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 has been quilting and sewing clothing, crafts, and home accessories for over thirty years. While raising three children with her husband, she owned a small business selling new and repurposed merchandise. That venture provided her with constant creative challenges for how to reuse, display, and market everyday items. A move to a new state meant closing her business, but opened new doors by reconnecting her with art and photography.
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]
I love how well all the fabrics in the collections coordinate. I love the feel of the fabrics.
They have such beautiful fabrics! And they feel awesome also!!
Beautiful fabrics. Love the patchwork zip bag.
I love the quality of AGF. I lived in the Midwest for 8 years so I can certainly relate to the landscape represented in Bountiful.
I love that the designers have a core color palette and their collections flow and blend together.
i love the feel of the fabrics and the gorgeous colors and designs.
I love the quailty of the fabrics and colors.
AGF are my favorites. I buy tons of it, i buy them buy them by yards. I am always afraid i will run out of my favorites! They are so cheerful and colorful, they bring my modern quilts to life. I can use them for anyone from babies to charity quilts or decor in my home. I just love how versatile the fabrics are, how soft they are, how easy they are to sew with with and that i can match my aurifil threads perfectly. Absolutely my very favorite.
I love Sharon’s color palette.
Love the soft colors of the zippered pouch.
I love the more contemporary prints and the color schemes of Art Gallery fabrics.
I love the designers you choose, and I love the feel of the fabric – just heaven!
The fabric quality is the best and the collections are so beautiful!! Thank you.
I love the way different fabric lines from the same designers seem to flow together when they are designing for AGF, and different lines from AGF by various designers coordinate, with a spiciness of unpredictability that I like.
What I love most about AGF fabrics and threads is that they are so gorgeous!!!
I love the beautiful colors in the fabrics. Makes me want to dive into the colors and soak up the good vibes they give.
Sharon’s color pallet for her thread collection is scrumptious! Contemporary elegance is the perfect description for AGF fabric.
I love the feel of AGF and Shorons sence of color.
Cork at PA.RR.com
I love the quality of the fabrics, and the fresh, contemporary designs of AGF collections!
Thank you for doing this series of designer showcases!… I always enjoy your designer interviews!
Pat T.
I have loved AGF fabrics for many years! The quality of the design, printing & colors is top notch. You can’t beat the AGF feel! The best!!!!
I love how they feel.
I love all the wonderful colors and themes.
Besides the great color combinations, the feel and drape of AGF fabrics are amazing!
I love the palette of these fabrics – very nice colors but slightly muted so they’re not too loud or overbearing!
Quality of fabrics and always beautiful collections.
I guess I want to say “what is there not to like?”. The quality is great as well as the colors and patterns.
I’ve been following the Bee Social sampler.
I love the modern feel of Art Gallery fabrics!
I love the colors. When I first started quilting, there wasn’t as much variety as there is now. And they blend well with some of my fabrics purchased many years ago.
Love art gallery fabrics, l have been collecting it and sewing with it for quite sometime.all the designers are truly gifted,and Sharon Hollands fabric collection,the palette is beautiful. the threads match up so well, Aurifil is the best.
I love the color and quality of Art Gallery fabrics.
Art Gallery fabrics are always beautiful with wonderful feel.
I love how the different collections work well together, and the quality of the fabric is excellent!
I like many of your Art Gallery fabric and the thread line.
I love the feel and the colours of AGF fabrics!
I always love their color selections in AGF! Just that little bit different!
I love all the colors and how well the coordinate. Such beautiful choices!
LOVE the feel of AGF! LOVE the coordination of the collections too! Thank You for a
Great Giveaway !!!
I love the colours and variety of coordinating fabrics!
Love the colors — threads and fabrics!
I’m following the Bee Sewcial Sampler, love AGF and Aurifil.
I love this focus on the AGF designers. I do think that is my favorite fabric company — both for designs and the soft elegance of their fabrics. And Aurifil — what’s to say that hasn’t already been said!
I love the variety & quality of AGF!
Beautiful fabric and thoughtful designers.
I like the bright, crisp, modern colors of this fabric collection! Thank you, Susan
Great giveaway…as usual. Love AGF fabrics
Sharon Holland is one of my top five favorite designers and I’m so thrilled to see her showcased here! I’m a total fan girl and love interacting with Sharon on Instagram as she really engages with us and her sweet, kind spirit shines through. No, I’m not getting paid to geek out…just a true admirer of Sharon and Aurifil…best thread in the world!!! @dddclark
I love the bright and happy colors, also the clear prints.
