Art Gallery Fabrics - The Creative Blog

AGF welcomes Leah Duncan

“I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles.”  - Audrey Hepburn

 

Welcome to Art Gallery Fabrics, Leah Duncan! from Art Gallery Fabrics on Vimeo.

 A little bit about Leah...

I was born and raised in small town South Carolina by an engineer and a schoolteacher. I was always a creative mind and loved playing with paints, my toy potter's wheel, and made various collages out of scrap paper. My favorite classes were English and Art, and I took various forms of dance, which helped me spread my wings creatively. Despite all of this, I ended up with a Bachelor of Science in college, trying to follow something that was a little more logical. After college, I was lucky to find a job as a Graphic Designer,
where I honed my skills working for an advertising firm and a screen-printing company.

I'm incredibly grateful and lucky to make a living doing what I love and with every piece I create, I hope to bring a small feeling of that love. Design should be thoughtful, beautiful, and genuine - but it should also give you a feeling whether it be a simple sigh, a smile on your face, or a sense of calm. I'm very happy to be a part of the Art Gallery Fabrics family
and can't wait to share the new collections we're releasing! (full bio)

About Tule

Named after Nevada's Tule Desert, Leah's new collection is inspired by her favorite  landscape. While living in Texas, Leah had many adventures in the southwest and grew to love the stark, but endlessly beautiful region. With sparse flowers, numerous hills, open spaces, and endless ravines the desert is a place she always goes back to for inspiration, simplicity, and that impossible feeling of quiet. Filled with southwestern florals and geometric shapes, Tule reflects the stark beauty of the region and shares a glimmer of the joy and peace the desert consistently provides her when she visits.

Keep up with Leah on her blog, freshlychopped.

Now get to know Leah today on Twitter during #TALKNT2 today from 1-3pm est and again for #TALKNT at 9-11pm est. She will be answering your questions and telling you a little bit more about her sewing style!

See ya there!

<3 The AGF Family

 

AGF welcomes Bonnie Christine as their latest designer.

"The patterns of our lives have the capacity to connect deeply within us. They are simple expressions of our joy."

 


A little about Bonnie...

I am mostly inspired by the great outdoors, from the largest of trees to the tiniest of leaves. Creating patterns with summery sweet hues is my happy place. I thrive on botanical gardens, sunshiney days, and nature walks- camera in one hand, sketchbook in the other. My goal has always been to create patterns that are organic and natural, joyful
and lovely.

I believe patterns are one of the ways that we can express ourselves and make our spaces beautiful. I love to weave parts of my life into each one of them, making the design process and end results very personal and meaningful.

Click here to read her full bio.

A little bit about Reminisce

A collection that will take you back in time, to hazy summer days full of meadow walks and butterfly watching. Inspired by simple moments of picking flowers and enjoying there beauty, it's sophisticated, vintage and nostalgic.

If you love this collection and are excited to find out more about Bonnie Christine and what she has in-store for you then hop on over to Twitter and join us for #TALKNT2 today from 1-3pm est and again for #TALKNT at 9-11pm est. Bonnie will be answering your questions, telling you a bit about herself and the scary new journey she is about to embark on.

See ya there!

<3 The AGF Family

 

 

Go back in time with Color Me Retro by Jeni Baker

A collection that would make the likes of Donna Reed swoon, Color Me Retro by Jeni Baker inspires that retro chick inside of us.

 

COLOR ME RETRO Fabric Collection by Jeni Baker from Art Gallery Fabrics on Vimeo.

 

Imagine yourself in a 1950's kitchen, singing along to some Billie Holiday as the scent of fresh baked bread fills the air.

Inspired by retro kitchenware from the 1950s and 60s, Color Me Retro invites you to paint your life with its bright, fresh combinations or lime green, royal blue, and raspberry red.

Think vintage silhouettes and classic decor for the home! Create your own retro style with this bold, fun, and vibrant collection!

 

The 50's and early 60's were a time dubbed as "The Family Era". These were times when "keeping up with the Joneses" was key and Leave it to Beaver was a reflection of where society stood.

