Sew Joy

Progress on On Ringo Lake quilt thanks to Quilt Canada purchases ;)

>> Saturday, July 10, 2021

I started making Bonnie Hunter's On Ringo Lake quilt in 2018. It sat on the backburner and became my sew day project just before the pandemic shut down gatherings. I decided to focus on it over the past few months and get it finished for my 25th wedding anniversary this month.

queen size quilt ironing board support sewing large quilt on domestic sewing machine

I ended up using my ironing board to help me support the quilt while I sewed the two halves of the quilt together. This is a good option when you don't have any table room to the left of your machine.

oversized setting triangles squaring up quilt top

I did take the quilt to the dining table to square it up. The oversized setting triangles needed to be trimmed all the way around the quilt. Here I used the table chairs to support the quilt so it didn't drag onto the floor and stretch.

I also got to use my new Tula Pink unicorn ruler for the first time! It was one of my purchases from Quilt Canada this year from Birdie and Dot Fabrics. I'm glad I had it as it made squaring up these corners easy with it's 45 degree line that lined up with the corner triangle center seam.

velvet fabric line amy sinibaldi mama troll rolls

While it might seem like a detour to talk about some of my purchases during Quilt Canada, it actually shows how one thing leads to another or the serendipity of quilting! I fell in love with this line of fabric by Amy Sinibaldi called Velvet. And Troll Brothers Quilt Designs had it all wrapped up in 5" by width of fabric rolls called Troll rolls - Mama Troll rolls to be exact.

When I saw these rolls I knew I wanted to make another All Churned Up quilt with them (this one went to my daughter's friend on her highschool graduation.) This pattern is the lap size of my Churn, Baby, Churn quilt pattern which uses one layer cake to make a baby quilt. I bought the yardage you see in the picture to go with the rolls which are really just layer cakes cut differently.

What does this have to do with the On Ringo Lake quilt?

When I went through my rolls of Velvet fabric I found this one and knew it would be perfect for borders for my On Ringo Lake quilt. The original quilt finishes at 75 x 90 and I want to make it wider for use on our queen bed. Perfect! Then I had to go on a hunt to find this fabric online when Mad About Patchwork had a sale the week after Quilt Canada and had some in stock. I'll share the other, non On Ringo Lake fabric purchases in a separate post ;)

On Ringo Lake quilt adding borders ironing board support

While all of this fabric discovering was going on I was still in the thick of putting the rows of On Ringo Lake together. The arrival of the fabric was an encouraging sign and I was able to add the borders just a day after my anniversary. Again I used the ironing board to support the quilt while I sewed the borders on.

Believe it or not I have no finished quilt top photos to share. I ironed the quilt top and picked all of the threads I could find off of it. It's already stay stitched and folded, tucked inside a pillow case until I can get it quilted. I also purchased my backing fabric during Quilt Canada for this quilt - a Kim Diehl print. Quilt Canada really made this finish possible, didn't it!

With Joy,

Sarah V.

Modern Quilting new Placemats for QUILTsocial

>> Sunday, June 27, 2021

This past week was my turn over at QUILTsocial. I am finally into the groove of free motion quilting thanks to the PFAFF performance icon.

Modern placemats look good in either layout

The simple placemat pattern would look great in any fabric combination. I used a collected fat quarter, leftover parts from another project and a light gray solid to make mine.

The placemat pattern uses a focus fat quarter and basic fabrics

Modern placemats made easy with the PFAFF performance icon

On the first placemat I finally tried out some straight line, or matchstick quilting. I understand now why modern quilters like the texture it creates.

Straight line quilting with the PFAFF performance icon

I purposely made simple placemats to try out different quilting designs this week. For the second placemat I used several different decorative stitches and found a new stippling stitch that I will probably use again.

The large screen makes it easy to see stitches before using them

How to use decorative stitches for a perfect quilted finish

For the third placemat I revisited a favourite stitch - the large curvy stipple. It works up quickly and makes such a fun statement.

Bold curve quilting makes a visual statement on the placemat

Quilting made easy with a stipple stitch

The final placemat found me using a new-to-me presser foot and pretty much deciding this is my new favourite for free motion quilting.

The open toe free motion foot was easy to use and is a new favourite

Fun with free-motion quilting on the PFAFF performance icon!

In fact, I had so much fun that I finally quilted my Celebration Leaves wallhanging. Now it's almost ready for this Canada Day!

Ready to bind the Celebration Leaves after doing free motion quilting

The Celebration Leaves is a free block pattern for newsletter subscribers; subscribe and get yours!

With Joy,

Sarah V.

Blog Tour for Plum Pudding Fabric Line by Island Batik

>> Tuesday, June 22, 2021

I'm glad you're here! Today is my turn on the blog hop featuring Sherry Shish of Powered by Quilting's newest fabric line with Island Batik.

Here's what I made with the Plum Pudding fabrics - a quilt!

Sunbeams quilt pattern done in Plum Pudding fabrics

These fabrics are perfect for a subdued winter quilt. I chose to make my Sunbeams quilt pattern using several of the light fabrics and some of the purple fabrics in this line.

Plum Pudding yardage for the Sunbeams quilt

I love how the fabrics are seasonal and not necessarily Christmas - this quilt will look at home in my house from November to February. I have used several different brands of batik fabrics and I really like the feel of the Island Batik fabric; it is softer than others but stiffer than plain cotton. It sews up beautifully too.

I chose this quilt pattern to feature the overall motifs of the fabric. The large spaces are great for directional fabrics and fabrics with larger motifs like the trees and prancing reindeer.

Prancing reindeer and blue evergreen tree fabrics

Featured Patterns

For the blog hop I am featuring the two patterns I've used with Sherry's fabrics.

Sunbeams

Go to this blog post to read more about the Sunbeams quilt pattern here.

Hearts and Churns

Go to this blog post to read more about the Hearts and Churns pattern.

Put either pattern in your cart in my online shop and get 20% off the other pattern.

Visit my online shop here - Sew Joy Creations

There were several bloggers before me in this hop and a few more to go. You can find the entire list in this post.

I hope you have been inspired to start your holiday quilting and to pick up some of Sherry's beautiful line, Plum Pudding.

With Joy,

Sarah V.

Plum Pudding Blog Tour Begins

>> Tuesday, June 8, 2021

It's never too early for holiday quilting, right? Especially when there's new fabric involved!

In December I participated in Sherry Shish's blog tour for her first signature line with Island Batik called Love and Kisses. Shortly after that Sherry was already making plans for her next line and I eagerly signed up again.

These batiks are my favourite that I've worked with so far - they have a soft feel and drape almost like cotton. Plus, Sherry designs some pretty fabric!