Quilt Design Inspiration in a Hotel Room

 And also, the hotel room as quilt design inspiration!

I went on a quilting bus trip and these are photos of my room. I was already in a quilting state of mind and arrived to my room excited to start the adventure. 

Beginner's mind and starting a new journey are a wonderful place to find inspiration.

I called the folder I saved these photos in on my computer, "Hotel Room for a Quilter".

The SIZE of the bed just for me was also inspiring! :)

This chaise lounge was my favourite spot to decompress and look at fabric. Also to Facetime with my husband before bed.

The carpeting didn't really do anything for me design wise. Interesting to think about why? Perhaps just because too many other patterns were grabbing my attention. 

Here is where I started to take in the patterns in the room. The overlapping lines on the blue cushions.

The really bold blind! It looks like a modern quilt. 

The tumbling block print on the duvet. 

Overlapping triangles on the wallpaper in the bathroom. Yes, I took pictures in the bathroom!

This print is on the headboard. I noticed it climbing into bed and had to take another photo. It reminds me of sashiko stitching.

All of this before my head hit the pillow my first night. Putting yourself in a new situation can provide a fresh outlook. But also taking you out of your regular thinking pattern can lead to thinking more artistically. 

A walk in a new neighbourhood can do the same. 

Looking at quilts in a style you don't normally make.

Listening to different types of music.

Walking through a thrift store.

How do you find inspiration for your quilts?

Maybe it's fabric! I have a post for that too! Stay tuned :)

With Joy,

Sarah V.

Read more...

New Quilt Pattern: Hope BlooMS

 Meet Hope BlooMS

This is my newest pattern. It's queen sized and actually started out as a block I sent in for Quiltmaker's 100 block magazine. You can see my post about the original block here: Quiltmaker's 100 Block Tour

Sometimes Things Take Time

It took me a long time to get to writing the pattern and when I did, I wasn't impressed with all the piecing! Sometimes too many pieces in a block makes it a hard project to say yes to. 

So I decided to solve the problem by making the blocks bigger! LOL

Here's a look at one block for the quilt. This is a sample made with a print on white for the background.

An Earlier Version

Life took many turns while I worked on this quilt. Actually, I did end up making a version with the original block and gifted it to my mother in law.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

 

As I got closer to writing the final pattern, my husband was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, also known as MS. I lost my desire to design and even quilt for several years. Our lives - his especially - changed dramatically. We figured things out and work at living with this disease every day. Every day is different. You can read more about MS at the MSCanada website. I'm sure whichever country you are reading this in has it's own MS group you can find information and support from.

When he was diagnosed, every person we told already knew someone living with MS. That is how common it is in Canada. Common yet rarely spoken about. As part of my growing hope with my husband living with this disease, thanks to disease modifying therapy,  I decided that I could donate money from the sale of this pattern to MS Canada to support research. Research is the hope I have and that's why I named the pattern Hope BlooMS.

We have the quilt on our bed right now.

Go Bright or Calm with your Colors

I thoroughly enjoyed making this quilt with my Alison Glass fabrics! You can see I made each flower different colours. 

You can use a collection of fabrics in bright colors, or try soft colors to evoke a blooming meadow. Yardage is also listed for making this quilt with fewer colors. The pattern will guide you through making this quilt with diagrams and written instructions. 

Sew Joy Step by Step Videos - Coming Soon!

I am making videos for some of the basic quilting units included in this pattern. I'm working at making my patterns accessible to quilters who require visual step by steps to make their quilts. As an elementary school teacher in special education, I know how to make learning accessible for a variety of learners - including quilters :) I will link the videos here as they become available.

Pattern available now

Click on this link to go to the pattern page at my Payhip store: Hope BlooMS

 

With Joy,

Sarah V.

Subscribe to my Newsletter to stay up to date with new pattern releases, sewalongs, videos and behind the seams activity

Read more...

My turn on the Elephants on Parade Blog Hop

 Hi and welcome!

Today is my turn on the Elephants on Parade blog hop hosted by Tiffany of TiaLynnDesigns.

Fabric Makes the Block

I enjoy designing traditional blocks with bright fabrics and my block for this hop is no exception! Fabrics make the block so be sure to think about how you want to use yours. If you are making a whole quilt of these elephants, you could use the same fabrics throughout the different blankets to make them look like one big happy family! Of course, using favourite scraps in each one would also personalize the quilt. Your block, your choice!

I used some scraps from my favourite fabric designer, Alison Glass. Remember these blocks are 6 1/2" square so you don't need a lot of any one fabric to make your block.

New Pattern

I also used Alison Glass fabric to make my latest quilt pattern that I released last week.

The pattern is called Hope BlooMS.

