Quilter's Soup challenge

A new challenge at our quilt guild this year is, "Quilter's Soup!" 

We were given the 'recipe' and a canning jar at our first guild meeting. The idea was to go home and decide on your ingredients - what fabrics you wanted to include for someone else to use to make a project for you. Size requirements were included and the option of the receiving chef/quilter to add one fabric to the mix - like broth!

It took me a long time to decide what I wanted to put in my jar. Once I thought about a rainbow I couldn't let go of the idea, so rainbow soup for me! I thought of it as 'unicorn soup' (but not soup MADE of unicorns, rather a soup unicorns would eat;) )

Then we took our full jars back to the next quilt meeting; we wrote our names on tape on the underside of the lid so no one would know who's jar they got until they opened it later. The jars were put in a large bag and we actually picked by taking one not by looking at the fabrics!

The jar I picked definitely has intentional fabrics inside! I think the quilter included the 'broth' too so I will try hard not to add anything else to this mix. We have a couple of months to complete the project. Needless to say I have a few ideas already. I'll report back on this project in February. . .

Do you enjoy design challenges?


With Joy,

Sarah V.

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Starting a new medallion quilt

My quilt guild is starting up again for the year. We try to have a long term project to work on; last year it was the Roosting Round Robin that I still have to finish! (Remember I made two!) This blog post shows what my civil war fabric one looks like right now.

This year we are going to create the Monterrey Medallion from a booklet by Atkinson Designs. For this month's meeting we are to have our fabrics selected. Needless to say, I had fun with this step!

There are several options with this quilt once you decide between the simple or challenging version. I am going to start with the challenging option and use a turquoise as my contrast fabric.

For the background fabric I selected several light gray fabrics instead of using just one. I'm hoping this will look a little scrappy and keep me from being bored!

Next I needed to decide what colours I would use for the different blocks. I pulled from the fat quarters in my stash and decided on lime to plum with orange, coral and some yellow too. I had quite a few light greens and oranges and decided I wanted a few more plums.

A shopping trip to my local quilt store is where I got the grey backgrounds, the contrast fabric and a few more plum and a yellow fat quarter. I think this will be a fun challenge to spread these colours throughout the quilt.

Now the fabric is all folded and together in this storage tray waiting for the next step.

The tray fits on my  bookshelf and will be within reach to make it easier to keep up and keep on working at it throughout the year.

There are more guild projects too! I'll share them with you soon.

Do you belong to a guild? What long term project are you excited about/


With Joy,

Sarah V.

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Quilted Row turned into a basket

This Fall I've been fortunate to participate in the My Happy Place Row along hosted by Seams to Be Sew.

The winner from my rowalong was Vivian O - congratulations!

(keep reading - there's another giveaway today!!)

Today bloggers who participated were also invited to share rows they made that were designed by other bloggers. I made the cats and books row designed by Beth Strand.

I picked it because my daughter moved to attend her first year of university. Yep, that happened fast! We have two cats that adore her and she likewise AND she's a lover of books so it was perfect for her. (You'll notice that I did modify one of the cats to make it's face look more like our Siamese cat.)

Except I didn't think she needed just one row and didn't have the time or desire to make her a whole quilt. I already did that ;)

I got creative and wondered if I could turn the row into a basket!
I also looked at Connie's list of tutorials and referred to this one to keep my parts turned the right way(I did use Google to translate it, but mostly used the pictures;) )

I took the row apart at the 16 1/2" mark and added another book to make two sections 12 1/2" x 16 1/2". Then I added 2 1/2" strip of black polka dot fabric along each top and a 7" x 16 1/2" rectangle to the bottom of each section.

I made a lining for the basket using some leftover wide backing material - 2 pieces 16 1/2" wide by 21" tall. I sewed them together leaving the top untouched and a sewing gap in the middle bottom edge of 3" wide. Then I boxed the corners at 5" - originally I tried 3" but then it would have turned out more like a tote bag- which is definitely another option for turning a single row into something useful!

To complete the corner, separate the two pieces of the lining at the inner cut corner and make into a straight edge with the seams nesting in the middle of the edge; sew along the edge to join the sides together.

