Art Gallery Fabrics - The Creative Blog

Hi Makers, 

With the holidays right around the corner, I know all of us are prepping or have already begun sewing gifts for our family, friends, colleagues and teachers. I think that as a maker, we're always trying to create gifts that are so personalized to the person we're giving it to, so if you haven't started sewing your gifts yet, don't worry! We just released TWO NEW FUSIONS that cater to two different themes that can turn into so many great gifts! 

If you're new to AGF, our "Fusion Collections" are bite-size collections featuring best-selling prints from our internationally-known designers such as Pat Bravo, Maureen Cracknell, April Rhodes, Bonnie Christine, Katarina Roccella and Sharon Holland. With these two collections, you’ll find two different themes that provide you with countless sewing ideas and are no doubt, two collections that are a must-have for your fabric stash. Now, let’s take a closer look on how you can sew with these fabrics!

RAINFOREST FUSION

With botanical designs high on the trend radar for “jungalow inspired”  interiors and fashion, our “Rainforest Fusion” is perfect for creating a “tropical paradise” in your sewing room! Filled with vibrant, lush prints, this collection highlights tropical florals, palm fronds as well as tribal patterns that also act as great blenders. Grounded in bright and warm colors, this collection can be widely used in quilts, outdoor home decor, resort-inspired garments, as well as in accessories and wall art. I would love to make curtains and TONS of throw pillows with this collection! 

 Download Our FREE "Vertical Garden" Quilt Pattern:

TRINKETS FUSION

Channeling “vintage meets modern” and recalling old memories of sifting through a grandmother’s treasure chest,  our “Trinkets Fusion” offers countless ideas for sewing with nostalgic prints that are inspired by pressed flowers, vintage knitting, and hand pressed wallpaper. Deeply rooted in warm hues of rust and gold, this festive collection is a great option for your holiday, sewing projects! From various florals that range in scale to textured designs that make unique blenders, these fabrics can be sewn into romantic, bohemian quilts, throw pillows, rugs, tapestries and special occasion garments! I would love to have a dress made out of "Trinkets" fabrics for Thanksgiving - preferably one that's loose, so I can eat all those delicious Thanksgiving side dishes like mashed potatoes, stuffing and creamed spinach! :)

 Download Our FREE "Free Spirit" Quilt Pattern:

For more sewing projects we've put together using these two collections, head to our "Rainforest and Trinkets Fabric Lookbook!"

In case you're OBSESSED with both of these collections and need them NOW, enter our giveaway for a chance to win BOTH! 

 To enter, please fill the form below. Giveaway ends Friday, October, 12th, 2018. Good luck!  

Our winner is Jo Isaac! Please check your email! Thanks to everyone else who participated!

*Once you have entered the giveaway it's Winner will be announced on Monday, 10/15! :)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!

 Hey everyone!

Rashida here, checking in for the very last Fat Quarter Gang post!!  Booooooo. So sad, but it's been so fantastically fun, no?  I know you're thinking, "why does it have to end?"

Well, while you're pondering it how about a super cute, quick, easy project to soothe the sorrow in your heart?  A sweet little for your tea pot to rest it's warm little bottom on. Ready?  Let's do this thang! 

FINISHED SIZE -  8" x8" 

SUPPLIES

• 4 gorgeous fat quarters from Art Gallery Fabrics 
• Linen scraps
• High Loft Polyester Batting
• 4 Felted Balls
• Coordinating Embroidery Thread
• Matching Thread 
• Needle
• Scissors
• Rotary Cutter
• Cutting Mat
• Acrylic Ruler

CUTTING 

Patchwork - Cut two 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" squares from each fat quarter

                  Cut eight 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" squares from linen

Backing Fabric - Cut one 8 1/2" x 8 1/2" square

Batting  - Cut two 10" squares

INSTRUCTIONS

Place your 16 squares in front of you right side up and decide how you'd like them to be laid out. 

Stich one cotton square to one linen square forming 8 pairs. Press the seams open. 

Next place two pairs, right sides together and stich along the length to form a wee block.  Repeat with the remaining pairs.  You will have 4 sections. Press all the seams open.  Finally stitch all of the sections together to form one 8 1/2" x 8 1/2" block.  Press the seams open. 

Next, form a sandwich using the batting, patchwork right side up, and backing piece right side down in that order.  Starting and ending with a backstitch, stitch all the way around the perimeter of the square through all of the layers.  Be sure to leave an opening for turning!  Trim away the excess batting, clip the corners and turn right side out.  Push the corners out with a knitting needle or some similiar pointy thingy.  Don't close that opening yet!  We have to do the fun part first!

Now grab your felt balls and your embroidery thread.  Thread your needle and tie a secure knot on the end of the embroidery thread. From the inside of the trivet pull the threaded needle through one of the corners to the outside.  Grab a felted ball and insert the needle just a wee bit as shown in the photo below and pull the thread all the way through.  

