Blog Anniversary and Birthday Giveaway

Seven Years!

According to my blog posts, I've been working on this quilt for almost that long too!!!
I started this blog on my birthday 7 years ago - with a mention that I had started cutting fabrics for this quilt!

I quilted this top as two twin size pieces this month! Then I sewed the tops together and hand-stitched the backing together.

It was enjoyable to quilt the twin size pieces with the Pfaff Creative 4.5 that I'm reviewing for the QUILTsocial blog. You can find my review here.
It's been a bit of a challenge to keep spreading the quilt out behind the machine though!

I still have to add the left column.(and label and bind!) The column I quilted each block then sewed them together individually. This was my original intent with the whole quilt and I'm glad I changed my mind! So much time has passed already and the idea of so many seams to hand-stitch really made it feel like I would never finish. With the larger throat space of the Pfaff machine I felt confident that I could manage quilting the twin size pieces.

I was hoping for a finish today but I'll be happy with the 29th!

What's a Birthday without Cake? And a Giveaway!

Well I don't really eat cake anymore (preferring instead whole food and plant based delights) but this one will do nicely!

I bought myself some more of these scrapbooking boxes because they fit 12 1/2 inch blocks perfectly. They're not empty anymore except one!
The top box - well I bought new runners and realized they came in one of the orange shoeboxes that I store my selvages in. Bonus!

And the icing on my cake?

A quilt I made on the cover of a Canadian magazine! JOY!

The quilt is called Joyful Blooms.
The magazine is beautiful and full of tempting pretty projects.
You can preview a sample of the issue over at the magazine's website:
A Needle Pulling Thread.
You can also subscribe or purchase a digital copy - or both!

Leave a comment on this post 

to win a copy of the magazine from me!

***IF you subscribe to my newsletter - leave a second comment  for a second chance.
IF not - sign up here! and *then* leave a second comment;)

PLEASE leave the comment *directly* on this post - if you're reading from email, please click to visit the blog - thanks! It makes things much prettier and easier on my end to pick a winner!

I'll leave the giveaway open until Tuesday, March 1st;)



Good Luck and Thanks for Reading!


With JOY,


Sarah V

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Close to the Finish Line - Halloween 1904 Quilt

I'm soooo close! This is the second large panel of my Halloween 1904 quilt (designed by Blackbird Designs) that I've almost finished quilting this month!

As I finished quilting the first half of the quilt, I stopped seeing the quilt as a group of blocks and started seeing it as *one* block. This changed my quilting strategy and - surprise - the quilting was easier and went quicker too!

I think this is the *polka dot* half of the quilt!

I think these blocks show that I have a preference for polka dots that are *random* and colorful!

I used the orange polka dot fabric as background but also for the stars. 

Do you see the polka dots here too? This fabric I remember is named "Flirt" by Robyn Pandolph. I remember searching to find more of it! It has little black dots and random colorful dots!

There's still a lot of work left to do on this quilt. I'm looking at the finish line of next week - my birthday week. I'm thinking about the little markers that you look for as you get near the end of a race - the thicker crowd (quilting done), the banners in the distance getting closer(sewing the panels together), the final stretch(making and sewing on the binding)and the tape across it that tell you you've arrived(label too!).

This quilt has been in the works for years! I only started recently to really focus on the finish and it's getting closer everyday - here's hoping it arrives before March!

Linking up to the Needle and Thread Network WIP Wednesday

With Joy,

Sarah V.

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Quilting Progress on my Halloween 1904

I have been supply teaching more and, in between preparing projects and posts for other places, I've been quilting my Halloween 1904 quilt by Blackbird Designs.

I finished quilting two of the blocks on the bottom panel of my quilt including my first pumpkin block! 

I quilted around the pumpkin, star and leaves with a brown Aurifil thread. 

Here you can see the quilting stitches on the back. I am working to complete this quilt in time for my birthday later this month. On this side you can see I used fabrics from Three Sisters Double Chocolat line - a perfect quilt for the month of Valentines. Although I'll be honest that I'll probably want to look at the pumpkins too - all that orange!

