A Flower Child Chained Nine Patch Tutorial by the AGF Studio!

It's no surprise that I'm a huge Art Gallery Fabrics fan! I'm one of their full collection designers and I love this job more than I could ever share. But before becoming a designer for AGF, I was a huge fan of the brand. Their fresh modern fabrics, the beautiful quality of their substrates and their fun marketing style is so special. In my opinion, Art Gallery brings something truly unique to the industry that I'm honored to be apart of. I hope, like me, that you feel that there's something exceptional about what AGF offers!

A peek of my personal AGF studio stash...



What you may not know is that there is a team of women who work for a division of Art Gallery Fabrics know as the AGF Studio. This group of ladies are so, so talented! They're the ones who keep up the AGF Blog and social media accounts, who plan and implement the amazing International Quilt Market booths, who create projects for our collections and Lookbooks, and so much more! Over the years that I've been an AGF designer, I've been able to become friends with many of them and I hope if I share more of their work here, that you will enjoy getting to know them, too!

AGF at Spring International Quilt Market in Portland, Oregon May 2018...



Today I want to share with all of you an AGF Studio tutorial for a Chained Nine Patch quilt block featuring prints from my Flower Child collection -- Sisterhood, Sprinkled Petals Sun, Blooming Ground Luscious and Pixie Dust Glow!



On Art Gallery Fabrics YouTube channel you can find a huge collection of quilt block video tutorials, called the AGF Quilt Block Collection. Be sure to visit both the AGF Blog post where Meli, a super sweet AGF Studio designer, shares all the details behind this most recent addition to the collection, HERE, as well as the YouTube video for this pretty Flower Child fabrics block!



If you give this block a go, be sure to add the quilt block collection hashtag #AGFQuiltBlockCollection and my collection hashtag #FlowerChildFabrics when you share! We can't wait to see!



Happy sewing, friends! xo Maureen

The Sewcial Bee Sampler Sew-Along: Block 25!

Before I share our week TWENTY FIVE block, once again Sharon and I are asking for all SBS makers to take the 8-answer survey we've prepared! This quick questionnaire is completely anonymous and the answers will give us better insight into how you've enjoyed this sew-along. To ensure the most accurate results, please only take the survey once. A BIG thanks to those of you who've participated in the SBS questionnaire already! If you've not yet had a chance to take the survey, please do so as soon as you can, we're only keeping it open now through the end of the SBS sew along. The link provided on both our blogs will link to the same survey. So, if you access the questionnaire from either Sharon's site or mine, your answers are compiled to the same place. Thank you in advance for your help!

Now it's time for the very last block release of the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew-along!

Today's free download is for block #25: Prairie Queen. I'll be sure to add this new pattern to my Sewcial Bee Sampler Page with the previous week's patterns. It's a great place to start for those of you just discovering our bee, where you can easily find everything you need to begin the SBS Sampler right in one place! Simply click on the link or the image below for direct access to this week's new SBS pattern!



For my version of this week's Prairie Queen block I used several prints from my various collections including Nightfall, Garden Dreamer, and Fleet & Flourish. The 3.5" center of Prairie Queen was perfect for fussy cutting a pretty pink owl from my Nightfall print, Bird of Night Mist. The rest of the prints were chosen to add balance to my sampler quilt once I laid out all of my blocks to see which colors I needed to bring into this last block. I really LOVE this combination!

I snapped a few photos of this one before I added the frame because I love it SO much! I think this is such a wonderful block for featuring my Bird of Night owls. And now I'm wondering this morning how this block might look if I eliminated the bottom, center four-patch to include a complete fussy cut owl. I might have to give it a try!



Finishing up this last block of our Sampler has me excited to add the sashing, but first I'm going to remake my week 17 block: Spools. For this block I had introduced more of my eggplant purple Lunation Dark Nightfall print and it turned out to be too dark when arranged with the rest of my blocks. I'm excited to redo this one in Soulful and will be sure to share it on Instagram later this week! Sharon and I encourage you to remake any blocks that you think might need a little tweaking in next few days because next week we'll have instructions for adding sashing and finishing up our Sampler quilts!