Move the ball to the corner of the trivet, push the needle back through the corner to the wrong side of the trivet.  You can repeat this one more time (or not) and then secure the ball with a knot on the wrong side of the trivet.  Repeat this with the remaining corners and felt balls.  Blindstitch the opening of the trivet closed. 

Finally, handstitch some tufting or quilt your little trivet to your hearts desire and you're all set!  Tea time!  

I'm a tea sort of girl, but will indulge in some coffee whenever I feel a need for a pick me up.  Are you Team Tea or Team Coffee?

Pop on over to my blog, iheartlinen and let me know wh in the comments to win a bundle of the pretties I used in this project!

As always to be eligible to win you must follow AGF on your fav social media platform(Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter)and Subscribe to our blog to stay up to date on all things AGF & the Fat Quarter Gang!

Now, normally I would say "Til next week" but alas, this is the last Fat Quarter Gang post. We do have some new projects we are working on, so fret not, we will give you more tutorials soon!

So with that I sign off....

Til next time,

The Fat Quarter Gang and AGF!

 Hi! I'm super excited to be here at Art Gallery Fabrics today to share these fun stackable, squishable fabric blocks! My name is Carolina, and you can find me most days at 30 Minute Crafts and Always Expect Moore, sharing all kinds of fun crafting and sewing projects!

My mom taught me to sew when I was 6, and I made my first bed-sized quilt when I was 13, so I've always had a passion for fabrics. And I LOVE Art Gallery fabrics - they feel unlike anything else! I don't know what kind of textile magic they do... but it makes AGF wonderful for any projects that will get a lot of touch - like these stackable, squishable fabric blocks.

I have two very active boys, as well as 3 nephews and 2 nieces. So I love having projects that I can stitch up for them. These fabric blocks are simple enough to make, but I've made them a little different than a traditional stuffed block. These blocks are stuffed with polyfill, but also have an extra layer of polyester pellets that make them stackable. The layer of poly pellets also gives more structure to the blocks so that they don't have to be over-stuffed with polyfill. This makes the blocks super squishy! Great for small hands to be able to grab.

To make the stuffed fabric blocks, here is what I used:

10 FQs of AGF, half prints, half solids
Heat N Bond
Polyfill

Polyester Pellets

Start by cutting your fabric squares. The finished size of these blocks is 3", so all the fabric squares are cut at 3.5". Cut 12 squares for each block, 2 in each color.

If you want applique shapes on your blocks, use the leftover fabric to cut shapes. I traced cookie cutters onto Heat N Bond, then fused this onto the back of the fabric to cut out my shapes.

I then fused the shapes onto my squares. If you use Heat N Bond Ultra, you'll have a permanent hold, and won't need to stitch around the shapes to secure them. 

To start, we make small "pockets" for the poly beads. Stack 2 squares of the same color, both with Right Sides UP, and stitch together using about 1/8" seam. Anywhere between 1/8 and 1/4 is fine, but it needs to be less than 1/4 so that the stitching won't show.

Stitch each pair of squares on 3 sides, leaving the 4th side open. You will have 6 pockets.

Fill the pockets with poly beads. I used two level tablespoons. This gives enough beads to give form to the blocks, but not so much that they get in the way while stitching together the blocks.

Match up two pockets along the open edge, and stitch closed. From here on out you will use a 1/4" seam, and you will add extra security to the beginning and end of each seam by going back a few stitches, and then forward again..

Stitch four pockets together in a row, each time closing up the 4th open side when attaching it. If you like, fold a piece of ribbon in half and insert in one of the seams to make a tag. I used the pretty AGF ribbon for my tag, and folded it so that the flower would show on both sides.

Stitch the fifth square to the top of the row, lined up with the first square. Again, close up the open side as you attach it.

Fold the 5th piece so that the second side is flush with the second square in the row. Stitch down.

Repeat this process until the 5th square is secured on all four sides. Then stitch together the 1st and 4th squares of the original row to finish the square.

Attach the final piece of the cube, stitching as you did the 5th square. This time, only stitch TWO sides. If you stitch 3 sides, you won't be able to turn the block. If you stitch all four... well... you won't be able to turn it then either!

Turn the block right side out through the opening you left by not stitching two sides.

Stuff the block. Do not overstuff! I used between 1-2 handfulls of Polyfill. By gently stuffing the block, you make sure that the poly beads can still move around, which is what makes the block stackable. It also makes it nice and squishable.

Hand stitch the two open sides closed using an invisible stitch.

Baby B absolutely LOVED playing with these blocks! He and his brother tossed them in the air, sat on them, stacked them, squished them, squeezed them, and loved them completely! 

I couldn't help but make oodles of them.

