Have a Joyful Easter

Have a Joyful Easter!

~Sarah V

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Friday Fun & My First Guest Post

Happy Birthday to my niece!

This is the placemat I made for her, using my pattern and selvages.

My First Guest Post!

I'm thrilled to direct you over to Kay Mackenzie's blog, All About Applique, where I am a guest blogger today. You can read more about how I 'do' applique with the blanket stitch.

You're Invited!

Lots of fun things happening here! Thanks for joining me:)

With Joy,
Sarah Vee

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I Finished my Spring Finishes

I did it! With Jacquie's help. Thanks, Jacquie!

And the reward system -
definitely more a 'carrot' than 'stick' kind of girl.

See what I mean:)

All the carrots are finally blanket stitched to my Bunny Lady quilt top. I think it might have been the morning of June 1st when I finished the last one - but I'm still counting it!

That means I finished everything on my Spring to Finish list!
14 Finishes for me!

Including my EAT with JOY! Placemat Pattern

It takes 3 yards of fabric to make 4, 14"x20" placemats.
I am selling my pattern as a pdf for $6 US.
Send me an email ~ sarahvanderburgh AT sympatico DOT ca
{change the AT to @ and the DOT to a .}

I plan to have more patterns and then maybe an official like place to purchase them.:)

You can check out all of my Spring to Finish finishes by clicking on the links in the sidebar. I'll keep them active for awhile (because I'm still feeling pretty good about them!)

My reward? Well, my reward list grew and I'm still trying to decide what would be the perfect one for this project:

A walking foot for my sewing machine {boring, but practical}

Sue Spargo's new book {definitely NOT boring}

A fabric shopping spree (definitely NOT practical!}

Stay tuned to see what I decided:)

With Joy,
Sarah Vee

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Sprinting to a Spring Finish

It's into the final week of Jacquie's challenge. Things look promising here!

I finished the secret Borders on Monday. {no pics because they're secret!!}


This is my placemat done with selvages. This one is a birthday present for a niece.



Not a fabulous shot, but this is my daughter's Butterfly Sunshine. I have some quilting and handstitching to do around the butterfly. Then a hanging sleeve and label to make.



One more string block to go. Then I will have 5 months done! This quilt is practically making itself! :-)



I have the rest of the carrots cut out.


My Eat With Joy! Placemat pattern is soooo close to ready. I'm fiddling and rereading and might even make one more set before I list it. Just to make sure everything I've written makes sense {and four placemats!}




I'm already starting to get ready for June's list. Mystery basket blocks, Block Lotto blocks, Sew Modern Bee block and more UFOs to finish. And maybe a Selvage Coaster tutorial!



With Joy,
Sarah Vee

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Holiday Monday MishMash

Works in Progress on the Design Wall

Final 8 carrots for my Bunny Lady Quilt.

They go 4 to each side, continuing around in counter clockwise direction. I think I'm leaving the purple corners plain for now. I'm also considering some yo yos in the corners of the bunny blocks.

Some more selvages cut as I plan to work on a Selvage Coaster tutorial.

Most of this week will be spent finishing things on my Spring to Finish list you can find in my sidebar.

Check out the other Design Wall links through Judy's blog, Patchwork Times.

With Joy,
Sarah Vee

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Designing or Cheating?

I'm seriously considering changing my blog name to " Sew Joy with ORANGE!"
You'll see why below. . .


I have a full design wall this week. Mostly to meet all of my Spring to Finish goals.

Top Left: String Block. This will be this week's block. I usually put my foundation up and then add strings from projects I'm working on for the week on top. The purple is my foundation so I only need one more strip this week.

Bottom Left: Carrots and Tops. These are for my Bunny Lady quilt. I have one border almost stitched on. This is enough carrots for one more border. 2 to go.



Top Right: Wonky Shoofly. I joined the Block Lotto! I could no longer resist this block. Shoofly was one of the first blocks I made as a quilter. It holds a sentimental place in my heart. Add orange and I'm really smiling!



