Art Gallery Fabrics - The Creative Blog

Happy last day of September!

Since it was "National Sewing Month," we decided to launch a sewing challenge using our Pure Solids fabrics. All that was required for this challenge was to create something whether it be a quilt, wall hanging, table runner, etc..as long as it involved our Pure Solids, that's all that mattered! The main idea was just to have fun and get creative. 

After seeing some amazing projects submitted by makers, we felt one really stood out...so without further ado, here's our WINNER for our #AGFPureSolids challenge - Lacey Poirier!

While scrolling on Instagram, we came across her scrumptious berry-inspired project she made using the colors "Apricot Crepe, Dark Citron, Ruby, and Caviar." We loved it so much and how she even took the time to style real strawberries in the photo, we just had to make Lacey our winner! We also did fun, little Q + A with her as well. 

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Congratulations on winning our #AGFPureSolids challenge, Lacey! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got into sewing?

Thank you for the opportunity to participate in the #AGFPureSolids challenge! First and foremost, I am a mom to one beautiful little girl who inspires much of my fabric selection and sewing style! I’m also a full-time nurse in a critical access hospital in rural Montana, which allows me to serve others – a genuine dream come true.

Six years ago at 25, I was diagnosed with Lupus, an autoimmune disorder. I realized that a major “trigger” for a flare-up, for me personally, was any excessive sun exposure. My mother, a nurse herself, realized before I did that to stay physically healthy and emotionally well, I needed to find hobbies and interests that could be done indoors. Being a sewist herself, she bought me my first “real” sewing machine, my beloved Bernina. The rest is history! I fell in love with discovering quilt patterns, putting together fabric choices and colors, and watching projects come to life. I watched video tutorials, explored internet sites, and then found Instagram – which has provided a wealth of inspiration.

Tell us about your Pure Solids project and why you decided to make it? Which Pure Solids did you use for it?

This Pure Solids project was a true challenge! I had just finished up doing an amazing quilt project utilizing Alexandra Bordallo’s (@alextilalila) debut Art Gallery fabric line called ‘Dew and Moss’ – a gnome quilt based on the pattern ‘Norm and Nanette’ by Elizabeth Hartman. The Pure Solids scraps that I had left from that project included: Apricot Crepe, Dark Citron, Ruby, and Caviar. I specifically decided not to order any additional colors to see what I could come up with. As I was scrolling through Instagram for inspiration, I came across Wendy’s account (@the.weekendquilter) which spotlighted a new, free pattern she created titled ‘Nature’s Window Quilt’. The wheels started turning, and out came this cute table topper utilizing two of her blocks – creating an ‘abstract’ strawberry appearance.

Describe your design style in three words.

Whimsical,  vibrant, and cheerful.

What's your favorite thing to sew?

My favorite thing to sew is quilts, hands down...but more specifically, I truly enjoy doing quilt-a-longs and/or sew-a-longs with oodles of talented individuals on Instagram curate! I find that having weekly deadlines (and of course, fabulous prize opportunities) keep me on the path to finishing projects, rather than collecting more UFOs. My last quilt-a-long finish was in coordination with Elizabeth Chappell (@quilters_candy), who happens to be an Art Gallery Fabric Sewcialite and superb pattern designer.

Do you often gravitate towards certain colors for your sewing projects? 

I don’t feel I gravitate towards certain colors, per se. I do allow my daughter to be a big part of the fabric showcasing process. As a child, she has such a great imagination. I try to play on that as much as I can. She loves watching the quilting process too!

Name 5 things that inspire you. 

My daughter, home décor magazines, Pinterest walls, Instagram designers, and stumbled-upon fabrics and/or upcoming featured collections. I have some Maureen Cracknell's (@maureencracknell) ‘Enchanted Voyage’ fabric ideas rolling through my head as I type this!

What's next on your sewing to-do list?

As I mentioned, I do love a good quilt-a-long, so I have several of those going on at the moment! Being able to flip between projects keeps me from feeling “quilt-fatigued."

Best sewing advice you've ever received?

The best sewing advice I’ve ever received is to enjoy the process. This coordinates with the prior answer, as well. If you start to drift from feeling joy on one project, set it aside and work on something else. Inevitably, I always reach back for it with a fresh perspective. I try to avoid the feeling of “just get it done," as that’s when I begin making mistakes and feel underwhelmed with the finished project.

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A big thank you to Lacey and to everyone else who participated in this challenge! All of us at AGF always love learning about our makers and are always so inspired to see what they create with our fabrics. :) 

Keep creating. 