A HUGE thank you to Art Gallery Fabrics for letting me share this fun project with you. I had a blast "thinking outside the block" and coming up with a fabric block that is just perfect for playing with! I hope you'll stitch some up yourself and see how the extra step of adding the poly beads really does make all the difference in having the perfect fabric block for small hands. And I hope you'll stop by and visit me sometime at 30 Minute Crafts and Always Expect Moore!

Now go on and show Carolina some love ... hop onto her blog, Always Expect Moore and enter to win the exact bundle used in this project. 

As always to be eligible to win you must follow AGF on your fav social media platform(Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter)and Subscribe to our blog to stay up to date on all things AGF & the Fat Quarter Gang!

Til next week!

<3 Carolina & The AGF Team

Hello Art Gallery Lovers!

I am Amy Smart and I blog about my sewing and quilting fetish at Diary of a Quilter.

• 10 fat quarters of Bijoux by Bari J. (I chose that many because I wanted the variety of prints, but you could use as few or as many as you want.)
• one regular 1/4 of a yard for the pillow side (I used Essential Ovals Elements Mustard)
• two 6" squares of solid (I used Pure Elements Honey)
• pillow stuffing
• one Dresden wedge ruler

If you are using 10 different prints, cut a 7" x 9 1/2" rectangle of each print. Use the Dresden Wedge ruler to cut 4 wedges 7" long from each print.  You will need a total of 40 wedges for this project.

Use pressed lines as guides to find the center of the larger pieced circle by lining up pressed lines with the lines of the pieced wedges. There should be 5 wedges between each quadrant of the center circle. Pin circle and sew in place using coordinating thread. Remove pins and press.Repeat with second side.

Hop on over to Amy's blog, Diary of a Quilter, to enter to win your very own fat quater bundle of Bijoux. 

As always to be eligible to win you must follow AGF on your fav social media platform(Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter)and Subscribe to our blog to stay up to date on all things AGF & the Fat Quarter Gang!

Til next week!

<3 Amy & The AGF Team

Hi everyone, it's Amy from During Quiet Time here today to share a tutorial to make this Stitchin' Sewing Machine Cover.

I wanted my sewing machine cover design to be sewing related, given it's job and all, but wanted to avoid things that I have seen done before at the same time.  That quickly eliminated spools and pieced sewing machines.

I decided to use Pat Bravo's Carnaby Stree to piece 3 traditional stitches:  the cross stitch, straight stitch and zigzag.  You might not automatically associate the design with stitching but that's ok because it has a cool graphic look to it at the same time.  I used a big chunk of Ladylike Black Tea, my absolute favorite print in the line, for the rest of the exterior so that I would get to see it lots.

Fabrics used:

• 1/2 yard Pure Elements Sandstone
• FQ Carnaby Street Ladylike Black Tea
• FQ Carnaby Street Go-Go London Lustrous
• FQ Carnaby Street King's Road Turquoise
• FQ Carnaby Street 60s Waves Midnight
• FQ Carnaby Street Soho Dandy Nocturnal
• FQ Carnaby Street Retro Pop Mint
• batting and backing material

I hope you enjoy making a cover for your machine!  Remember, you will want to measure your own machine and make adjustments as necessary for a good fit.

Download Stitchin' Sewing Machine Cover Pattern and start stitching a groovy new cover for your sewing machine!

Stop by Amy's blog, During Quiet Time, to win your very own bundle of Carnaby St by Pat Bravo

As always to be eligible to win you must follow AGF on your fav social media platform (Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter)and Subscribe to our blog to stay up to date on all things AGF & the Fat Quarter Gang!

Til next week!

<3 Amy & The AGF Team

Happy Monday!

It's Jeni, from In Color Order, here to share a new Fat Quarter Gang Tutorial with you! Today I've got a fun Scrappy Star Quilt that comes together really fast by taking advantage of giant blocks!

I'm using my debut fabric line with Art Gallery Fabrics, Color Me Retro, for this quilt!

I paired it with my favorite Pure Element solid, Lemonade! This is a fun summery quilt, perfect for a picnic at the park or a quick gift! Materials:

• - 10 fat quarters of Color Me Retro
• - 1 1/2 yards of Pure Elements solid in Lemonade
• - 4 1/4 yards of backing fabric
• - 2 1/4 yards of 90" wide batting
• - 1/2 yard of binding fabric
  - Coordinating thread
  

*Finished Quilt Size: 68"x68"

Want to get started on this scrappy goodness?  Download Scrappy Star Quilt tutorial and start sewing away.

Don't forget to stop by Jeni's blog, In color order, to win your very own bundle of Color Me Retro!

As always to be eligible to win you must follow AGF on your fav social media platform (Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter)and Subscribe to our blog to stay up to date on all things AGF & the Fat Quarter Gang!