I quilted both panels. I echo quilted around the cats and did several rows of stitches at the top of the row section. Then I switched to black thread and quilted on the diagonal between the polka dots on the bottom section; for the top I stitched in the ditch between the row and the added strip, then added one more row of stitches.

Once happy with the quilting I pinned the sections right sides together and sewed them together down both sides and across the bottom, starting from the top of one side and going all the way around to the top of the other leaving no turning gap. Now it's time to box the corners at 5" again - the same as the lining.

Turn the lining right side out and place inside the sewn together quilted sections that are still right side in. Pin around the top edge and sew all the way around leaving a turning gap. Now turn all of the parts through the turning gap. When I did this I found one of my seams wasn't great and had a hole so I pushed it back through and resewed it. 

Check to make sure you're happy with all of your seams, then push the corners out of the quilted section and push the lining down into the basket. I rolled the top seam edge where the lining and quilted sections are joined between my fingers to make it flat - you could iron it flat. Then I pinned around the top edge before doing a 1/4" top stitch around it. I tried to get fancy and stitch the lining into the basket as well, but it bunched up so I took the stitches out.

The basket is ready! I put in some bright towels my daughter's taking to university. I'm happy to report it has a place of honour in the bottom shelf of her side table in her room :)

Thanks for sharing this fabulous row Beth Strand!

There are other bloggers sharing today too:

Words & Stitches | Upstairs Hobby Room
Elizabeth Coughlin Designs
Clever Chameleon | Creatin’ in the Sticks | Sew Joy Creations (you are here!)
Seams To Be Sew

I hope you enjoyed this row turned quilted basket and maybe you'll make one of your own, or use a row you have already completed.

There's a giveaway today too! 


Enter to win a $25.00 gift certificate from the Fat Quarter Shop

If I won this giveaway I would use it to purchase the awesome golden and olive bundle they put together for fall! See it here ;)

The giveaway is open for 24 hours only!!

 I'll post the rules again below the post (gift certificate will be emailed to the winner)

a Rafflecopter giveaway




BUT WAIT, there's more!

Electric Quilt is offering a coupon code for 20% off any product (excluding classes) on their site until October 23rd.

Visit the site and use code STBSRA20

ElectricQuilt.com

With Joy,

Sarah V.

p.s. here are the rules for the giveaway from our hostess, Marian at Seams to be Sew

Rules and Guidelines For Giveaways
Please take the time to read it.

Giveaways offered by sponsors are assigned to the various bloggers for their featured day.

There are no prior announcements on who is doing which sponsor except to the sponsor themselves.

You'll have to visit the blog or the featured blog to enter the giveaways.

Not all giveaways can be entered at Seams To Be Sew.

I will start announcing winners on September 11, 2018, and finish announcing winners on October 10, 2018.

In most cases, the blog where you won at also will announce their 
winners.

You must give a valid email address when you enter the giveaways, any email returned to me, loses the ability to win automatically.

With the exception of Show and Tell Day, all giveaways run for approximately one week.

You are given 3 days to answer the email, if you do not answer within 3 days a new winner will be drawn. Check those spam/junk mail folders, you may miss that winning email if you don't do so because there are no exceptions to this rule.

If you are notified that you are a winner, in most cases, you will need to provide your name, address, city, state, zip code, country, telephone number, and email address.

In some cases, you will be asked to comment on the blog to enter the giveaway... do the right thing and thank them for the time it took to create the pattern, thank them for the pattern and...

Thank the sponsor by buying their products for the giveaways. This helps them continue to offer great prizes for these types of events. You can also comment on their social media pages. Even if you don't win, letting them know you love their products is a huge incentive and they really do love hearing from you.

No purchase whatsoever is necessary.

You must be 18+ in order to win a gift.

You are responsible for claiming and paying any tax owed on the value of any gift that you win. Prizes valued at $500.00 should be claimed.

All winners are chosen at random.

All winners will be announced on the blogs via the Rafflecopter entry form and/or post by the blogger at the site where they won and here at Seams To Be Sew. All winners must allow for their first name and first initial of their last name to be announced on this blog.

Odds of Winning a prize are based on a total number of rafflecopter entries during each week and in total for all giveaways.

This giveaway is void where prohibited by law.

Participating bloggers may enter any of the giveaways.

