Being from Florida, I'm extra excited to announce our latest collection to you all that highlights a city here in the sunshine state. One of our newest designers, Katie Skoog is making her debut with her line of fabrics, "West Palm."
Now if you're not from Florida or are familiar with the places here, West Palm Beach is about an hour or so northeast of Miami. It's a very resort-filled tropical destination that offers breath-taking hotels, five-star restaurants, shopping, theaters, historical sites, and of course beaches that are filled with unique, protected wildlife. My personal favorite place in West Palm is "Antique Row" that offers more than 50 antique and specialty shops all along one street, it's a vintage lovers dream for sure!
Although our designer Katie lives in chilly North Dakota, she finds much of her inspiration with tropical places, and therefore decided that her first line of fabrics should represent just that! In West Palm, you'll discover coastal-inspired prints like garden coral, monstera leaves, poolside mosaics, and flamingos. Coming from a background in pattern design and quilting, she used her experience to create designs that would speak to both worlds, offering a ton of versatility with all 16 cotton prints. This collection is definitely bright, cheery and filled with so many seashore-infused motifs that make it perfect for beachy quilts, home decor, garments, and accessories. I definitely would love to make a beach quilt featuring "Palmrise Aruba Tropic" and "Playful Seaweed Dayglow."
For more details on these fabrics and what to sew with them, check out our "West Palm Fabric Lookbook" that we put together for you.
Here's our "Seaside Quilt" for you to enjoy and sew up, just click the below link for the FREE pattern:
Enter a chance to win this tropical-filled fabric bundle by signing up to our giveaway:
Congratulations Rhonda Runge! You're our winner! 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!
We were super busy here at AGF Studio, putting the final touches on our latest lookbook for our latest collection, SISU! This bold, bright collection is so so soooo cute and was made just for kids and their imagination. While designing this collection, we collected a lot of inspiration from our own childhood with primary shapes, colors, and memories! We love putting our own little personal stories into our designs, and this time around, one of the prints that feature a little dog flying on a glider is based on one of our Design team's real dogs named "Cinnamon!" See if you can find him! :)
These youthful, hand-drawn designs were inspired by children's playtime fused with all the fun and discovery that comes along with learning. In case you were curious, the word “Sisu” comes from a Finnish word that translates into strength, determination, and perseverance, and we felt it really resonated a positive vibe with a line for kids. This collection offers 20 prints with two different colorways from cherry reds, sunny yellows, vibrant greens and cobalt blues to calming purples, citrusy orange, and tranquil teals. In addition to our 20 cotton prints, we have 3 knit prints available as well since we know little ones want to feel comfortable as they explore.
Find out more about this collection in our "Sisu Fabric Lookbook!"
Here's our vibrant"Up & Away Quilt" for you to enjoy, just click the below link for the FREE pattern:
Enter a chance to win this fabulous, fabric bundle by signing up to our giveaway:
Our winner is Peggy Pratts! Congratulations and 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!
This month, we have a lot of fun things in store for you! One of them being our latest GIVEAWAY involving PETS. Yep, that's right. Since we're all animal lovers here and often see posts of all your cute pets with your sewing projects, we thought this would be a fun way to see/hear more about them! Here's the scoop:
Tag us using the hashtag #AGFPets on social media with a cute photo of your of pet (this includes cats, dogs, birds, bunnies, lizards, hamsters, etc) with a handmade AGF project! This could be a quilt you've made or a baby quilt, a table runner, a cute bag...get creative! Make sure to also share a little story about your cute pet too.
Best photo and story wins a 20 piece, fat quarter bundle of our fabrics!
Winner will be announced on our Instagram Stories on Thursday, April 11th, 2019.
Good luck and can't wait to see your animal friends! :)
Hope you had a super productive week and enjoyed the first few days of spring, even though some of you are still in snow!
Now that Elizabeth Chappell is officially our newest AGF Sewcialite, she's kicking off her first collaboration with us by taking over our IG account, this weekend. This is a great chance to get to know her if you don't already, especially if you're stuck inside and snowed in! :)
Beginning tonight, she'll be posting from her home in Texas and will be sharing some of her favorite projects she’s made with our fabrics. She’ll also give you the inside scoop on her go-to quilting techniques, and where she often finds her inspiration before sitting down at her sewing machine.
Be sure to follow along this weekend...they’ll be a few surprises along the way too!
Are you looking for some new blenders for your next quilty project?! The usual go-to's are often solids, but we wanted to create something different that added some texture and felt just more unique! So, this time around we decided to expand our collection of Elements by adding two new designs, “DECOSTITCH” and “ICON.” Both of these different designs can be used to sew with a wide variety of prints and colors or be used on their own as well.
For “DECOSTITCH,” we were inspired by stitching motifs and decided to fuse them together with neutral shades like cream, charcoal, mustard, and olive green. Think earthy color palettes that can help contrast, balance and keep a design grounded.
With “ICON,” we decided to highlight simplified symbols, mixing them with bright colors like cherry red, sunny yellow, sky blue, and tangerine. Think more vibrant, almost primary colors you'd find in a candy shop!
We wanted to use both of these collections together and sewed up some projects, highlighting how they can complement one another. Head over to our “Decostitch and Icon Fabric Lookbook” for more sewing inspiration with quilts, garments, accessories, pin cushions, bags, and more.
