Art Gallery Fabrics - The Creative Blog

Hello Makers, 

Suntanned skin, waves crashing on the shore, and the feel of the warm salty breeze, there are so many reasons why I love the beach and living in a tropical climate but another reason is we can wear bright colorful sundresses all year! Which is why I am super excited about Katie Skoog's debut collection for AGF, West Palm Fabrics!

I see several summer dresses in my near future! What would you make with West Palm fabrics? In the video I below I show off my Tank Dress made in the “Seaside Garden Coral” print! This beginner-friendly sewing pattern by Caroline Hulse lays beautiful and is just the best dress to throw on whenever you don’t know what to wear.

Summer quilts are also on my list and I think I found the perfect quilt block to sew up with these fabrics. To make the “Dandy Star” block make sure to check out my new step by step youtube video below!

For more sewing projects made with West Palm Fabrics don’t forget to flip through the pages of our New Fabric LookBook!

Happy Sewing,

Melissa

Hi Makers,

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:

Download Quilt Pattern

- WEST PALM GIVEAWAY -

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!

Hello Makers, 

I don’t know about you but when I am looking for fabrics to sew for the little ones in my life I always have a tough time finding the right fabrics. I either find prints that are to gender-specific or the colors are just not quite what I am looking for.

Becoming an Auntie for the first time 14 years ago and then becoming a God Mother 2 ½” years ago has been such a rewarding honor. As I watch my brother's kids grow up I think back to when I was that young and I make sure to teach them everything I learned and more, so they can grow up to be confident, full of passion and motivated to make their dreams come true. When I first saw the final prints that were going to be included in our AGF Studio fabric collection called Sisu I was super impressed with this colorful, impactful and playful group of fabrics for kids. The word “Sisu”, is an untranslatable Finnish word; it is the mindset that allows us to keep going just when we think we are about to give up. As adults, we have encountered this moment many times but as a child, you are experiencing things for the first time so this mindset is important for them to learn at a young age. All the prints in this collection translate this essential message with prints of children exploring and playing, motivational phrases, and primary shapes and colors to inspire them to their fullest potential.

For this collection, I decided to sew up the “King David’s Crown” block. I took advantage of this block’s fussy cutting capabilities and fussy cut a section of my favorite print in the collection. In this block, you will learn to make HST’s using the eight at a time method and how to create an hourglass block. Join me by watching the video below.

Make sure to check out all the prints in the collection here and let me know what your favorite print is in the comments!

Happy Sewing,

Melissa

Happy Friday, Makers - 

Hope you all had a fabulous week!

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:

Download Quilt 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!

Hi Makers,

Hope your April is off to a good note, so far. :)

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! :)

Keep creating, 

- Sophia 

Hello Makers,

Whooo is ready for another quilt block tutorial?! Me me me! I am especially excited about this new block tutorial because I got to sew with Jessica Swift’s new fabric collection called Lugu. All the prints in this collection are gorgeous, ranging from magical moons, moths, festive deer and florals and my favorite which I think is the star of the collection the Sova owl print! It comes in two great colors ways.

I fussy cut Mr. Owl to be in the center of my “ Domino and Star” Block, a fun, beginner-friendly block that is pretty easy to whip up. This playful, whimsical collection would be perfect for nursery/children's room decor or for those who just want to add a bit of quirkiness and eccentric style to any room you're trying to fill.

Give my video a view below and make sure to leave me a comment! Also, make sure to check out all the other block tutorials in our AGF Quilt Block Collection Playlist!

To end my blog post for today I wanted to share a personal quilting story with you.

I had the privilege to sew up the Free Quilt Pattern for the Lugu Lookbook called Owl’s Tale. Not only did the beautiful colors in this collection bring me joy but the delightful, carefree illustrations brought my mind into a magical place. I started this quilt two days before I got the call that my Dad wasn’t doing well and was being brought to the hospital and that I should fly home to Minnesota immediately. My Dad was diagnosed with stage four Pancreatic cancer four and a half weeks prior to this. With my heart in my throat, I packed a quick bag and made sure to pack my Lugu fabrics. That same day I got to Minnesota and was able to talk to my Dad for the last time. The very next morning he passed away. We didn’t think that this was going to be the end but it was. That same day we came home from the hospital after his passing I went straight to my Mom’s basement where the sewing machine resides. Shocked and filled with about every single emotion you can think of I start to sew this quilt. I sewed for hours and hours, with tears running down my face. The only thing holding me together was the sewing machine and the fabric running through my hands. Sewing brings me so much joy and even in the time of just about the worst heartbreak you can endure sewing was the only thing could console me.  

Here I am my last night in Minnesota holding up one of the blocks of the quilt. This quilt and fabric collection will always remind me of my Dad. I can’t thank Jessica Swift enough for making such inspiring fabrics and I am beyond thankful for the art of sewing, this creative outlet has saved me in so many ways.  To see the finished quilt make sure to check out our new Fabric Lookbook!

I know many of you have stories to share both sad and happy and everything in between. I would love to hear them if you are willing to tell. I just felt like my story needed to be told because even as devastating as my experience was I know everyone has or will go through something like this in their life. Sewing/ quilting is more than just a hobby, it’s a lifestyle, it feeds your soul and changes you in ways you wouldn't have expected. I will leave you all with this find out what makes you happy and do it every day, love with all your heart and have no regrets. It’s how my Dad lived and it’s how I plan to live the rest of mine.

Happy Sewing,

Melissa