Art Gallery Fabrics - The Creative Blog

Fat Quarter Gang - Scrappy Star Quilt by In Color Order

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!

Make it Right Challenge *UPDATE*

Hello everyone!

Hope your "Make it Right" challenge planning is going smoothly. We have received such great feedback since the launch last week and we are very excited to see the creations.

We have also had several questions and wanted to clear some of those up, as well as give you some needed info.

NEW FAQ's

1. What does the panel look like?

Well here ya go...

The panel is also listed in the Textures collection by Angela Walters. You can check it out there as well.

 

2.  What are some of the coordinating Pure Elements for the panel?

Here are 5 that directly match BUT you may use your creative freedom with this as well.

 3. How much of the panel needs to be used?

We know that not every single scrap can be used. We are going for a 95% usage of the complete panel. Remember that means that it can be used as lining, sashing, binding, etc. Get creative with it.

4. Is this open to International entries?

Yes it is. Please note that total time to create this project is 7 weeks. Currently there are 6 weeks left to the challenge. So if you are international please plan accordingly.

5. What stores currently carry the panel?

Here is a list of stores that have ordered the panel.  Please call and check to make sure they still have in stock.

Looking for some inspiration? here are some samples found around the web..
(from top left: Tiaginny Designs, top right: Mandalei Quilt & Crafts, bottom left & right: Quilting is my therapy)

These are some of the most popular questions we have gotten over the last week from you all. If you do not see the answer to your question here or here, please feel free to contact us at Contests@ArtGalleryFabrics.com

Happy sewing & may the odds be ever in your favor ;)

<3 AGF

 

Say HELLO to Navy and Yellow!

Hi everyone!

Spring brings sunshine and a jolt of color to the quilting world. It is the perfect time to stock up on brights for renewed energy to brighten your day. Combinations of yellows and blues are the perfect mix of warm and cool.

I predict that navy will be the new black for spring. This color can be very modern in quilting but with a neutral, calming feel to it. Also, you can never go wrong with shades of blue.

From cobalt to indigo, near black to true navy, dark blue is showing up everywhere. It is showing up in upholstery, on walls, in accessories and lighting. The blue and yellow combination is a new take on maritime blue.

It can even inspire cool and edgy decor for the home. Here is a little tutorial on how to combine these fresh Spring colors.

Start with something small like the table runner you see here. It is the perfect way to embrace yellow and blue with just a little bit of the nautical vibe that is so trendy right now.

The runner measures 33" x 12" when bound. All of the seam allowances are 1/4". The center block is a log cabin block made with 1 1/2" strips.

The finished size of this block is 11.5" x 11.5".

The two side blocks are made up of white strips that are 2" x 11 1/2" and strips of 1 1/2" colored fabrics that are pieced and then cut to 2" x 11 1/2".

The finished size of these blocks are 11" x 11.5".

The three blocks are then sewn together. I like to do my backing and binding in one with a wrap around method.

The Pure Elements shown here are:

• PE-433 Snow
• PE-435 Bananna Cream
• PE-407 Empire Yellow
• PE-421 Honey
• PE-434 Tranquil Waters
• PE-415 Parisian Blue
• PE-428 Nocturnal. 

Be on the lookout for these colors in some of the newest collections from the many talented AGF designers.

<3,

Megan

From cobalt to indigo, near black to true navy, dark blue is showing up everywhere. It is showing up in upholstery, on walls, in accessories and lighting. The blue and yellow combination is a new take on maritime blue. Here is a little collage of combinations that inspire us.

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

 

Fat Quarter Gang - Indian Summer Mini Quilt by QuiltDad

Readers of my blog, QuiltDad,  know that I have a huge aversion to handwork, but I love the look of projects that feature hexagons.  So I came up with a method that allows me to incorporate hexagon designs into my quilts without any handwork at all! 

This mini quilt project is a fun way to practice the technique, and the end result is perfect as a wall hanging or table topper.  This project features the gorgeous new fabric line Indian Summer by Sarah Watson for Art Gallery Fabrics.