This has been an ongoing UFO for several years! If you've followed along (thanks!) you would know that my initial quilting plan was to quilt each block individually - attaching the borders to the outside blocks- then sew them together. The side column you can see here is all quilted. I finally finished sewing the back seam between one set of those blocks this week.

I recently put the rest of the need-to-be-quilted blocks together into two panels. This bottom panel is the one I am working on quilting now. It fits beautifully through the harp space of the machine I am currently reviewing - you'll get to read that later this month! It has definitely upgraded the quilting experience for me.

I can't wait to get home tonight and quilt some more!

Linking up my progress in two places today -

The Needle and Thread Network and

Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesday.

With Joy,

Sarah V.

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Works in Progress Mid-January 2016

We finally have snow! Two snow falls and it's hard to remember we could see the grass at Christmas time.

My first official finish of 2016 is this Temecula Quilt Company mini basket quilt. It's been sitting stashed away waiting to be quilted and I finally just did it. Although unexpected, I'm pretty delighted with the odd binding prints that add a little bit of colour and help bring your eye back to the baskets.

The colours are a little off in this one - that's what happens when all of your quilting time happens after hours! This block from Friends on Chelsea Lane (by Pat Sloan) snuck under my needle. I needed to finish blanket stitching around the leaves. I still have to stitch the ric rac down. This is how I'm trying to resist joining any more Block of the Month programs this year - I have this one to work on and I love it. 

I AM trying to stay on track with this quilt. My Halloween 1904 (by Blackbird Designs) quilt blocks received a lot of attention over the New Year's Luau/online retreat. I have now pinned one of the panels in preparation to quilt this weekend. A reward for surviving supply teaching in kindergarten this week :) Actually, teaching kindergarten is pretty rewarding all on its own!


There's my week or two of progress so far this year!


I'm linking up with Needle and Thread Network this week - check out some more Canadians making with fibre this winter.

With Joy,


Sarah V

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Quilting into a New Year

Happy New Year!

I finished my Mini Christmas over the holidays and planned what quilts I want to focus for the beginning of this year.

We Wish You a Mini Christmas by Temecula Quilt Co.

Over New Year's weekend {as part of the annual luau with my Pat Sloan friends} I decided I want to finally finish and enjoy my Halloween 1904 quilt. Instead of keeping going by quilting each block separately then sewing them together I decided to put them together into two panels.

See how they fit together? !

I will quilt each panel - which are the size of oversize baby quilts/small lap quilts - then machine sew the front panels and handstitch the backing together.

*I do have the far column of blocks put together and will have to sew and handstitch this to the joined panels.

And THEN I will be done! Except for adding the binding. . . !

I sewed together the backings too. This is my motivation for getting the quilt done by my birthday at the end of February - this side is mostly Double Chocolat prints by 3 Sisters. I love these fabrics almost as much as I love the Halloween side!

I now have to get some batting and hopefully this weekend and pin one of these sets to start quilting.




I did a little more quilting too, but blogger won't let me add any more photos to this post?!? so I'll save them for next time!


Did you QUILT to bring in the New Year?


With Joy,


Sarah V

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Halloween 1904 Blocks Done!

All of my Halloween 1904 blocks are done!

I am delighted to say the least. It's been a long time coming. Mostly because I kept putting it aside to work on other projects.
Nothing like getting to a milestone to really make you want to reach the next one!

I'm also relieved that it will fit my queen size bed. It probably won't hang over as much as my husband would like - but he can use a different quilt :)

I'm putting this quilt together in the quilt as you go/panel method of quilting. The reverse side is fabrics cut from Double Chocolat lines by 3 Sisters (except two - the blues; one is a Buggy Barn print, the other is called Kensington).
This is the planned layout. You might be able to see the tan fabrics I have lined up around the edges - they need to be sewn onto the block size pieces for the border (the tan here is a Christmas line fabric - I have the selvage somewhere!)