I can't wait to see all of the Prairie Queen blocks this week! Be sure to visit Sharon's blog today to see her beautiful versions, and to stop back for details on how to enter this week's special Sewcial Bee Giveaway Friday with the Needle and Foot!

Happy SBS sewing, friends!  ♡ Maureen    

The Sewcial Bee Sampler Sew-Along: Block 24!

Once again this week before I share our week TWENTY FOUR block, Sharon and I are asking for all SBS makers to take the 8-answer survey we've prepared! This quick questionnaire is completely anonymous and the answers will give us better insight into how you've enjoyed this sew-along. To ensure the most accurate results, please only take the survey once. A BIG thanks to those of you who've participated in the SBS questionnaire already! If you've not yet had a chance to take the survey, please do so as soon as you can, we're only keeping it open now through the end of the SBS sew along. The link provided on both our blogs will link to the same survey. So, if you access the questionnaire from either Sharon's site or mine, your answers are compiled to the same place. Thank you in advance for your help!

Now it's time for another block release of the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew-along!

Today's free download is for block #24: Crosses and Losses. I'll be sure to add this new pattern to my Sewcial Bee Sampler Page with the previous week's patterns. It's a great place to start for those of you just discovering our bee, where you can easily find everything you need to begin the SBS Sampler right in one place! Simply click on the link or the image below for direct access to this week's new SBS pattern!



For my version of this week's Crosses and Losses block I used two Nightfall prints, Aura Fletchings Rose and Mothlike Shadows Deep with two prints from Garden Dreamer, Diamond Fragments Rose and Climbing Posies Blush. I LOVE pretty combination!

This week's block once again revisits the make 2-at-a time HST method used to make two different size units. I didn't add any fussy cut patches to my block this week, but instead focused on creating a pretty palette. After laying all of my finished blocks out, it was time for a softer block that included pink as a main color!



I can't wait to see all of the Crosses and Losses blocks this week! Be sure to visit Sharon's blog today to see her beautiful versions, and to stop back for details on how to enter this week's special Sewcial Bee Giveaway Friday with the Lady Belle Fabric!

Happy SBS sewing, friends!  ♡ Maureen    

The Sewcial Bee Sampler Sew-Along: Block 22!

Once again this week before I share our week TWENTY TWO block, to better help us to understand what you're looking for in future sew-alongs, Sharon and I have prepared an 8-answer survey and we'd really appreciate you taking the time to help us out! This quick questionnaire is completely anonymous and the answers will give us better insight into how you've enjoyed this sew-along. To ensure the most accurate results, please only take the survey once. A BIG thanks to those of you who've participated in the SBS questionnaire already. If you've not yet had a chance to take the survey, please do so as soon as you can, we're only keeping it open now through the end of the SBS sew along. The link provided on both our blogs will link to the same survey. So, if you access the questionnaire from either Sharon's site or mine, your answers are compiled to the same place. Thank you in advance for your help!

Now it's time for another block release of the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew-along!

Today's free download is for block #22: Mosaic. I'll be sure to add this new pattern to my Sewcial Bee Sampler Page with the previous week's patterns. It's a great place to start for those of you just discovering our bee, where you can easily find everything you need to begin the SBS Sampler right in one place! Simply click on the link or the image below for direct access to this week's new SBS pattern!



For my version of this week's Mosaic block my Swifting Flora print is the star! I used Swifting Flora Swell from Fleet and Flourish and one of the new colorings of this print, Swifting Flora Boho from AGF BOHO Fusions, paired up with my Nightfall Luminaries Silver for a soft & subtle background print!