Bottom Right: Mystery Basket. This is where I feel like I'm cheating! The background for this block is supposed to be all yellow. But - I ran out. Who knew there would be 18 1/2 inch unfinished blocks in the sampler?! {It's a mystery, right}



I started to worry last month that my background fabric was dwindling. I had a yard and a half, but, well, obviously that wasn't enough. I did start to add in some orange blocks just in case I needed to do some creative blending. Now we'll just have to wait and see.

Check out some other design walls through Judy's link.

With Joy,
Sarah Vee

ps. did you see all the orange? In every. single. project! Perhaps it's time to spin the colour wheel - or to really focus on orange. Do you have a favourite go-to colour?

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Hopping Orange Carrots

I am not having a productive, cohesive thought morning.
I am a danger to quilt projects in progress.
Hide the rotary cutter!

But what's waiting in the wings?

Back to work on the Bunny Lady! This time it's filling in all that black space - with carrots!

After trying out different quantities and directions I'm following my husband's advice (again) and having the carrots go around the quilt. I decided that 4 carrots looks better than 5. Now to figure out what to put in the purple corners. My daughter has suggested Easter eggs. I will have a bit of time to ponder as I hand blanket stitch all those carrots down. (Yes, there are more to cut out first!)

Check out what the other quilters are up to through Judy's link.

I was in a fit of fury and ripping through my organized chaos of UFOS this morning to find my orange pumpkins for my Halloween 1904 quilt - only to take a second look at the photos I have on my computer.

Turns out I didn't actually cut them out! More fun to look forward too!!

Enjoy your Monday. I'm going back to bed!

With Joy,
Sarah Vee

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Monday Piecing Possibilities

My design wall is packed with possibilities this week. I decided I should do some catchup work on the Mystery Basket block of the month that I'm doing. The black strips are the borders for my Bunny Lady quilt which I plan to put together and start quilting this week.

The butterfly on the far left is the centre of a wallhanging that my daughter designed. She just started blogging over the Easter weekend. She is really interested in sharing her art. It should be a fun journey for both of us!

You can see an orange basket in progress. The bottom squares are also cut to become 6 - 6 1/2 inch unfinished blocks. I figure this will give me a little piecing relief as I machine quilt the Bunny Lady quilt. I always over think this last step.

The yellow and blue flying geese are test blocks for a border for the secret project.

Here's to a busy sewing week! Stop by the blogs linked at Judy's to see more busy quilters.

With Joy,
Sarah Vee

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Change for the Bunnies

Do you remember all the options for borders that I played with last week?

I do! Then I spent the little time I had over the weekend getting what I could of the borders ready. There is still one that I need to undo and make in the colours you see above.

Or do I? Late Sunday night I ask my husband's opinion about the border and he says it's too bright. It's classic me, but, it washes the bunnies out.

I had spent some time in the afternoon rereading this article about colour that I had bookmarked when Sharon at Pin Tangle blogged about it. So - I wasn't too grumbly when he made me reconsider all my considerations of say, the last month!

This morning my design wall looks like this:


Now you can see the bunnies. The black is not a solid but reads solid enough to slow down the movement inside the quilt.

I have very little of this purple left. But enough to make corner squares.

Now I see possibilities for a little bit of applique in the border. Like leaves or lettuce. I'm also thinking about some black daisies floating in between the bunnies to move the black throughout the quilt top.

I could have also called this post, "Another Good Reason to Keep My Husband Around!"

See what's up on the design walls of Judy's readers here.

Enjoy your week.
Sarah Vee

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Bunny Border Bump

The top is assembled.
Now the big dilemma (or the fun part?!) has begun.
Deciding on borders.

My original border idea

(Now the sun rises and my design wall gets an interesting lighting effect - try to ignore it like I do! I couldn't wait until tomorrow to share my design angst - I mean, Joy!)