The next step after I took these photos (which I resisted sharing on Facebook first!) was to pin together each block with its backing pieces. I have enough batting at home to start cutting it and quilt. Two of the blocks have been quilted for (ahem) years. . .

I discovered while laying out the blocks that I actually have an extra one - an extra front and back to be exact! I can almost remember the panic I had when I thought I didn't have enough oranges and my search and subsequent purchase of more orange for this project. Ha! Jokes on me:) I will use them to make a pillow for the bed - or elsewhere in the house.

A fun coincidence right now is that the book I'm reading has an awesome orange coloured title!


Have you reached any quilting milestones lately? Share in the comments with a link (if you have one!) and I'll check it out.


Thanks for sharing in my Joy today,

Sarah V

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Catching up on a Day off

Life is short - summer is shorter!!

We snuck away for a few nights at my parent's trailer - windy and cool. But we did get to have some campfires:)

I'm falling behind on my Halloween 1904 blocks again. This one I finished last week (?) First one with that fun pink and orange check! I had to cut out more orange stars from a different oranges so I am slowly blending them in to the remaining blocks.

I did get a little farther with my batik 9 patches! My idea is working out and I really like it. I"m making them in an Irish chain setting. This is the top left of a 3 x3 setting- so there will be one more solid batik print on the top row, one more block of 9 patches on the next row and a bottom row of solid batik, 9 patch block, solid batik. I don't think my fabric will go much farther than that! I should have some of the solid batik left to add a border. We'll see. 

Last picture I have edited to post is this one of some ric rac! Another placemat - can you believe it?!
Actually I'm seriously considering a placemat club - one placemat pattern a month. Maybe a few more added in for special occasions - like birthdays, Halloween, Christmas. 

Would you join a placemat pattern club?

Back to summer! (actually, back to some out of the house work and keeping up with my kids' summers!)

With Joy,

Sarah Vee

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Motivating UFO Photos

Before I went away for the weekend, I posted a photo of this block in progress on my Facebook page. Two of my friends were motivated to start working on their Halloween 1904 quilts! With their motivation, I got this block finished. (It's block #10 in my numbering system:))

Halloween 1904 is by Blackbird Designs, in case you wanted to make one too!

I picked up a few more black fat quarters for the quilt while I was away -  a great excuse to find and purchase fabric in a new-to-me quilt shop. 

3 Gals and a Quilt Shop in Huntsville, Ontario.

While I was there I picked up their row for the Row by Row Experience that's going on throughout North America it seems. This will probably be the only row I collect as most of the stores are outside of my postal code area:)

Row by Row Experience

THIS is how close I am to having all of my blocks done! #10 helped me get both bottom rows completed. If I had stuck to my plan of quilting each block when it was done, well, I'd be half done the quilt by now.

However, these are the only 2 blocks that are quilted!

Thanks to my almost-7 year old son for pointing out to me that

  goals are better than plans 

because it's okay if you don't meet your goals, 

but you feel bad if you don't finish your plan.

 Out of the mouth of babes!

 Now my GOAL is to finish the blocks by the end of the summer. 

The details, the plan, will take shape on its own.

 These photos are part of making that goal real for me 

- seeing how far I've come and

 feeling great about it :)

I'm sure I posted about it before, but the back of the quilt will be done in large pieces of 3 Sisters Double Chocolat and some other fabrics that go nicely with it. I'm as excited to have the back of the quilt as I am to have the front of the quilt. 
Two in one joy!




Do you have a UFO goal for this summer?

Leave a comment so I can come visit you and cheer you on!

We can do it!

I'm linking up with the Needle and Thread Network to see how some other Canadian quilters are spending their summer. 

 The Needle and Thread Network



With Joy,


Sarah V

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Quilting Canada Day Away

Happy Canada Day!

