Community Sampler Giveaway Week #15

Community Sampler Giveaway Week #15

Each Friday, throughout the Community Sampler sew-along, that Maureen Cracknell and myself are co-hosting, will be a Giveaway Friday. We've coordinated special giveaway prizes with our amazing participating sponsors for each and every week! If you've happened to miss the first Community Sampler posts, take a look back from the first post Community Sampler Week #1 to get caught up to the present. Feel free to start sewing with us at anytime--it's never too late to join in, and it's free! 

COMMUNITY SAMPLER SPONSORS

Lady Belle Fabric  Omnigrid  -  Aurifil Thread  -  Art Gallery Fabrics  -  Hobbs Batting -  Dritz  -  Fat Quarter Shop -  Bloc-Loc

TODAY'S FEATURED Community Sampler SPONSOR IS OMNIGRID!

Omnigrid® is a family of measuring and cutting products. When Omnigrid® tools are used together they provide quilters, sewists and DIY aficionados with unsurpassed accuracy and quality. A product concept born of the genius of Peggy and Randy Schafer, Omnigrid® products work behind the scenes allowing makers to flawlessly bring their creations to fruition. - See more at: Omnigrid!

Products  *  Projects and Patterns  *  Instagram  *  Pinterest 

We hope you enjoy visiting Omnigrid!

For this week's Community Sampler Giveaway, Ominigrid is offering an incredible prize! Both the blog and Instagram winner will receive all of the wonderful Omnigrid sewing/quilting products shown below! Due to the oversized nature of this prize we will have to limit the drawing to winners within the United States only (see entry rules).

THIS PRIZE PACK INCLUDES:  

2050 45mm rotary cutter * R24 6” x 24” ruler * 18 x 24 cutting mat *  R1 1” x 6” ruler *  2045 28mm rotary cutter * 2051 45mm blade replacement * 2046 28mm blade replacement * Thread Snips * 2-1/2'' x 2-1/2'' ruler 

Thank you Omnigrid for this generous prize!

ENTER TO WIN!

Here's how: Since Maureen and I are taking turns hosting the Community Sampler Giveaway Fridays, this week I'm sending you to Maureen Cracknell's blog to enter! 

Sorry, international friends, due to the oversized nature of this prize we need to limit this drawing to entrants with U.S. addresses for this giveaway.

A BIG thanks to all of you who are joining the Community Sampler sew-along and to those who enter our Giveaway!  ♡ Sharon

Ruching Rose Pillow

Ruching Rose Pillow

It seems that texture is the latest thing in home decor. If you step into any home department in your favorite store there's beautiful pillows with loads of character. I know I want to buy them all but after awhile that gets pretty pricey. Why not make your own decorator pillows at a fraction of the cost!

As I was coming up with project ideas to show off my new Art Gallery Fabrics Signature fabrics collection I wanted to off course show off the prints but also show you new ways to use fabric. 

Art Gallery Fabrics produces some of the finest quality quilting cotton and garment fabrics on the market. Their knit material is buttery soft and of thick weight that it can be used in more than just garment sewing. 

My Signature collection has three knit prints and for the Ruching Rose pillow I used two of them. Extempore Fest is the large floral background and Lacey Cosmos is used for the ruched flower. 

Make a Ruching Rose Pillow

You can customize the size of your pillow by adding 1" to the finished dimensions of your pillow form. Example: If you want a 20" square finished pillow, cut two 21" squares for front foundation and backing.

Note: The material list is based on a 16'' finished pillow.

Materials

• 16" pillow form
• 1/2 yard knit for background
• 1/4 yard knit for rose cut into (4) 2'' x Width of Fabric strips for rose
• Needle and matching thread
• One package 1/4'' -wide Dritz Wash Away Wonder Tape
• (1) 12'' - 14'' invisible zipper
• Zigzag and zipper foot attachments

Join the (4) 2'' -wide strips into one long strip. Pace ends right sides together at right angles and stitch on the diagonal as shown. Trim seam allowance to 1/4''. Trim dog ears. Press seams open to reduce bulk.

Fold the long strip in half lengthwise with wrong sides together and press to crease. Unfold and then refold the raw edges wrong sides together toward the center. Press. 

Knot the end of a long length of matching thread. Hand sew a basting stitch in a zigzag design down the length of the long strip, loosely gathering the strip as you sew for ruching. 

Tip: Use binding clips to hold the folded fabric while you stitch. If you reach the end of the thread but need to continue ruching, gather the strip as desired before knotting off the thread on the raw edge side of the strip. Continue with a new length of thread in the same manner. 

Note: For my pillow I only used about 3-1/2 strips out of the 4 strips. If you're making a larger pillow the 4 strips will make a larger rose.

Fold a 17'' square of fabric into quarters to find the center of the square. Press to crease. Cut a 12'' length of Dritz Wonder Tape. Turn one short end of the ruching strip under 1/4''.