It was considered a norm for women to sew their own clothing as well as clothing for the family...

Color Me Retro is a collection that embraces all that charm and nostalgia of that era and gives it to you in a mini-collection of 10 prints that will bring out the susie homemaker in all of you.


You can find Color Me Retro at these popular online retailers soon or look for them at your Local Quilt Store.

 

Visit our new website to get inspired and download our fun & free projects, including the free quilt pattern for Vinette, featured in the video.

Follow us on Facebook & Twitter for cool news, updates, and awesome pics!

Much love,

Art Gallery Fabrics

 

Did ya know?

Hey there ladies & gents,

We all know about the various pre-cuts offered around town but what are they and what do they consist of?

Well we decided to create this handy little guide for you as a reference. Take a peek!

*Phew*... Now that was some work! Hope this helps explain all that is the wonderful world of pre-cuts.

Happy cutting!

<3,

The AGF Team.

Inspiration.

We all gather inspiration from many different places. Many of us like to look through blogs and some grab that fav magazine to pull from. Wherever we gather from, one thing is for sure, what we create is definitely a labor of love.
So we ask... What inspires you to create?

Related articles

Turquoise Inspiration

We really pour our hearts into our projects and it clearly shows. So we ask....

AGF has a new fabric designer!

There are moments like these when I remember why I founded Art Gallery Fabrics in 2004... I wanted to offer a different design and color approach in quilting fabrics, and I had beautiful dreams on how my company would evolve! I was designing all our collections myself with so much love, and with the hope that you would like them and use them for your quilting and sewing projects. And you did! I am so thankful and humble for that :)

In all these years, your response to our brand has been overwhelming! Two seasons ago I thought that the incorporation of new designers that share my same goal was the right path to follow... Bari J, Sarah Watson and lately Jeni Baker became part of our family! Your love for their collections throughout your comments and emails make me sooo happy!!

But I have news for you! I'm so proud to introduce to you the newest member that will join the AGF family of designers, an awesome gal that is called "the Rolls Royce of modern machine quilting"!!

Her exquisite stitching designs started speaking on their own, and became the natural path to her first collection with us. You will be delighted!

Do you want to know who she is? I encourage you to click "play" to find out!!

 

And here is the sneek peek into what the collection will look like ...

Included in this collection is the Right Angles panel that will have various uses as well as a guide into modern quilting.

I am pleased to present all these wonderful talents to you all. I hope that all these new collections will inspire you to create and share all the beautiful things you make. 

Love,

Pat Bravo

Cherry Autumn Quilt Kit

Hello friends,

I am excited to share with you our exclusive Cherry Autumn quilt kit designed especially for Fat Quarter Shop.

This quilt kit blends in various of Pat Bravo collections such as Modernology and Bohemian Soul with Art Gallery blenders like Lace Elements and Floral Elements. The warm tones of the fabrics used mimic the changing colors of nature during Autumn.

As Summer fades from view and Fall takes it's place make sure that the Cherry Autumn quilt is there to keep you warm.

Happy Sewing,

<3 The AGF Team

 

AGF goes In Color Order with Jeni Baker, new designer.

Happy Tuesday!

Today is a very exciting day for us... We want to share with you how happy we are to introduce to our family a new fabric designer!

So at AGF we are pleased to announce that Jeni Baker is our new gem!

Her love for vintage retro scandinavian kitchen designs is shown throughout her debut collection, COLOR ME RETRO. We hope you to fall in love with it as much as we did!

She also brings with her being a famous blogger... "In Color Order" is her nest, where she shares all her projects, vintage kitchen finds and her life with her adorable bunny named George! We encourage you to check it out :)

Take a look at the video and get to know our new member and sneak peek of her collection..

 

How exciting is this? We couldn't have been happier! :D

Here's a small sneak peek at Color Me Retro - a mini collection:

This month is an electrifying month for us here at Art Gallery Fabrics and it still gets better. In 2 weeks we will thrill you with another major announcement... and then we swear it's the last one for a little while (maybe ..hehehe)

Thank you for sharing this moment with us and don't forget to follow hashtag #talknt2 for the first chat from 1-3pm EST and #talknt for the second chat from 9-11pm EST! (We use Tweetchat.com to easily follow along and participate!)