Border Idea #1


Idea 1 Reversed becomes Idea #2



Idea #3 take out Red and Make outside Blue wider

Idea #4 Take out Black strip and replace with Red

Are we at #5 Already!?! Just one thick Blue Border



#6 Wide Blue with Thin outer Red

Idea #7 Thin inner Red with Wide outer Blue

I think it's trying to decide what to do in the corners that is making me hesitate. That and the fact I have very little of this red fabric. And have totally committed my black floral strip to this skinny size. I think I'll continue the strips around OR put pinwheels (or four patches) in the corners.

Enough Already!

So while suffering through this maze of bunny border madness I found this fabric and started something new!


Care to weigh in on my dilemma? Do you really like one of my ideas - or not like one?

With Joy,
Sarah Vee

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Playing with My Purple Needle

Surprise! My design wall is still hopping with bunnies. I've sewn a few more blocks together and made some quilting decisions. Now I just need to finish up some other things to focus on this quilt. Is Easter really only 2 weeks away?!




The first pair of jeans have been cut up. Size 7 girls with lots of neat embroidery.

This is where the purple needle comes into play. It's the first time I've ever used my denim needle! I've already sewn a handle for this purse - the bottom strip of denim you can see here. The piece on the right is a pant leg opened up with one seam cut off. I figure it's better not to sew over any extra seams if I can help it. There's quite a bit of spandex in these jeans. Here's hoping I can get this finished - by tomorrow!


I need to cut one more pile of triangles to finish these pieces. The sewing will have to wait until I change my needle back.

Check out the quilters through Judy's link while I drink some more coffee.

Cheers to the end of March Break! Bring on the Birthday(Tuesday) and Easter - I can take it!!!
After coffee.

With Joy,

Sarah Vee

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Hopping Along on Monday

My Bunny Lady quilt is still on the design wall. You can see I have sewn together one row - the third row from the left. It's slow going this week as it's March break and we are focussed on taking off wallpaper and putting on paint in our basement. I'm also at the point with this quilt top where I need to decide if I'm going to quilt it in rows then put it together or quilt the top as one piece. I use my domestic machine and am not really patient with the pushing and pulling of machine quilting - and making it look nice too!

Last week I worked on a bag and tea cosy for my mom's birthday. I also have to finish up my blocks for a mystery project with a deadline. And I wanted to play with all those jeans this week! We'll see what the week brings. This is when I'm glad I have my own little space where I can leave things out to work on . Fifteen minutes is alot of sewing time if all you have to do is turn your machine on and sit down to it.

You can see what other quilters have up on their design walls through Judy's links.

~With Joy,
Sarah Vee

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Designing on the Wall

My Bunny Lady quilt is still being moved around a bit. I've actually switched the top row middle four patches since taking this picture. I worked on cutting some strips from Wanda to fill in the spaces beside the four patches and baskets.

I'm still waiting for my heart to sing for this one. Perhaps I need to put my borders up to give me that frame for reference. It's currently 40 inches wide by 39 long. (Those carrot blocks are a funny size). The borders will add 10 to 12 inches in both directions to finish around 64 square.

The second rabbit down is very light compared to everything else going on. I've started to think about how I'm going to quilt this quilt and think I'm going to echo quilt the bunny blocks. I'll use a darker thread in that block - maybe the purple or turquoise my daughter gave me for my birthday.

Go see what's up on the design walls of some other quilters at Judy's blog.

These are my Monday Musings. I have two secret projects in the works for this week. To be revealed once they are received.:)


With Joy,
Sarah Vee

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Friday Fun Post with a Finish

A single block finish - but it does count! One more Mystery Basket block done. I'm really looking forward to making this quilt. You can see my first block here, and the second one here from last week.

Does this look like a quilt block to you? Or maybe a quilt top? My 2 1/2 year old did this in response to my complaining about him spreading (dumping) his toys all over the floor. Instead, he systematically pushed, piled, and shoved them all into a shelf cubby.