 
Materials needed:

• Assorted scraps of Indian Summer fabrics.
• 3 hexagon templates in different sizes, printed on a heavy cardstock paper.
• 2 pieces of fabric -- either whole or pieced -- measuring approximately 20” x 24” each. These will be your quilt top front and backing.
• A scrap piece of batting measuring approximately 20” x 24”.
• 3 strips of a binding fabric measuring 2.5” x 42” (selvage to selvage) each.

 Quilt assembly:

 1     Baste your front and backing fabrics with batting inbetween.  Quilt your quilt sandwich as desired.  I freehand quilted a herringbone pattern that is reminiscent of one of the prints in the Indian Summer line.

 

2     Create your hexagons. With a small ruler and your rotary cutter, place a hexagon template on top of a print fabric and cut 1/2” around the template on all sides.

3     Fold one edge over the template and press well.  Work your way around the hexagon, folding and pressing each edge as you go.

4     When you have made your way around the entire hexagon, turn it over and press again from the top.

5     Remove the paper template, place the hexagon face up, and press again one more time.  In this step, I used spray starch before pressing to get a nice, crisp, flat
hexagon.  Set aside.

6    Repeat steps 2-5 to create a variety of hexagons (in both size and print) until you have as many as you’d like to use. 

7     One at a time, place each hexagon on top of your quilt top and topstitch around all of the edges.  I try to topstitch approximately 1/8” from the folded edges of the
hexagon.

8     Once you have placed and sewn your hexagons in an eye-pleasing arrangement, bind your mini quilt.

 I hope you enjoy this quick and fun little project!  If you make an Indian Summer mini quilt, I’d love to see it.  Please add it to the Quilt Dad is my Homeboy Flickr group (http://www.flickr.com/groups/quiltdad/).

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!

And, don't forget to stop by Quiltdad.com to win your very own bundle of Indian Summer!!!

Make It Right Challenge

Art Gallery Fabrics is proud to present one of the most fun and unique challenges of the summer!!

We have joined together with sponsors Angela Walters, Aurifil, Craftsy and Quilters Dream Batting  to bring you the "Make It Right Challenge." This challenge is all about inspiring a creative process that makes you think outside the box.

Now you may think "Different how?"

Well, the way this challenge works is quite different. First off the public will pick the winner. So you know you have to put forth your best effort into the projects and its presentation. Secondly you must use every inch of the Right Angles panel –leave no scrap behind! Lastly be creative and don’t be afraid of color.

Create your best project and win CASH PRIZES as well as SWAG BASKETS filled with goodies from AGF and our sponsors!! 

 Now for the nitty-gritty (you know, the how-to’s, why’s and how’s of it all)

To Enter

To enter, you must submit the following:

1.  (1) Make It Right OFFICIAL Challenge Form per project
2.  (1) Picture of materials used per project
3.  (1) Picture of completed project

All entries must be emailed to contests@artgalleryfabrics.com by midnight on June 6^th. Public voting will commence on June 7th and will continue until 27th. Winners will be announced July 1st.

Prizes & Superlatives

There will be a 1st, 2nd & 3rd place chosen through People's Choice.

        1st place - $500 plus a swag basket filled with goodies from our sponsors

        2nd place - $300 plus a swag basket filled with goodies from our sponsors

        3rd place - $200 plus a swag basket filled with goodies from our sponsors

    Superlatives:

            1.  Most creative
            2.  Best use of color
            3.  Best technique
            4.  Most creative use of thread
            5.  Most functional

* All superlative winners will win a swag basket filled with goodies from Art Gallery Fabrics and all of our lovely sponsors.

Have a question? Take a look over our Make It Right OFFICIAL Challenge Rules (updated 4/19) and FAQ sheet to see if we got you covered.

* To buy the panel please check with your LQS or any online shop that carries Textures by Angela Walters. Here is a list of shops currently carrying the Textures Right Angles Panel. Download Right Angles store list.

** UPDATES **

*Filler: Any use of a secondary fabric as background, sashing, border, binding, etc.

 *Original works: we mean that you created it and sewed it. You may use published  patterns BUT we encourage you to make it your own (i.e. - modify it)

* To see the full panel please visit the Textures collection and click on the Right Angles swatch.