The word giveaways in the rules and guidelines are also known as sweepstakes.

Most of the giveaways are international shipping this year
in some cases, you will be asked to pay for shipping your giveaways.

I am not rich and I do not ask sponsors for money, they provide prizes only.

If they shipped the prize to me, you will be asked to pay for shipping.
All giveaways will be shipped that are in my home within 48 hours of my having heard from you.

An invoice will be sent to you via Paypal, and shipping will take place via Paypal, so your Paypal email will be needed to send the invoice. You will receive a tracking number except for overseas shipments. All shipping will either be first class which averages out at 2.77 to 4.00 up to 13 ounces. Paypal fees are added to that amount to cover that fee. All fabric bundles from Michael Miller, Hoffman, and Moda will be shipped via Priority Mail to protect the fabric itself.

Please note, every effort is made to protect the prizes. They go into a plastic bin when I receive them, and it is covered by an air tight cover. I have a dog in my home and I have a smoker in my home, so I do everything possible to protect the prizes.

Most companies are very good about getting prizes off to customers quickly also, but some companies are overseas, so please allow all sponsors a 2-week time period before you report to me that you still haven't received your prize. When the company is overseas, it can take 6 weeks to 90 days for an item to also arrive.


Whether or not you read the above, the rules for giveaways are in place to protect everyone. I do not want to hear you didn't read them, they will be posted on my blog daily during each featured day. There is no excuse for not reading them.

Read more...

Bold and happy batik projects

This week I have two projects made with Banyan batiks out in the world! 

My Happy Place Row has been downloaded by almost 300 quilters since it was featured in last week's rowalong hosted by Marian at Seams to Be Sew.

My row is still available for FREE until Tuesday night.

CLICK to visit my blog post

where you can download the row and enter the giveaways!

Starting today, you can visit QUILTsocial.com and see my newest design featuring the Broken Glass fabric line that arrives in quilt stores this month.

Visit this link to go to my first post.

The wall hanging is made in 5 posts over the week, so head back to be sure you get all of the instructions.

There's a giveaway at QUILTsocial too featuring some of the fabrics I'll be using to make my next project for them! (hint, it's more batiks!)

Click to go to QUILTsocial batik giveaway

Good luck and happy quilting!

With Joy,

Sarah V.

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My Happy Place Row - Sit'n Sip!

Today is finally my day! Marian at Seams to be Sew has organized the My Happy Place Rowalong.

As soon as Marian announced the rowalong I had my idea. I love to sit on my front porch and look out into the world, resting and enjoying nature while also getting the 'me time' I need to dream up new quilt designs. 

This is what I came up with:

One of my happy places is sitting on my front porch with a coffee.

 The row shows my "dream view" across a lake to a forest, all from the comfort of my chair!  

There are other quilters sharing today too so be sure to check out their rows as well:

Songbird Designs/Brenda’s Blog
Powered By Quilting
Kissed Quilts
Happy Sewing Room


This is a long post with all of the giveaway rules below so I will share more pictures than words with you today:)

The fabric sponsor for the rowalong is Northcott. If you have visited my blog lately you know that I have recently started creating projects with Banyan batiks. I decided to keep creating with batiks and chose three from the Ketan batiks line to get me started.

Then I played with my growing stash of Banyan batiks and picked out this fun rainbow of brights!

I really like how using the batiks lets me color a quilt like I'm using crayons. Solids can really make a statement in a design but I'm finding that batiks add that sense of light playing on surfaces - perfect for an outdoor scene!

The entire row is pieced. I am a piecer at heart and wanted to make a row that only had one technique - not piecing and applique - and did my best to make the words easy to piece. Don't be discouraged by all the pieces, either! The row is made up of three blocks that are joined together.

I hope you have fun with it!

My chair in real life is blue, on the row it's red. I had fun playing with the blues, red and yellow to make my row happy and bright. You could make the row your own by changing the colors to match your setting or to coordinate with more of the rows featured during the rowalong as there are several rows that feature the outdoors.

Click here to visit the Pinterest board for the rowalong.

My row is available as a free download for one week {Sept. 25 - Oct. 2, 2018}. After  that, my row will be available for purchase. 

Click on the photo below to go to the download. 

Click to download of my Happy Place row

But wait, there's a giveaway too!