Hello my fellow makers,

Coming up with new ideas for projects is always fun and challenging at the same time, specially when you have beautiful fabrics and want to make them justice. Today we will be using the playful Selva Collection to make the No Waste Flying Geese with a twist: The Stroked Flying Geese. I love this idea because it adds that extra something to the traditional and beautiful technique, and as they say "the devil is in details". So get ready to play with me!

The featured fabrics are Swaying Sloths Sky (Fabric A) for the geese, Elephants' Echo Earthy (fabric B) for the strokes, and Endless Paradise (Fabric C) for the background.

To make a finished 5" x 2 1/2" Stroked Flying Geese you will need four (4) 4 1/2" squares from fabric A, two (2) 4 1/2" x 2" rectangles from fabric B, one (1) 10" x 2" rectangle from fabric B, and four (4) 3 3/8" squares from fabric C.

Construction:

Take four (4) 4 1/2" squares from fabric A, two (2) 4 1/2" x 2" rectangles from fabric B, and one (1) 10" x 2" rectangle from fabric B. Join the fabric into the following rows:

Row 1: Fabric A - 4 1/2" x 2" rectangle from fabric B - Fabric A

Row 2: 10" x 2" rectangle from fabric B

Row 3: Fabric A - 4 1/2" x 2" rectangle from fabric B - Fabric A

Join the Rows to get the following block:

Sub-cut your block into a 6 1/4" square making sure fabric B ends in the vertices of the square.

Take two (2) 3 3/8" squares from fabric C, align them with the opposite corners of the 6 1/4" square, and pin them in place (the fabric C squares should be overlapping in the center).

Draw a line from corner to corner and stitch at 1/4" from each side of the line.

Cut following the drawn line and then press open.

I love this step because it gives you a pick of how your stroked flying geese will look once finished ;). Take the last two (2) 3 3/8" squares from fabric C and align them to the corners with fabric B. Draw a line on fabric C from corner to corner and stitch at 1/4" from each side. Cut following the drawn lines and press open ... Voila! Here you have your Stroked Flying Geese!

If you would like to see this technique in a finished product download the Florian Quilt.

What other traditional technique would you like to "stroke"? I would love the challenge! Please share your thoughts with me. 

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial as much as I did making it.

Happy Stroked Flying Geese making,

- Laucara

Fabrics that make you smile, are my kind of fabrics! This is why AGF Studio’s lastest collection called Selva is my favorite new fabric to sew with. Not only are the prints super adorable and playful but the colors are lively, fresh, and gender-neutral. 

This collection is perfect for creating kid decor, clothes, and accessories. With its efficient fussy cutting capabilities, I have been happily busy making fun quilty projects.  For the next addition to the AGF Quilt Block Collection, I sewed up the ”Prism Puzzle” Block! With so many moving parts to this block and a cute assortment of animals, I am really loving how it turned out! 

Enjoy the video tutorial below! :) For more fun sewing projects made with Selva Fabrics make sure to check out the Selva Fabric LookBook! 

Happy Sewing, Meli 

With the leaves turning golden and the smell of pumpkin spice permeating the cool, crisp air...yep, you guessed it…it’s officially the FIRST DAY OF FALL! This just so happens to be our favorite time of year. From the fall treats like pumpkin bread, apple crisps, candy corn, hot apple cider to fun holidays like Halloween, gathering together with family and friends for Thanksgiving, there's so much to look forward to! 

Inspired by this “season of cozy,” we wanted to celebrate by creating some oversized scarves for layering!

We decided to pair two of our substrates together - knit and rayon to create these scarves! These substrates are great to use together, creating an unexpected touch! We decided it was best to have one side of the scarf be a print, while the other side is a solid so it can be reversible, depending on if you feel like wearing a print or a solid color with your fall outfit..as well as offer fun, styling options.

For example, you can even wear this oversized scarf as a flowy kimono over a tank top or tee, or bundle it all up with a jean jacket. We decided to make two other versions of this fun accessory that we hope inspires you to bundle up in handmade style. Here's the instructions and fabric details for making each scarf. 

Click on below instructions to view larger, if needed!

Happy sewing..oh and happy fall, y'all! 🍁🍂

Created from our very own AGF Studio, we’re transporting you to a magical jungle with SELVA!

In this collection, you’ll discover where sleepy sloths swing from their branches, sweet elephants walk in rows, tropical foliage grows and a lively color palette that makes it the perfect combination to sew anything for kids. These gender-neutral colors and designs can be used in nurseries to create quilts, pillows, tummy time mats, wall hangings, and rugs. Of course, all those "young at heart" can also create decor with these fabrics. Imagine having a jungle-theme living room with some fun throw pillows featuring this darling jungle print or fierce felines! 

Available in 16 quilting cotton prints, Selva is also available in 3 cozy knits. 