This week's block revisits the technique for the 'No Waste Flying Geese' method, my absolute favorite way to make flying geese units! Back during week 5 my co-host shared a wonderful tutorial with extra step-by-step visuals for this technique, so if you happen to need a little extra help be sure to click HERE to be directed to that blog post on Sharon Holland Designs!



This is just a suggestion, but if you happen to have two colorways of a particular favorite print that you've been using throughout your sampler blocks, this is a great time to use the same print in two colors in one block. I really love the way two colors of my Swifting Flora print looks in this Mosaic block!



I can't wait to see all of the beautiful Mosaic blocks you'll make this week! Be sure to visit Sharon's blog today to see her beautiful versions, and to stop back for details on how to enter this week's special Sewcial Bee Giveaway Friday with the Knotted Thread!

Happy SBS sewing, friends!  ♡ Maureen    

The Sewcial Bee Sampler Sew-Along: Block 20!

Before we jump right in to week twenty we need a little help! As we near the end of this incredible journey, my co-host, Sharon Holland and I are looking to future collaborations together. The success of the Sewcial Bee Sampler (SBS) has been phenomenal and mostly because of your participation and the remarkable community you've created out of this sew along!

To help us better understand your future needs in a sew along, Sharon and I have prepared an 8-question survey. This quick questionnaire will give us insight to better serve your needs as a quilter. To ensure the most accurate results, please only take the survey once. The link provided on both of our blogs will link to the same survey. So, if you access the questionnaire from Sharon's site or mine, your answers are compiled to the same place. Thanks for taking the time to help us out!

Now it's time for another block release of the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew-along!

Today's free download is for block #20: Irish Chain Variation. I'll be sure to add this new pattern to my Sewcial Bee Sampler Page with the previous week's patterns. It's a great place to start for those of you just discovering our bee, where you can easily find everything you need to begin right in one place! Simply click on the link or the image below for direct access to this week's new SBS pattern!



For my version of this week's Irish Chain Variation Block, I used a combination of prints from Garden Dreamer: the pretty pale blue blender, Triangular Reflection with two deeply colored prints from Nightfall: Lunation Dark and Magical Gust Crisp. Can you tell I'm still trying to make my very purple block from week 17 fit in with the rest? I think in the end there might be enough eggplant purple scattered throughout my sampler if I continue to bring little bits of it into future blocks and that's exciting!

This block comes together quick and is another chance to add in some fussy cut patchwork, which I always enjoy. This time I cut from my moon phase print and I'm really happy with the results, yay! Missing from my block is my linen frame. This week's pattern included a narrow frame and I'm completely out of linen until later today, so I'll have to add mine to share on Instagram tomorrow.



This is my first time making an Irish Chain Variation block and after this one block I've decided I would love to make an entire quilt using this pattern featuring my Nightfall phases of the moon print in both colorways. It's going on the to-make list!



I can't wait to see all of the Irish Chain Variation blocks you'll make this week! Be sure to visit Sharon's blog today to see her beautiful versions, and to stop back for details on how to enter this week's special Sewcial Bee Giveaway Friday for a special bundle of my fabrics!

Happy SBS sewing, friends!  ♡ Maureen   

The Sewcial Bee Sampler Sew-Along: Block 19!

Happy Wednesday, friends! It's time for another block release of the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew-along!

Sharon Holland and I are co-hosting this community sew-along now through early August and as usual, I like to begin each Wednesday by reminding folks just learning about the bee that it's never too late to jump in! We continue to have new participants joining us each week, the blocks typically take about an hour to male, so feel free to join us and play catch-up at anytime! I also love to continue to encourage all who join us to keep posting to Instagram with #SewcialBeeSampler tagging both @sharonhollanddesigns and myself @maureencracknell when you post anything SBS so we can all see and easily keep track of all your wonderful bee block posts. We'll continue to try our very best to visit with all who join the sew along. Thank you so much for making this so much fun!



