework and other important documents. Made with Bonnie Christine's "Open Road" fabrics, this project can also be given to older kiddies that are heading to dorm rooms this fall too. For the pattern, click here. 

4. Crayon Caddy 

This caddy is a great addition to keeping art supplies organized, especially since it can be used on-the-go from school to home as well! It's also super easy to make, especially for beginner sewers! Made with our "Sisu" fabrics that were inspired by kids' play, you can find the tutorial here. 

5. Lunchbox 

Make not only your kids' lunch filled with healthy foods but make their lunch box too! Another great project that you can personalize with your little ones' initials, this lunch box featuring Maureen Cracknell's "Sunkissed" fabrics is super cute and durable to use! For the tutorial, head here. 

Hope this was helpful, feel free to share any back-to-school projects you create with our fabrics on social media, just tag us using our hashtag #artgalleryfabrics!

Until next time, keep creating! 

- Sophia 

Even though it still very much feels like the dead of summer here in South Florida the kids are heading back to school! Even as an adult I love walking through the aisles of school supplies and reminisce about my Mom bringing me and my sibling's school shopping every year.  I love how my Mom would write our full names on all of our school supplies so we wouldn't lose them or get them confused with someone else's supplies.  Another fond memory I have about back to school is in every one of my Mom's handmade bag lunches she would always write us a little inspirational note to get us through the day! :)

With all this in mind, I knew  I had to create a fun back to school project to send your kids off with something homemade and from the heart that will set them apart from all the other kids.  Which is how " Max the Cat" Zipper Key Chain Pouch Tutorial came to be. In honor of my childhood cat Max, I choose the " Red Desert" Decostitch blender to create the cutest orange tabby cat! To get the full tutorial head over to the We All Sew blog! 

Hope you all have a great new school year ahead! 

Happy Sewing, 

Meli

I wish Summer never had to end, lucky I live in Florida so technically it feels like Summer all year round. Lately, I have been sewing with Katarina Roccella’s new fabrics called Floralish. Which I think are perfect summertime prints with delectable fruits and fantastic floral designs.  The Rayon print offered in this collection is called "Poppy Memories” has just made it to my top three favorite rayon prints from AGF! Check out my dress in the video below. I also sewed up the “Triangles” quilt block where I made half-square triangles using the four at a time method and flying geese using the no-waste method. 

What’s your favorite way to make HST’s and flying geese? I am so delighted with my finished block, I am drooling over the yummy saturated colors and fussy cut watermelon center! 

Enjoy the video tutorial below! To see more projects sewn up in Floralish Fabrics make sure to take a look at the Floralish Fabric LookBook!

Happy Sewing, 

Meli

*NEW KNIT SOLIDS: Atlantico, Sage, Bora Bora, True Red, Aquamarina, Night Sea, Daffodil, and Coral Reef.

Hello, fabric lovers! 

Today I am excited to share with you our latest release of KNITS SOLIDS in 8 new colors! With its four-way stretch, this fabric calls for the softest apparel, quilts, and even home decor. We added this new range of colors, so you have more color options to pair with your next big project. Once you felt how soft our knits are, you’re going to want to sew everything with it. So, that’s exactly what we did… we created some fun projects that you can make that are very beginner-friendly with all of new Knit Solids!

FREE QUILT PATTERN

FREE PILLOW PATTERN

DOWNLOAD DRESS PATTERN

DOWNLOAD LEGGINGS PATTERN  // DOWNLOAD BASIC T-SHIRT PATTERN

From flowy dresses, quilts, and home decor, the possibilities with this substrate are endless! To see more colors in our Knits Solids, make sure to visit our website.  If you have any plans to sew with some of the new colors, let us know in the comments below! We’d love to see what’s on your sewing list. 

Keep sewing,

Jannelle

"Summer is my favorite season of the year, when nature delivers the most beautiful flowers and fruits of the season. Inspired by summery delights and my favorite painting technique-watercolor, I created this summery collection. Some prints were also part of my “Lavish” collection, when I first submitted it several years ago, so Floralish can also be seen as its sequel." - Katarina Roccella. 

Celebrate the last days of summer with blooming florals and delicious fruits! Channeling her favorite season, our designer Katarina Roccella’s latest collection “Floralish” features watercolor textures with gorgeous petunias, poppies, watermelon slices, cherries, and citrus fruits. 

This collection is great for creating summer sewing projects! Fused in a color palette of fresh and sweet tones, Floralish can be used to sew bright colored quilts, home decor, accessories like handbags or totes and effortless chic garments.

To see what you can sew with this collection that also comes in several knits and a rayon, make sure to check out our "Floralish Fabric Lookbook"!

Here's our lovely "Petaline Quilt" for you to enjoy, just click the below link for the FREE pattern:

Download Quilt Pattern

- - FLORALISH GIVEAWAY - - 

Congratulations to our winner - Deanna Herredberg! Please check your email.

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