Welcome to day 1 of our Aurifil for Art Gallery blog series! For the next 2 weeks, we’ll be introducing you to the talented designers of Art Gallery Fabrics, to herald their work, and shine a light on their fabulous thread collections. Back in 2015, we launched Aurifil thread boxes to match with the identity of each Art Gallery Fabrics designer. The best thing about this is that the threads aren’t specific to one fabric collection but rather were selected to match a designer’s signature palette. With that in mind, these collections work just as well with the brand new fabric collections as they did with those that released back in 2015. Pretty amazing, right? We hope you enjoy hearing more about these fabulous women AND don’t miss our super sweet giveaway!
Today, we meet Sharon Holland of Sharon Holland Designs! Sharon’s Color Story collection features both 50wt thread and floss and is available in both Large and Small boxes. It is a gorgeous range of neutrals and sweet colors that match perfectly with Sharon’s latest collections with Art Gallery Fabrics, Tapestry & Bountiful. We are simply enamored with Sharon’s style and anxiously await each new Instagram post. She takes stunning photos and has a keen eye for color and design.
Color Story, LARGE
12 Large Spools, 50wt (1422yds/spool)
2021 – 6720 – 6722 – 2800 – 2134 – 6724
5014 – 2430 – 6730 – 5008 – 2437 – 2785
Color Story, SMALL
10 Small Spools, 50wt (220yds/spool) & Aurifloss (6-strands, 18yds/spool)
2437 – 2562 – 5008 – 2021 – 2134 (50wt)
6722 – 1148 – 2435 – 5004 – 2785 (floss)
INTERVIEW
How did you first make the connection with Art Gallery Fabrics and what does it mean to you to be part of the AGF family?
I first discovered Art Gallery Fabrics while working as an Assistant Editor for a magazine. I loved how creative AGF was and of course the incredible fabric lines they produced. Having the opportunity to work with AGF in that behind the scenes capacity, I got to know the people and company. Their passion and joy for fabrics and sewing came through in everything they did—this was something I wanted to be part of. AGF was the only company I submitted my designs to when I decided to get back into textile design and Pat signed me on the spot!
Tell us about your latest collections with Art Gallery. What inspired the designs?
My latest collection for Art Gallery Fabrics is called Bountiful and is a celebration of midwest America. Growing up and living in the midwest has made a big impact on who I am. You’ve probably noticed I love nature inspired prints and this collection fully represents nature and the seasons. Bountiful reinterprets the Midwest landscape into a fresh, modern look rural life.
Do you have a favorite project or projects made with each collection?
I’m answering these questions as I prepare my Bountiful booth for spring Quilt Market in St. Louis. Most designers/artists will tell you their latest piece is their favorite work to-date and I’m no exception to that statement. I’m head over heels in love with my latest projects for Market. From a faux rabbit fur, pom pom tied Grazing print throw to my on trend appliquéd arrows and compass pillow, stitched using the beautiful Aurifil 80 wt cotton thread. It’s so nice having the right color thread on hand for any of my projects and Aurifil is another company I love being associated with because of their commitment to quality, beautiful products, and wonderful people.
Do you have a favorite color/weight and why?
Having Aurifil’s wide selection of colors and thread weights has improved my sewing like never before. For piecing patchwork and day-to-day sewing I use Aurifil 50 wt thread as my go-to thread. My large spool Color Story thread set has been wonderful for sewing all five of my AGF collections, giving me the perfect range of light to dark thread choices. I also am nuts about Aurifloss and the 12 wt. cotton. There’s so many delicious colors for hand stitching it’s hard to have any favorites because I want them all! The small spool Color Story thread set is a mix of five 50 wt accent color spools and five accent color Aurifloss spools, great for slow stitching on the go.
Your Aurifil showcase project is currently traveling with Alex Veronelli and is featured in his shops lecture series. What would you want to tell attendees about the project?
I love the foundation paper piece (FPP) project I designed for the Aurifil showcase projects. It’s a free pattern that can be downloaded from my website at: www.sharonhollanddesigns.com and is a great project for beginner to learn about FPP. It’s a mini quilt, perfect for using up colorful scraps and just the right size to add some chunky hand quilting using the beautiful Aurifloss.
To see more of my work and life as a designer you can follow me on Instagram @sharonhollanddesigns. I love encouraging people to pick up sewing and quilting and have tutorials like the on-going Sewcial Bee Sampler I co-host with my AGF designer sister Maureen Cracknell on my blog. Please stop by and say hi!
ABOUT SHARON
Website – Blog – Instagram – Pinterest
Sharon dusted off her paintbrushes and camera lenses and began selling her canvases in galleries and photos as greeting card designs. “One road always leads to another,” and the natural progression was to turn her art into textiles. Designing four collections for a fabric company and appearing in numerous quilting magazines with both her textiles and quilt designs, brought about a career in the magazine industry as an Assistant Editor, graphic designer, and photographer. Even though she is still interested in knowing and working in every aspect of the quilting and sewing industry, Sharon’s heart is in design—especially textile design. After two plus years as an Assistant Editor, she set to work drawing and creating a group of prints. Joining the Art Gallery Fabrics family of talented designers brought Sharon’s life full circle, infusing her design aesthetic with the creative artistry behind Pat Bravo’s credo to bring beautiful prints on quality fabric to life. She says it feels like she’s come home.
AURIFIL FOR AGF GIVEAWAY
Today’s post marks the launch of a super fab giveaway featuring both Aurifil threads and Art Gallery Fabrics. One lucky Grand Prize winner will take home 1 LG Art Gallery thread collection of his or her choosing + 1 SM Art Gallery thread collection + a bundle of Art Gallery Fabrics. Two runners up will take home 2 SM Art Gallery thread collections each. All in all, SO much fabulous fabric & thread, so many fun new projects to plan! The giveaway is open from now through 11:59pm on Friday, June 30th, at which point we’ll select 3 random winners. We’ll email winners directly and will also announce on every post in the series. This giveaway is open to our International friends as well! Simply follow the link below or click on the image above!
UPDATE: This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to Allison Evrard, our Grand Prize Winner!! Congratulations also to Sarah Jasinski and Lynn Brown, our runners up! We had so much fun with this one — thanks to all who entered and followed along with us!
SCHEDULE
Sunday, June 11 — Intro
Tuesday, June 13 — Sharon Holland (you are here!)
Wednesday, June 14 — Katarina Roccella
Thursday, June 15 — Jeni Baker
Friday, June 16 — Bonnie Forkner
Tuesday, June 20 — Caroline Hulse
Wednesday, June 21 — Maureen Cracknell
Thursday, June 22 — April Rhodes & Amy Sinibaldi
Friday, June 23 — Bari J & Pat Bravo
LOOKBOOK
ABOUT ART GALLERY
Website – Blog – Instagram – Pinterest – Facebook – Twitter – YouTube
Art Gallery Fabrics is a leading Manufacturer of Quilting & Sewing Textiles, and a Wholesale Supplier to Quilting, Home Decor, Sewing, and Apparel Industries. Many describe their style as “Contemporary Elegant” and it fits! They love to design fabrics that fit today’s modern lifestyle while adding a chic, sophisticated touch. Art Gallery works with a talented design team whose enticing color palettes & artful, intricate prints make the collections one of a kind.
[Photos by Sharon Holland and Art Gallery Fabrics]