Today's free download is for block #19: Circle of Friends. I'll be sure to add this new pattern to my Sewcial Bee Sampler Page with the previous week's patterns. It's a great place to start for those of you just discovering our bee, where you can easily find everything you need to begin right in one place! Simply click on the link or the image below for direct access to this week's new SBS pattern!



For my version of this week's Circle of Friends Block, I used a combination of prints from Garden Dreamer: Moment in Time Dim and Climbing Posies Pale with a pretty Teal blender, Labyrinthine Dusk from Nightfall! I love this week's fabric combination!

I'm excited to bring in two more of my prints in this week's block that I haven't used in previous weeks. The pressed flowers print was chosen specifically for the fussy cut squares of Circle of Friends and because I'm continuing to try to add in some deep colored prints to make my week 17 block fit in a bit better, but I'm still on the fence with that one! I've loved adding in fussy cut bees to my blocks whenever there's a chance, but since I had just done so last week, I'm happy to replace them with pretty pressed flowers this week. I love how the HSTs dance around the flower centers!



I really love the name of this week's block: Circle of Friends! Although it's been difficult for me to keep up with commenting as much as I'd like to on all that's being sharing in the #SewcialBeeSampler -- from how busy it was preparing for & traveling to Quilt Market last month, Circle of Friends describes so perfectly what I feel those of us participating in the SBS have created. So many new friendships have formed and I love how many of us are in this together! I'm so inspired each week, it's been an incredible experience!



I can't wait to see all of the Circle of Friends blocks you'll make this week! Be sure to visit Sharon's blog today to see her beautiful versions, and to stop back for details on how to enter this week's special Sewcial Bee Giveaway Friday with our wonderful sponsor the Intrepid Thread!

Happy SBS sewing, friends!  ♡ Maureen   

The Sewcial Bee Sampler Sew-Along: Block 18!

It's Wednesday and that means it's time for another block release of the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew-along!

Sharon Holland and I are co-hosting this community sew-along now through early August and as usual, I like to begin each Wednesday by reminding folks just learning about the bee that it's never too late to jump in! We continue to have new participants joining us each week, the blocks typically take about an hour to male, so feel free to join us and play catch-up at anytime! I also love to continue to encourage all who join us to keep posting to Instagram with #SewcialBeeSampler tagging both @sharonhollanddesigns and myself @maureencracknell when you post anything SBS so we can all see and easily keep track of all your wonderful bee block posts. We'll continue to try our very best to visit with all who join the sew along. Thank you so much for making this so much fun!



Today's free download is for block #18: Square Peg. I'll be sure to add this new pattern to my Sewcial Bee Sampler Page with the previous week's patterns. It's a great place to start for those of you just discovering our bee, where you can easily find everything you need to begin right in one place! Simply click on the link or the image below for direct access to this week's new SBS pattern!



For my version of this week's Square Peg Block, I used a combination of prints from Garden Dreamer: Bumble Beez and Bumble Buzz, my main floral Sprinkled Peonies Fresh, and both colorways of my Twinklestar print in Blue & Berry. Such a pretty & colorful combination!

I didn't even realize while I was pulling fabrics for this week's block that they were all from the same collection. I just really loved including both colorways of two different prints, to create the look of a colorful refection!



This week's block provides another chance to fussy cut a favorite print for the center square. I also added a foursome of fussy cut bees to each corner, I love that! This block was really fun and because I went a little dark with this week's fabric selections, last week's block doesn't look so out of place next to it and amongst the group. I'm sure I'll have to do some shuffling around to find the right balance once all of my SBS blocks are complete, and I love that we have that option with this sampler!



I can't wait to see all of the Square Peg blocks you'll make this week! Be sure to visit Sharon's blog today to see her beautiful versions, and to stop back for details on how to enter this week's special Sewcial Bee Giveaway Friday with our wonderful sponsor Lady Belle Fabrics!



Happy SBS sewing, friends!  ♡ Maureen