 <3,

Pat Bravo, Bari J., Sarah Watson, Jeni Baker and The AGF Team

Art Gallery Fabrics introduces Sarah Watson, new designer.

Hello friends,

As we grow and begin to add new designers we really look for a talent that will not only add to the AGF team but will also be a part of this crazy and close family.

So, when choosing our next designers we really wanted to add to the mix of the group and Sarah Watson was a perfect fit...

She is amazing, the perfect balance between modernity, organic style and classicism! Her illustrations tell stories of beautiful gardens and architecture... Sara's background in illustration and her love for interior design, old magazines and botanical garden are her signature. 

Click on the video below to know more about this amazing new designer...

 

Her debut collection, LUXE IN BLOOM takes you on a stroll through an exotic garden...

Check out her blog for a little about Sarah, some projects and lots of beautiful pictures.

Stay tuned for MORE amazing news from Art Gallery Fabrics.. oh yea... there is more news coming soon :)

 

<3 Pat Bravo, Bari J, Sarah Watson & The AGF Team.

Striped strips anyone?

The chevron mania is still at its peak, and recently I have been drawn to recreate this graphic pattern in other ways. What better to create a zigzag pattern than a basic striped fabric? 

(Maureen Cracknell Handmade's take on chevrons using Indie collection by Pat Bravo)

At AGF we always like to include geometrical and linear prints in our collections. I grabbed some of the striped designs from the Sugar, Poetica, and Bespoken Collections, and started playing around with the angle and position of the fabric to come up with this block tutorial.

It is clearly not a defined chevron design, but rather a party of stripes and color. I had an initial concept of cutting the majority of the fabrics at 45º angles (biased), but the more I saw the lines, the more I loved their “natural” way, and I think that the simplicity of perpendicular lines transformed into something fun and dynamic (not to mention that it also saves more fabric for future projects).

This tutorial makes a 10" x 10” block.

CUTTING DIRECTIONS
You can mix and match with striped fabrics that you already own, but for this block I used:

1. 1” x 10” strip of Apricot Crepe from the Pure Elements Collection
1. 2” x 10” strip of Spirited Verse Candy from the Poetica Collection (cross-grain)
1. 2 ½” x 10” strip of Spirited Verse Azure from the Poetica Collection (straight-grain)
1. 2 ½” x 3 ¾” strip of Stitchery Citrus from the Bespoken Collection (bias)
1. 2 ½” x 4” strip of Stitchery Aqua from the Bespoken Collection (bias)
1. 2 ½” x 2 ¾” rectangle of Festival Fuchsia from the Pure Elements Collection
1. 3 ½” x 10” strip of Honey Ribbons from the Sugar Collections (straight-grain)
1. 1 3/8” x 10” strip of Mauvelous from the Pure Elements collection.

To make this block (1/4” seam allowance):

Lay out your pieces before you start sewing in the way they would look at the end. I find it helpful to work from this layout as I sew- it will be far less likely to get your pieces mixed up.

Now you can proceed to attach the two biased pieces to the Festival Fuchsia rectangle. To create a more interesting visual effect, arrange them as though the lines will cross (if you were to make a whole quilt this will give it that subtle but oh-so-wonderful chevron effect from a distance). This will be the center panel:

Now that you have only vertical piecing, you can begin from left to right with the Apricot Crepe strip, and then attach the remaining five strips.

 Make sure to press open each seam after you sew.

Here is the finished block on the design wall.

I created the quilt digitally to see what it would look like. I love the playfulness of the stripes, and the subtle chevron.  It could be a perfect match for a children’s room (switch all stripes to neutral colors and it will be a great modern quilt for a boy’s room!).

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please share your line-party quilt creations as everyone at AGF would love to see them!

Rock & Sew!

<3 Laura