Double Delight Story Placemats

I have been into making placemats again. They're like mini quilts I can enjoy looking at while I eat!!
 {This version of Striped Delight doesn't have a pocket - it does have a quilted heart :) }


I've used up some of my Story line of fabric scraps that I got from Carrie Bloomston. I tried to keep the bigger pieces whole and to feature them in the different mats.

I finished quilting my BOLD Delight one too. Love the middle fabric! I really enjoyed playing with the different shapes and spaces in these fabrics. 

Such a happy pink! I loved the weaving on this print - selvages! And the herringbone text print. I still have some scraps left to make some different placemats too.

I couldn't resist using the pencil fabric from Cotton and Steel for the backing - I like to write my stories down on paper still. Hopefully I always will :)

 
My Double Delight pattern is available in my online shop.


With Joy,

Sarah V

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Process Tip: Dealing with Distraction

Has this happened to you?

It started innocently enough. I have a new placemat pattern I'm working on and decided I needed to get quilting them. Last weekend my husband and I moved a big desk down into my quilting space and today I used it. It's wonderfully big - there's easily enough room for a 24 x 36 inch cutting mat. This morning it's a waiting station for the placemat backs. 

I bought this orange fabric to use as binding for my Halloween 1904 quilt. Recently I realized that the orange would not go well with the chocolate 3 Sisters fabrics I am using for the back. So now this fabric is up for grabs again and I decided it would go great with these new placemats - you'll see next week so you can let me know if I'm right!!



Okay. So here comes the distraction.

Cutting the orange fabric for the back made 2 leftover cuts. There's lots more of the orange, but it will now get to go into my stash. My brain started wondering what to do with the cuts? 
I could cut them down into units for Little Wishes blocks.
I could just fold them and put them with the larger piece into my stash.

THEN I remembered this panel! I think I bought it 2 years ago at my local quilt shop. It came in a kit to make a bag - which I promptly took apart and used the other fabrics for other things! 

I've never made anything from a panel (that I can remember) in my almost 20 years of quilting. Really. I kept this panel because of the cats and the green and the cute use of candy corns. 

My orange fabric looks good with it. I could make it into a bag or a banner for Halloween.
Then I remembered the little mini charm pack I just picked up at the quilt shop. Reel Time by Zen Chic. 

Hey! I think I just made my own kit:)

Now I'm already working on placemats today, but I took a moment to take apart the mini charms to see if the fabrics liked hanging out with the black kitty cats. They did! They did! But look - there's BLUE in there too?! hmmmmmm.

Can you tell I'm distracted by this possible project?


Here's my tip for Dealing with Distraction when it comes to a new project - or anything really:

Make a Decision


It really can be that simple. Make a choice - do I want to invest time into this project right now? All the other head noise/chatter/excuses won't stop until you make a decision. Then stand by it and enjoy the outcome, whether that means you start a new project and enjoy it or you pass on it and continue doing something else that is already bringing you joy.

The decision is yours to make.

Once I realized that I could make a Decision instead of staying Distracted, I felt a lot better!


What do you think I decided? What would you decide?


With Joy,

Sarah V

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Joy in a Picture

Friends on Chelsea Lane BLOOM block under my Sedum JOY

Joy in a picture. 

How do you capture it,

 contain it,

 express it 

in a way to bring someone else joy too?

I am thinking more and more about "staging" photographs.

BLOOM block with stitching done on my design wall

As a maker, I love to see process shots. In these photos I like to see detail of what's going on. I don't look at these types of photos for inspiration as much as how to do it and how to take my own process shots. If I'm studying them it because I'm already curious and/or inspired.

My Striped Delight placemat pattern in Carrie Bloomston's Story fabric
on a red background

Sometimes I get inspired by the stage set by the maker. I see colors in a different way. Or possibilities that I hadn't thought of before they shared the bigger vision of the project.

Striped Delight placemat on blue background

Sometimes I just want to look at something pretty and be inspired.
Smiling at what someone else made is inspiration enough to go and make my own thing.




Find some inspiration photos from more Canadian quilters here - The Needle and Thread Network.


What kind of photographs of quilt projects do you like ?



With Joy,

Sarah V

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Harvest JOY 9 Patch Blocks

How are your blocks coming along so far?

This week is easy - 9 patch blocks!

These should come together quickly for you whatever your stash looks like.

Make sure they all have DARK corners and centers - that's the only trick this week:)

I show a quick piecing method in the instructions using strips instead of individual squares, but only because I had strips to use up too!

You can make them all scrappy or control the look with all the same background fabric or the same dark fabrics.

The dark squares can be dark browns or blacks OR greens. It's up to you! If you used greens in the pumpkin blocks you might want to continue in the 9 patches as they are the final design element in the wall hanging.

Click to download Harvest JOY 9 Patch Block instructions here.

Instructions this week also have you cut the large background units for the border.

Be sure to join us over at the Sew Joy Creations Quilt Group on facebook where we share our blocks as we make them!




With Joy,


Sarah V



p.s. Stay tuned! I have some smaller projects you can make with these blocks too. Because mine aren't sewn into the wall hanging yet I can play around with them :) I'll post options later this week. 

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Sewing JOY in September with Pat Sloan and Scraps!

I have been sewing up some JOY in September - and it turns out a LOT of it is inspired/enabled by Pat Sloan!

I did the Vacation Time block right away this month - mostly because I liked it as soon as I saw it and couldn't resist! So happy to have been able to use the last big turtle in my novelty print AND that I could cut the toile print so that all the images go in the same direction. Next up will be the sashings and fill in blocks. 

Vacation Time free Block of the Month by Pat Sloan

Pat Sloan also has a scrap challenge right now making these blocks. 
I had to.
My scrap bins are full and I have the perfectly pretty Pat Sloan daisy fabric to make into star points!

Pat Sloan Little Wishes Challenge

I only started to feel a little guilty that I haven't touched my Roosting Round Robin lately - plus a lot of fabrics that could turn into scraps for Little Wishes blocks are being set aside with this one - so I worked on making another rainbow block.

I'm glad I did because I found out I lost my scribbled plan of how many blocks I need!
Now I know and feel a bit more motivated to keep going. These blocks are fun to make and come together really quickly.

This one is also a Pat Sloan inspired quilt - I'm making it with a group of online friends who follow Pat!

You can see how far my Roosting Round Robin is on this post.
{AND it includes a photo of that drawing I lost - yipee!}

This was another one of Pat's scrap challenges and I am happy to report that it is with a friend to get quilted!
My first time having someone else do the quilting for me.
I have a lot more waiting. he he.
Notice there's a lime green focus print in this one too? hmmmm. 

You can find the Traffic Jam pattern scrolling down Pat Sloan's Free Pattern Page - it's 2nd!


With Joy,


Sarah V



p.s. There will be more blog posts this week - promise!

Next one should be the Harvest JOY Wall hanging post for the 9 patch blocks ;)

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