Adhere the tape to the raw edge seam side of the ruching strip, holding the turned end in place under the tape. Remove paper backing.

Starting at the creased intersection, adhere the ruching strip to the pillow front, spiraling it around the center to form a rose. Tip: I let the previous row of petals slightly overlap the subsequent rows to give more of a 3-D effect to the flower. 

Note: Working on a flat surface, rotate the strip around the center while keeping the raw edge seam side down and the ruching flat and evenly spaced. Add more 12'' lengths of tape as needed to continue making the rose. 

Turn the end of the ruching under, tapering the end under the proceeding spiral to finish the rose. 

Starting on the outside ending point, sew down the rose with a zigzag stitch on your sewing machine to secure it to the pillow front. Spiral around as you sew, ending in the center of the rose.

See my Hidden Zipper tutorial for finishing your pillow with an invisible zipper. 

Chenille Pillow with Hidden Zipper

Chenille Pillow with Hidden Zipper

Making your own decorator pillows has never been this easy! 

Here's what you'll need:

• Pillow form of choice
• Two pieces of fabric cut 1'' larger than pillow form. Example: If using a 14" square pillow form then cut (2) 15" squares.
• One Invisible Zipper approximately 4" shorter than side of pillow zipper will be placed on. Example: If making a 14" square finished pillow, select a 9''-10'' -length zipper.
• Chenille-It Blooming Bias or similar chenille bias product and matching thread
• One package 1/4'' -wide Dritz Wash Away Wonder Tape
• Zipper foot attachment
• Seam ripper
• Marking tool

My Chenille pillow was made using the Traveler Raindrops print from my new Signature fabrics for Art Gallery Fabrics. This print was perfect for this decorative finish because of the lines of the print could be used as a guide for chenille placement. 

Chenille bias tape comes in rolls and is a loosely woven cotton cut on the bias. 

Mark your fabric, if necessary to give yourself sewing guides. In my case, I could use the lines of my Traveler print and get right to sewing. 

Following the manufacturer's instructions, stitch the chenille bias tape to the fabric foundation using a short stitch length. Sew down the center of the strip with a straight stitch. 

Add as many rows as desired.

Assemble the pillow before blooming the chenille with water.

Hidden Zipper

On a flat surface, place the pillow front and back right sides together with edges matched. If there's a definite top and bottom to your pillow place the bottom of the pillow closest to you, as shown in illustration. 

Center the zipper on the edge that will be the bottom of the pillow. Mark the fabric at the points where the zipper begins and end.

Remove zipper and stitch bottom edge using a 1/2" seam allowance from the outside edge to the marked line on each end. Backstitch to reinforce.

Using a basting stitch length, sew the space between the marks with a 1/2'' seam allowance. Do not backstitch. Press seam open. 

On the wrong side, place the zipper wrong side up centered directly over the seam and between the marks. Pin in place or I like to use Dritz Wash Away Wonder Tape to hold the zipper in place without the need for pins. 

If using Dritz Wash Away Wonder Tape, cut two lengths of tape as long as the zipper. Stick a length of tape to the right side of the zipper on each side, keeping the tape away from the zipper teeth. Peel off backing tape and stick the right side of the zipper to the fabric as shown above.

Reset stitch length to regular length. Switch to the zipper foot attachment for your machine and stitch zipper in place around all sides. Note: Stitch with needle in the down position and pivot around corners, sewing just past the metal ends of the zipper. 

Turn to right side of the pillow and remove the basting stitches using a seam ripper. Open zipper. 

Fold front and backing on the zipper seam with right sides together and edges matching. Pin. Change presser foot to regular foot. Using a 1/2'' seam allowance, stitch three sides together. 

Turn right side out through zipper opening. Tip: Do not clip the corners. By leaving the corners unclipped the bulk helps to fill out the corners of the pillow. Carefully poke out corners.

Following the chenille manufacturer's instructions, wash or wet bias to bloom. Dry completely before inserting pillow form. Tip: If washing creates gaps in the chenille, simply cut a slightly longer piece of chenille bias tape longer than the gap and stitch in place using the pillow opening. Wet and fluff to blend into original chenille. 

This pillow was so much fun to make and looks comfy cozy in my Signature baby room setting. Be watching for more looks from this baby room in the upcoming Signature Look Book next week. 

Community Sampler Week #15

Community Sampler Week #15

You've done it! You're top is pieced and now it's ready to be quilted. My co-host and sister Art Gallery Fabrics designer Maureen Cracknell and I are so happy to have you sewing with us and can't wait to see your finished quilts.