It reminds me of this

My bunny lady blocks! I just keep shoving and maneuvering more blocks into this top. Actually, it was my almost 9 year old daughter who shook things up last night. It was with her help that my bunnies are now hopping across the quilt. That may be my favourite memory in making this quilt.
I've switched up the top baskets to duplicate the ones in the bottom left since taking this picture.
The baskets are leftovers from my Birthday Baskets quilt.

What am I going to fill in my spaces with to compete with my son?


Well, my mess is on my cutting table. Can you see the strips? These are the goodies that Wanda sent my way awhile ago. I've been thinking about what to use them in since they arrived. If you click on the picture you can see that the strip in the foreground even has bunnies in it! That one will make it's way into the quilt for sure. Also in this picture is the stack of 'work' that I accomplished yesterday. My sister will recognize - and hopefully applaud - my efforts! The stitchery there is one my daughter designed for my birthday. She's still working at it.


Here's the other side of the cutting table. More blocks to find their way into the quilt. I may have to take them apart and use the halves separately to make them fit. My daughter and I also decided that the red and blue fabrics you can see are the borders for the quilt.

One little birthday gift to finish today. A cake to bake for my hubby's birthday.
Then back to block making.

The bunnies will have to wait a few more days for their strips.

With Joy,
Sarah Vee

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They're Still Talking to Me

I pulled out some four patch blocks that are waiting to be made into a top. I pieced them with leftover fabrics as I finished my projects last year.

They just might join the bunnies!

I've found a few more blocks and have another idea of something more to add.

But for now I just get to play as I cut and sew together patches for a bigger project - with a deadline!

With Joy
Sarah Vee

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Where Did those Cute Bunnies Come From?

I made these blocks almost a year ago. The "Bunny Lady" quilt is another attempt at designing my own quilt. Something different happened this time - it TALKED to me and I LISTENED!

Perhaps you have been down this road of making your own quilt pattern too.

Usually for me it starts on paper and is measured out to the 1/4 inch seam allowance on the final border before I begin to construct it.

This time the quilt is more an accumulation of "A-Ha" moments.

The quilt finally started with Inspiration.

Betz White's bunny caught my eye and I scanned her directions. . .


and then I thought about the new to me crazy quilting that I was doing with the March Season of Grace advent stockings (a free BOM hosted by Emilie Richards and Pat Sloan). Yes, last March:)

Still, the bunny wasn't quite right, but I liked the IDEA of a bunny.

Then I remembered about another cute bunny project that was waiting for 'that perfect border fabric' to begin. From at least two years ago!



This pattern is called Bunnies in the Garden from Small Quilts:The Vanessa Ann Collection.
It was hardwork for me to find the required tonal fabrics for this quilt. I'm attracted to prints! The love was going, BUT the bunny from the pattern was the perfect size! I could get 2 bunnies onto my fresh new fabric fat quarters and have some left for...carrots!

So really a lot of different things came together to make this quilt come to life:

1. inspiration from another's project

2. new fabric

3. season/theme of spring/Easter

4. past inspiration found again

5. new technique know-how

6. desire to create something new

7. dealing with limitations/making do

Once I made the bunny fabric - which I thoroughly enjoyed and hope to 'make' more fabric this way- I started to fuse bunnies and carrots to their backgrounds. I like this method of fusing because I can play with the blocks before they are really complete and not damage them.

I hand blanket stitched around the bunnies and carrots.
I wanted to use only 2 background colours and not make too many bunnies.
I wanted this to be a wallhanging, although did consider making placemats.
I also want to use only from stash for the sashings and borders.

My daughter even played along setting the blocks and it's the idea we came up with together that I'm planning to use in the final layout. I'm still playing with border fabric ideas. I still have that red, but not the brown?. . . I might start auditioning some new stash next week. The way I have the blocks on the design wall right now suggests adding some more blocks. . .

We'll see what the bunnies have to say about it!:)

~
With Joy,
Sarah Vee

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