GIVEAWAY is complete

Congratulations to my winner, Vivian O!

I am thrilled to announce that my giveaway is for some gorgeous fabric by Moda! Just in time for the holidays too :)

And it's by 3 Sisters! I love everything they design!! 

{United Notions}

Holly Woods by 3 Sisters for Moda

fat eighth bundle {value $55.00 USD}

click here for a view of the gorgeous line - paisleys!

Worldwide Shipping / Shipping paid by winner

Giveaway rules are listed below the Rafflecopter entry form.

Giveaway is open for 1 (one week) Sept. 25 -  Oct.2, 2018*

*Be sure to visit Seams to Be Sew to enter the EQ8 giveaway too!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rules and Guidelines For Giveaways from our rowalong hostess, Marian.

Please take the time to read it.

Giveaways offered by sponsors are assigned to the various bloggers for their featured day.

There are no prior announcements on who is doing which sponsor except to the sponsor themselves.

You'll have to visit the blog or the featured blog to enter the giveaways.

Not all giveaways can be entered at Seams To Be Sew.

I will start announcing winners on September 11, 2018, and finish announcing winners on October 10, 2018.

In most cases, the blog where you won at also will announce their 

winners.

You must give a valid email address when you enter the giveaways, any email returned to me, loses the ability to win automatically.

With the exception of Show and Tell Day, all giveaways run for approximately one week.

You are given 3 days to answer the email, if you do not answer within 3 days a new winner will be drawn. Check those spam/junk mail folders, you may miss that winning email if you don't do so because there are no exceptions to this rule.

If you are notified that you are a winner, in most cases, you will need to provide your name, address, city, state, zip code, country, telephone number, and email address.

In some cases, you will be asked to comment on the blog to enter the giveaway... do the right thing and thank them for the time it took to create the pattern, thank them for the pattern and...

Thank the sponsor by buying their products for the giveaways. This helps them continue to offer great prizes for these types of events. You can also comment on their social media pages. Even if you don't win, letting them know you love their products is a huge incentive and they really do love hearing from you.

No purchase whatsoever is necessary.

You must be 18+ in order to win a gift.

You are responsible for claiming and paying any tax owed on the value of any gift that you win. Prizes valued at $500.00 should be claimed.

All winners are chosen at random.

All winners will be announced on the blogs via the Rafflecopter entry form and/or post by the blogger at the site where they won and here at Seams To Be Sew. All winners must allow for their first name and first initial of their last name to be announced on this blog.

Odds of Winning a prize are based on a total number of rafflecopter entries during each week and in total for all giveaways.

This giveaway is void where prohibited by law.

Participating bloggers may enter any of the giveaways.

The word giveaways in the rules and guidelines are also known as sweepstakes.

Most of the giveaways are international shipping this year

in some cases, you will be asked to pay for shipping your giveaways.

I am not rich and I do not ask sponsors for money, they provide prizes only.

If they shipped the prize to me, you will be asked to pay for shipping.

All giveaways will be shipped that are in my home within 48 hours of my having heard from you.

An invoice will be sent to you via Paypal, and shipping will take place via Paypal, so your Paypal email will be needed to send the invoice. You will receive a tracking number except for overseas shipments. All shipping will either be first class which averages out at 2.77 to 4.00 up to 13 ounces. Paypal fees are added to that amount to cover that fee. All fabric bundles from Michael Miller, Hoffman, and Moda will be shipped via Priority Mail to protect the fabric itself.

Please note, every effort is made to protect the prizes. They go into a plastic bin when I receive them, and it is covered by an air tight cover. I have a dog in my home and I have a smoker in my home, so I do everything possible to protect the prizes.

Most companies are very good about getting prizes off to customers quickly also, but some companies are overseas, so please allow all sponsors a 2-week time period before you report to me that you still haven't received your prize. When the company is overseas, it can take 6 weeks to 90 days for an item to also arrive.

Whether or not you read the above, the rules for giveaways are in place to protect everyone. I do not want to hear you didn't read them, they will be posted on my blog daily during each featured day. There is no excuse for not reading them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you so much for stopping by today! Please enjoy my row and be sure to visit the other quilters sharing today.


With Joy,

Sarah V.

Read more...