Surprisingly we still have a few new Makers joining our sew along at this late point. If you are just joining us, pick up the Introduction PDF on the Sew Along page and you'll get a material list along with coloring pages so you can get started planning your quilt. Then, work your way through the first Community Sampler post to the present and take advantage of the in-blog tutorials for the different patchwork techniques used throughout the Community Sampler. Both Maureen and I will leave all the Community Sampler downloads up on our blogs for you to download long after this event is done. Also, check out the #Community Sampler hashtag on Instagram, you'll see an amazing array of beautiful blocks as inspiration overload! Soon, you'll be seeing finished Community Sampler quilts too!

Finishing

Time to quilt and finish your Community Sampler! Download the free PDF on the Sew Along page.

The Finishing PDF download will give you cutting and yardage requirements for a Community Sampler quilt with and without borders. If you've modified the pattern by enlarging the size of your quilt you will need to recalculate the number of binding strips needed, backing, and batting yardages.

• Add 6''- 8'' to the finished dimensions of a quilt (3''- 4'' extra inches on all sides) for backing and batting needs. 
• To figure binding: Add all four sides of the quilt plus an additional 12'' for seams. Divide that number by 42'' (the width of typical fabric) and the result is the number of strips needed. Round up if necessary.

For my Community Sampler quilt I've pieced my top in Art Gallery Fabrics Pure Element solids. But, for the back it's time to add a print! My newest Art Gallery Fabrics collection, Signature is now available at your local quilt shops and online. I chose the Untamed Beauty Daybreak print from my collection because the background has the same soft peach/pink as the Sweet Macademia Pure Elements solids background on the front of the quilt and picks up the coral, honey yellow, and kelly green solid colors throughout the blocks.

To be honest I've not figured out my binding yet but I do know it will be a solid and may just depend on material I have left from the top--maybe a scrappy one!

Rather than reinvent the wheel, I'm directing you to the blog post for Finishing that was originally posted during last year's Sewcial Bee Sampler sew along. There's where you'll find all the tutorial information for spray basting, quilting, and binding your Community Sampler. The sizes have changed but the concept for basting, quilting, and binding your quilt are the same. As stated in that post, there are many ways to finish a quilt and I am blogging about how I finish my quilts. If you have a preferred method, please do it the way you're comfortable with. If you intend to send your top off to be professionally quilted, discuss with your long-arm quilter how they'd like you to prepare your quilt top and backing for being quilted. 

Quilting

I'm not a professional quilter by any means. I get by and call my quilting style "organic" because it's not perfect and lines are not straight. Since I've not quilted my Community Sampler at the time of writing this post I cannot say with certainty how I plan to quilt it yet. I have an idea to do a loopy clamshell sort of quilting (see first illustration) but until I sit down to my mid arm machine I really am not sure. 

Use your coloring book page from the first PDF download with a tracing paper overlay to test out various quilting options. 

I do have a tutorial on my Tutorials page for how to quilt a Baptist Fan pattern that is one of my favorite patterns. You can find tons of quilting pattern inspiration online or through the professional quilters resources I listed earlier. The type of quilting design that appeals to you is the best one to choose. Keep in mind the complexity and your skill level when choosing, so you don't get frustrated.

Another great option that always looks good is a grid pattern. You can run the grid horizontally and vertically or on the diagonal. 

Keep in mind that different batting types have different properties and quilt spacing requirements. Read the packaging recommendations and plan your quilting accordingly. 

I know this is not possibly enough to answer all your questions on how to finish a quilt. Use the internet, books, and other quilters to help fill in the gaps I've not covered here. I've only written about the steps I use to finish my quilts and there are many other ways to achieve the same end results--find what works best for your skill level and needs.

Next week will be the full reveal of mine and Maureen's quilts and of course our grand finale giveaway prize! 

COMMUNITY SAMPLER SPONSORS

Lady Belle Fabric  Omnigrid   Aurifil Thread  Art Gallery Fabrics 

Hobbs Batting  Dritz  Fat Quarter Shop  Bloc-Loc

My co-host Maureen Cracknell and I are continually amazed by the joy and excitement each of you bring to our virtual community. Thank you for making this sew along so special. Please visit Maureen's blog and see the progress she's making on her sampler quilt, using her beautiful AGF fabrics Love Story collection. Be sure to use the #CommunitySampler hashtag when posting your blocks to Instagram and tag both my @sharonhollanddesigns and @maureencracknell so we don't miss any of your beautiful work! But, please be patient with both Maureen and I over the next few weeks if we don't comment back. Both Maureen and I are preparing sewing samples for our new spring collections and there's just not enough hours in the day (or energy) to get it all done!

Don't forget that this Friday's a Giveaway Friday on the Community Sampler sew along. Maureen and I will take turns hosting a giveaway each week where one of our generous sponsors will be featured and offering amazing prizes both here on our blogs and also on Instagram. Maureen will be hosting the giveaway this Friday and you'll be instructed how to enter at that time.

Happy sewing!