To see all of the jungle-inspired projects that we've created as well as other makers, check out our Selva Fabric Lookbook! 

We created this FREE quilt pattern "Wild Gems" for you, just click the below link: 

Download Quilt Pattern

- - SELVA GIVEAWAY - - 

Enter a chance to win these whimsy fabrics by signing up to our giveaway:

Congratulations to our winner, Michele Laroe! Please check your email. 

*Once you have entered the giveaway it's normal for your information to disappear. To confirm your entry check your email for a confirmation and approve it. By entering our giveaway you'll be automatically signed up for our newsletters. Don't worry, we don't spam!

 Welcome back, my fabric friends! I just wanted to say thank you for everyone that commented on my “First Quilt” blog post, where I finally shared with all of you what I've been working on! It’s been a joy creating that quilt, and the positive feedback encouraged me to do something with a little more patchwork, but still beginner-friendly. This time I tried a lot of things differently from my first quilt, and I can’t wait to share with you all that I've learned. This quilt time around, I wanted to capture a very rustic vibe, with a lot of warm colors but small enough to not intimidate me, yet perfect for a wall hanging! I wanted to recreate #AGFQuiltBlockCollection’s most popular block on Youtube, the “Aztec Quilt block.” With a very simple technique including large Half Square Triangles and cutting them in half- two times. A really fun block to make for your first time, and a great starting point for making a quilt!

*Prints used: “Ojos Flame,” “Pano Stone,” from Arizona After and “Hula Dolphins Vog,” “Tiki Way Papaya” from Aura. Also “Tigerlily,” “Heart of the Ocean,” “Nocturnal,” and “Creme de la Creme” from our PURE Solids.

 As I started creating this block, I realized that sometimes working with prints can be a little difficult because it’s easy to mess up on the direction its facing. This was one of my biggest challenges, and although I didn’t get it right every single time, I know next time to always being careful how you place your pieces before sewing it up. The second mistake I kept doing on this block was the direction I was cutting, please make sure once you draw your horizontal line, to cut your pieces facing the right way! (Had to remake some blocks because of this, haha.)

I love how fabric placement can really transform the way a quilt looks! The way I placed the fabric made it look like an “X” and I thought that was super unique. You can always make this your own by inverting the colors or changing the color palette for a different mood.

Okay, I forgot to mention, me facing quilters everyday challenge- matching seams. I knew to work on this quilt top, I would struggle with this because there are a lot more seams to match than my first quilt. But after some trial and error, I’ve discovered I wasn't pinning enough. A tip I learned was to try and pin exactly where the seams would line up and when I start sewing, to take out the pins when it gets much closer to the needle, for minimal movement of the fabric. This tip made a world of a difference, forcing my seams to match and pinning more on the edges, eliminated room for error. 4 blocks later, and my quilt top was finally finished!

As I began layering my pieces (the backing I used was “Tomahawks Stripe Blush” from Arizona After), I made sure to use big safety pins instead of regular pinning needles to avoid pricking myself while quilting. This time I was more nervous quilting because I struggled so much with my first quilt, I didn’t want to recreate my mistakes. I told myself this time around that I would do straight lines again but not diagonal (to avoid bunching of fabric on the sewing machine) and to try a different type of stitch to create a different look. I used this terracotta shade of thread so it can stand out from the quilt top, both front, and back.

*Used Toasted Walnut PURE Solids for the binding.

On my first quilt, the binding turned out well because I decided to machine bind with 2 ½ inch stripes but I remember that I still had a lot of overlapping fabric. To try and avoid that mistake, I sewn my binding strip a little over ¼ inch, so when I would fold it over, I would machine bind it exactly on the line. Unfortunately, when I began to do that, I kept missing the flap and decided to hand bind for the time. This was time-consuming, but boy this was worth the effort! I loved the way it came out with an invisible stitch, made the binding super clean and I was able to avoid any leftover fabric from hanging. I’d love to know if any of you always hand bind your quilts and if you have any tips for me! This being my first time I felt like I was going really slow, but maybe there is a more efficient way to do this.

To turn this quilt into a wall hanging, I folded a 4-inch strip in half and tucked it underneath the binding, and made sure to clip everything together. You can bind this part with the sewing machine, as I did!

To fit my rustic vibe, I DIY some random wooden stick I found, stained it a darker brown and added some lovely cream-colored rope to hang! Before you know it, I was DONE. I can’t believe I have already created and finished my second quilt! Seriously, I now understand why people can’t stop doing this. The satisfaction of putting the pieces together, deciding which fabrics to use, and just completing a project is a very therapeutic thing.

Thanks for following along my quilting journey, and if you have any tips for me for my next quilt, please let me know in the comments below.

Till next time,

Jannelle