Churn Dash Blanket Block

My favourite traditional quilt block is the churn dash. You could take a quick look at my patterns and see that I design with that block regularly! It was the first block I made when I started quilting and it was love at first churn dash for me. I use the fabrics to make the block look like the blanket is hanging over the elephant - at least that was my intention :)

Here is my Tillie the Elephant block with my Churn Dash Blanket Block:

I put together a short video showing how I picked fabrics from my scraps for this block:

You can watch it on Youtube by clicking here: Fabric Picking Video

Blog Hop Blocks

To get the elephant part of the block you will need to download that separately from Tiffany's site.

Go to TiaLynnDesigns page to get the elephant Tillie.

You will also be able to select the previous blanket blocks from other designers there.

Blocks released so far include:

Tille the Elephant designed by Tia Lynn Designs - this link includes the elephant block

Cindy at Hula Hoop Designs

Five Pointed Star from Scarlett Rose  -paper pieced pattern to download right from TiaLynnDesigns page

Festival Burst from Handwoven by Leah

My Block

To receive my block, please sign up for my newsletter. You will also receive access to several other free blocks, tutorials and checklists. 

Sign up for Sew Joy Creations Newsletter

Elephants on Parade Churn Dash Blanket block by Sew Joy Creations

I hope you enjoy making your Churn Dash Blanket block.

Thanks for visiting!

With Joy,

Sarah V.

Read more...

Elephants on Parade Blog Hop

 

I'm getting back into my quilting groove by participating in some events. The first one of the year is the Elephants on Parade hosted by Tialynn Design. She designed the elephant and different designers will be contributing 6" blocks to make different blankets for it.

I couldn't resist when I saw the elephant! The colour palette also got my attention. I was working on a quilt for my daughter with a green that matches the background colour and was tickled to see it.  

Here's a picture of the quilt: it's a queen size version of my Starlight pattern.

I also thought it might be fun to use Alison Glass fabrics for the blanket. My crush on Alison's fabric has grown my collection of her prints in the last two years significantly! And I really want to start using them to make. Here's a peek at some of them all folded in rainbow order :)

Here's some of the fabrics I'm considering for my elephant blankets:

The first elephant blanket design went live on March 1. 

I share about my current projects and collaborations in my newsletter.  If you don't receive it yet, please consider joining my list. You can sign up by clicking here to join - Sew Joy Creations newsletter signup.

My turn to share a blanket block isn't until April, but I am intending to make 2 blocks and use them as pillows on my new couch -  which also happens to be in the same shade of green! 

Elephants on Parade home base: go to Tia Lynn Designs to get the elephant block

Designers So Far:

Tille the Elephant designed by Tia Lynn Designs - this link includes the elephant block

Cindy at Hula Hoop Designs

I will post about this hop a few times, sharing my blocks and pillow progress with you.

Even if you just make 1 elephant, it will be a large enough block to use as a wall hanging or a center block for a baby quilt.

Looking forward to more collaborations and fun projects this year!

With Joy,

Sarah V.

Read more...

Adding Capacity to my Quilting Room in 2026

 Happy New Year!

I used my winter break from teaching to start decluttering my quilt room. I have only been in it for a few months but still found that I wasn't spending time in it. 

One thing I did this year was let go of fabric - a lot of it! I'm donating a bag of fabric to my quilt guild to make comfort quilts. Other stuff I threw out. I tossed some UFOs that I was just hanging onto and realize now that I won't finish. I got rid of some quilt tops that I just don't want to invest any more time or money on. And that's okay! I've been quilting for almost 30 years so I shouldn't be surprised that some of what I started in the past should be left there :)

I know there are a lot of quilters watching Karen Brown's of Just Get it Done Quilts Declutter Challenge videos. I have done it in the past and decided to use my break time to just start clearing. One thing she mentions often is to decide on the capacity for different items - how much space you want to give them in your room.

I have been struggling with space for paperwork not related to quilting - whether it's taxes and bills, or school related stuff. I've also been wanting space to display things that make me happy in my quilt room. I lucked out and found some cabinets on Market place - old kitchen upper shelf cabinets!

Space above my computer desk before

Cabinets above my computer area

What I have been searching for - and found WITH the upper cabinets - was a storage solution for finished quilts. 

Part of my thinking with quilting right now is where am I going to put my finished quilts? So finding a display cabinet has been on my mind for quite some time. The one downfall with this beauty is that it was stored with mothballs in it. We have done a lot of vinegar and water spraying to get the smell out. Too bad it's winter here because it could really use an airing out! It's been a week and it's better, but I won't be putting my quilts in it yet. If you have any tips on removing the smell, leave them in the comments.

Building capacity. Clearing space, finding space, making space. Mental and physical. I feel like I'm coming back to what I love about quilting - creating something new and finding myself.

If you still have some capacity for a new project this year, 

consider joining me for my first mystery quilt along!

Click the image below for more details.

With Joy,

Sarah V.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP TO MY NEWSLETTER

Read more...