Here's our lovely "Luminance Quilt" for you to enjoy, just click the below link for the FREE pattern:
If these two collections are calling your name, here's your change to enter both of these bundles!
Congratulations Glenda Morrow! 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!
An award-winning quilter, author of a quilt book and a craft book...just a few things that make her extra special...and now she's our newest AGF Sewcialite! Please give a warm welcome to the talented, Carolina Moore!
Born in Holland and currently living in sunny San Diego, California with her husband, two sons, a dog and a cat, Carolina's been quilting for 25 years! Using her expertise and amazing precision with each make, we first noticed her back in 2012, when she became part of an AGF sewing challenge. After falling in love with her quilty passion and work, we began collaborating with Carolina on several projects for our Quilt Market booths and lookbooks. Describing her design style as "fun, bold, modern," she's obsessed with English Paper Piecing, as well as long arm quilting, and chocolate. :) We're so excited to have her as part of our AGF family and can't wait for the upcoming projects she has planned this year.
To get to know Carolina a little better, here's a fun little interview we did with her!
Congratulations on becoming an AGF Sewcialite! Can you tell us a little bit about your background, and how you eventually got to where you are today?
Thanks so much! I am crazy excited to be an AGF Sewcialite! Getting to play with gorgeous AGF fabrics every day means I’m totally living my best life! The short version of my story is that my mom grew up sewing garments. She loved sewing. When we moved here to the US, she took a quilting class and caught the quilting bug as well. She taught me to sew, and sent me to a kids’ quilting camp where I fell in love with quilting as well! I also did some garment sewing, and my mom and I made my prom dress together. After having my first son, I actually spent a couple years working in a quilt shop. It was there that I was introduced to AGF. After participating in an AGF challenge, I had the opportunity to make some projects for some award-winning Art Gallery Fabrics booths at Quilt Market, and then I started attending Houston Quilt Market and teaching classes! I love making, and try to do something creative every day.
What was the very first thing you sewed?
With a mom who did a lot of sewing, I have been sewing as long as I can remember! The first thing that I remember sewing was dresses for my dolls from my mom’s fabric scraps. I was still a beginner, so my dolls had a lot of strapless gowns since it only required a single seam.
What are some of your favorite projects to create? Favorite technique?
I love quilts. And pillows. And bags. I love small projects and simple projects because life gets so busy that if it isn’t small or simple, it gets tossed into the WIP pile, never to be seen again! Though every now and then I love taking on a really ambitious project! My favorite techniques are English Paper Piecing (my book “Learn how to English Paper Piece” just came out with Nancy’s Notions last month), and I love Free Motion Quilting.
If you were a sewing notion, what would you be and why?
What a fun question! I really struggled with this one, though! Am I the thread that keeps things together? Am I a needle because I’m always sharp? What about a seam ripper that always has your back during the tough times? After giving it a lot of thought, I think I’m probably batting. I’m always in the middle of stuff, I’m all about keeping things warm, and I am a little fluffy … though I’m trying to make healthier choices so that I can be more “low loft!”
If you had to describe your describe aesthetic in 3 words, they would be?
Fun, bold, modern.
What are some of your favorite things to do in California!?
I grew up in California’s High Desert, went to college and got married up in the San Francisco Bay Area, and now live in San Diego…so there is SO MUCH that I love to do in California! My favorite might be a new tradition that we started with my kids. Each summer, we plan a road trip from San Diego up to the Bay Area to visit family. Last year, we went to the LaBrea Tar Pits in LA, and then up to the Sequoias. The year before, we spent the night in Solvang (a cute little tourist town with a Danish look) and then up to Hearst Castle. I love teaching my kids how to plan a trip, and then we all get to enjoy the trip together!
And here in San Diego, I love the beach. We live about 20 minutes away, and when one of us is having a rough day, I like to get everyone into the car and head to the ocean. Watching the sunset over the water seems to make everything just a little bit better.
Where do you often find your inspiration?
I find that inspiration can come from anywhere! Sometimes, I’m inspired by wanting to make something for a friend. Or needing something like a purse or an apron. And there are those special times when the fabric just speaks to me and tells me what it wants me to turn it into. Those are the best.
Your favorite movie of all time is?
HA! This is a funny question because I grew up in a house without a lot of television. We had a TV, but just “rabbit ears” - no cable. And my mom really didn’t want us spending our time in front of the TV. So, I spent a lot of time reading and making. Because of that, I don’t know that I have a *favorite* movie. Movies I really enjoy are “Big Fish,” “The Count of Monte Cristo,” and “Shawshank Redemption.” As for books, I love listening to audiobooks while sewing. My favorite fiction books are the Harry Potter series and the Hunger Games series, and my favorite non-fiction is probably “Big Magic” and “The year of Yes.”
What’s on your “sewing to-do list” for this year?!
Oh my! I have so much on my sewing to-do list this year! I want to make pincushions and have already started with some. I have a couple of bags that I really want to make this year. I’m finally getting some new furniture for the living room, so I plan to make some new cushions. And I want to work on projects where I can teach beginners. I really, really love new quilters and treasure each opportunity to teach a new person how to quilt.
That’s what I have planned so far - I’m sure other projects will sneak their way in! Sometimes the inspiration just strikes and I have to put aside everything else just to create!
Katie Skoog's Debut Collection: WEST PALM