I love all the beautiful colors.
I like the color palettes. You can create different feelings–soft, bold, neutral often within gone collection
It’s hard to pick one thing that I love the most, but it would be the variety within each collection. You’ll have soft florals, but there’ll be an angular blender one or one that reads solid, and of course my favourite as always is the feel of their fabric!
I love the cheery and bright fabrics. The collections have variety that makes them appealing in many different projects. And Art Gallery Fabrics always feels so soft … such a pleasure to work with
I love the looks of Sharon’s fabrics and her palette… and I’ve always loved Aurifil. How fun it would be to win! Thanks for the chance.
I love all the amazing color palettes.
I love the quality of their fabrics.
Art Gallery fabrics feel better than any others, so silky soft. Also, I like the wide variety of designers and styles available.
There’s such a variety, and something that can appeal to many.
I like learning about Sharon’s inspiration for this beautiful new collection. Love the colors.
Beautiful fabrics and wonderful thread – what more could a quilter ask for??
The designers you have are always surprising me with their collections. The prints and colors are so appealing and different from other manufactures. You can stand in the middle of a fabric shop and pick out which ones are AGF without ever looking at the end of a bolt.
I love the softness of the AGF fabrics
I always love the feel and quality of Art Gallery Fabrics. When browsing the collections they have a modern but timeless feel to them.
i have to at that Art Gallery Fabrics are truly glorious in softness, quality, and appeal!! Thanks for the chance!!
I love the abstract, artistic designs of Art Gallery fabrics.
the quality of the fabric is amazing…..their knits are to die for
I love the feel of the art gallery fabric. I’ve also discovered that it is perfect to use when constructing HST’s. What I love about the collections is the variety of the patterns and textures. Always perfect to create a lovely quilt or bag.
Love the collections and the threads that go with them. Can hardly wait to see them in person.
Really beautiful
I love the color combinations and the feel of the fabric.
I love the unique designs they produce! Absolutely lovely!
I love the colors in the beautiful collections of fabric.
I love all the fresh designs and colors used in the AGF fabrics. They are so soft and silky, too!
I love the feel of Art Gallery’s greige goods
I love the colors and the freshness in these fabrics.
I love Art Gallery Fabrics. Their fabrics are so soft and I love the colors that they combine. Their colors are so bright, deeply penetrated and modern. They have a lot of tutorials and free patterns. Their newsletters are very informative. They help us to be knowledgeable and comfortable every step of our sewing adventures. Thank you for a great post.
I love all of the colors! Also, Art Gallery Fabrics feel so great! Thanks for the giveaway.
Love AG fabric, such great quality. And all the wonderful thread collections to match, regardless of what type of project you’re doing. Thank you!
I mostly love the versatility of the AG fabric, something for everyone.
I love the vintage, but modern look of the fabric.
AGF’s quality soft cottons are perfect for making a quilt you just have to touch. Their lookbooks are inspiring as are their designers!
I love those fabrics because of their softness and wonderful colors and the aurifil threads are just so wonderful to match in great colors and weights!
I love her fabrics and Aurifil threads!!!!
I love the colors and the variety.
I love how all the Art Gallery fabrics go together so perfectly. The colors are bright, vivid and talk to me. That said the true beauty is the weight and the feel of the fabric. It feels like a winner the minute you touch it.
I love that they’re printed on such a soft and silky base.
beautiful fabrics, love the colors
Beautiful, rich colors. Love the designs.
Lovely color combination!
I love the color combinations- so peaceful and lovely!
The colours are wonderful and Aurifil threads are so lovely to work with.
I love the cohesiveness of the collections, along with the beautiful patterns and colors. Thanks!
I really love Sharon’s sense of color, subtle shades and all the botanical inspirations in her fabrics! It is so much fun to read more about each designer and get to know them – thank you for that!!
What I love most about ALL AGF is the softness. It’s all perfect for apparrel like my summer dresses, BOHO blouses, and I adore it for quilting too. The colors are true, really rich and lovely. THank you Sharon for showcasing the Midwest….I’m a midwest girl and do recall watching hay mowing, etc.
love the zippered pouch
Thanks for the chance to win this great giveaway!!!
I like that the thread collections are not tie to one fabric collection.
Aww! I love Sharon’s fabric collections and all these colour threads match perfectly. Would be amazing to see with them. Thanks for the amazing giveaway. Alex @alextilalila
I love the feel of AGF fabrics – they are always such a pleasure to sew with!
What a fun giveaway and lots of great designers!