Tune Tuesday

Happy Tuesday everyone!

It's that day of the week again where I share with you our musical selections inspired by your favorite collections. Today we have a special treat! We're soundtracking (yes, I made this word up :) ) one of our very own collections, Urban Mod by our In-House design team!

Ladies and Gents, here's Triangularity!

Inspired by bustling downtown art scene, Triangularity is all about having fun and hanging out about town. With songs like "Tongue Tied" by Grouplove and "Say La La", the song used in our collection video, you'll be smiling and dancing as you walk down the urban avenues exploring galleries and shopping 'til your heart's desire!

For more music inspired by this collection, check out our Spotify playlist!

Subscribe to the playlist to add your own songs that inspire you to be Mod or let us know which songs we should add in the comments below!

Have a great rest of the week and from my musical ears to yours,

Kat

Fat Quarter Gang - Starburst Quilt by Sukie don't ya know

Hi! I'm Amy aka Sukie from Sukiedontyaknow.com. Wow. . can you believe it's been a whole year of the Art Gallery Fat Quarter Gang?!?!

Today, I'm showing you my last project for the gang and I'm really excited that it's a quilt! (that's my bread n' butter)

Fabric Requirements:

9 Pure Elements Fat Quarters  (*you can get away with using fat eights but these solids are versatile in any project).

 The ones I used in the quilt are:

• Cherry Lipgloss
• Crystal Pink
• Mirage Blue
• Parisian Blue
• Light Citron
• Verve Violet
• Cabernet
• Empire Yellow

3 yards of Pure Elements Snow for background

Cuts (repeat 9x):

Each solid needs these cuts:

• (2) 7 1/8 x 7 1/8
• (4) 4 1/2 x 4 1/2

Background:

• (2) 7 1/8 x 7 1/8
• (4) 4 1/2 x 4 1/2
• (1) 12 1/2 x 12 1/2

Block Construction steps:

• Take (1) of the pure elements 7 1/8 x 7 1/8 with a Snow 7 1/8 x 7 1/8, right sides together and sew 1/4 around the block
• Take a ruler and your rotary cutter and measure from one diagonal to the other and cut
• Keeping the square together cut from one diagonal to the other
• Repeat for the other 7 1/8 x 7 1/8 set
• You should have the total of 8 hsts (half square triangles)
• Iron the seams open

Trimming the HST (s):

1. Take a square ruler on with 45 degree angle/line on it and align the seam in the center with the 45 degree mark
2. Take your rotary cutter and trim off the excess to 4 1/2
3. Rotate and trim
4. You should have a 4 1/2 x 4 1/2

First row and last row are constructed like so:

4 1/2 x 4 1/2 Snow Block + 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 HST + 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 Solid + 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 HST + 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 Snow Block (Row 1 pic)

Side row:

4 1/2 x 4 1/2 HST + 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 Solid + 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 HST (Side Row)

Sew the side rows to the 12 1/2 x 12 1/2 block

Sew the top and the botton on to the block and you should have a block measuring 20 1/2 x 20 1/2

Repeat for the other 8 blocks and you should have a finished quilt top measure 60 x 60

 

Give this project a go and please be sure to join and add them to the Fat Quarter Gang Flickr Group!

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!

And, don't forget to stop by my blog to win your very own bundle of Pure Elements!!!

Spring Inspiration - Kitchen Tiles Placemat

 A place to mat reasons to celebrate...

Hello! I know we are a few days in, but I want to wish everyone a Happy Spring!

In celebration of life and Spring I want to share with you this simple tutorial using Floresence; a very Springy and joyful collection.

I think it is the perfect excuse to have a refreshing breakfast outdoors, or brunch, or lunch or any meal (you can finally make some of those Sugar & Spice recipes you've being savouring in your mind). This tutorial is great inspiration to slow down for one second and craft a moment to enjoy the beauty around you.

Download the Kitchen Tiles PDF

I hope you create a moment that you can cherish forever and that you breathe-in all the good things and people that surround you.

Rock 'n sew!

Lauv

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