Surprisingly I spent a lot of time quilting today:)

I finally finished this pillow cover. I had a 'pin' in that "N" for a couple of years! I decided to get this done to make room for new projects. I'm not a red and white person, but I do like the trees, lakes, and rocks where I live. So this is my Canada Day pillow.

I had time to start AND finish June's Threads of Memory Block!
No paper piecing this time;)

I really like how Temecula Quilt Company made her block.

You can see lots of other options at the flickr page - see how changing the corner squares to not match the star background changes how the block looks.

As what always seems to happen on a holiday, one of my children joined me in my quilting space and wanted to make something. This is the result - a pillowcase for my son.

This was an exercise in patience and building a block the way I make modern blocks. It made me realize that making a pillowcase like this would be a really fun way to practice piecing modern blocks. 

Start with a base size - for the pillowcase, I cut out one side of the pillowcase and let my son rummage through my scraps to cover the side. 
(The 'A' and 'M' blocks are actually a pocket!)

My project for this week is to work on my next Halloween 1904 block.



With Joy,


Sarah Vee

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Friday Night UFO Flourish

My eyes hurt this morning! Could be from all the sewing I did last night after dinner!

Don't look too closely, but I'm pretty proud of this paper pieced block. It's the May Threads of Memory block. Thanks to Rachael, another quilter who is also doing these blocks, who sent me her paper piece pattern. Here's a link to Rachael's block.

This is the second block I paper pieced for the Threads of Memory BOM. Not sure I would choose to do this all the time, but it was kind of fun - once I got the hang of it!

Here's a look at all of my Threads of Memory blocks so far.

Finally I got this block finished! I did the blanket stitching on the stem, leaves and star during the week. All of my hsts were made, I just needed to lay them out correctly and sew them together, then attach them to the block.

Happy to have both of these done and checked off my list of works in progress for me!


Here's a link to the Threads of Memory flickr pool.

I'm also linking up to Vicki of Field Trips in Fibre HSTeria Quilt along post. It was finding out about this fun project that got me to get my Halloween 1904 blocks out again and start sewing my HSTs again!


With a Flourish of Joy,


Sarah Vee

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An Extra Day to Catch Up!

Happy Long Weekend Canadians!

I'm taking the time to post pics of all the creating I've been getting done here in Studio Sew Joy ;)

Now that I'm finished Teachers College (yay!) I'm supply teaching again. Which is great! On my days off I walk down the stairs and into my space.

In ONE day I worked on 7 different projects! One day!
Needless to say it's taken me some time to edit photos and find more time to post. 

Block 14 of my Halloween 1904 quilt was put together at my parent's home in North Bay, but I had forgot to kit up the black star. Now the black star is on and machine stitched.

I've got block 16 out and ready to start! {By the way, the block numbers are my own doing - to keep track of where they go in the final quilt as I am quilting each one separately and they tend to look a lot alike! ;)}

I went through my quilts to do a switch some around and put out more spring looking ones. This little wallhanging is from Kay Mackenzie's book Easy Applique Blocks.

I made the wallhanging years ago, but never actually quilted it!

Now it's quilted and hanging to welcome me every morning:)

Since I was being a BIG girl {and actually working on things to finish!} I also pulled out a wallhanging that I designed and haven't shared here yet.

A couple of years ago I shared this centre quilting in progress using freezer paper. 

I finished one of the corners and then put the project away.

I pulled the project back out and started work on another corner. I chose the one diagonally opposite the one I have finished because I'm not sure I'll have enough thread to do all 4 corners the same colour. This way the opposite corners will match!

I am really enchanted by welsh quilting and took the opportunity on this plain background to play with making my own welsh designs.
I have one book that I drew on heavily for inspiration and design ideas:
Making Welsh Quilts:The Textile Tradition that Inspired the Amish? by Mary Jenkins and Clare Claridge. {see cover of book here}

{You may or may not know that I was living in Kitchener Waterloo when I started quilting which has a strong Mennonite community. I was exposed to lots of traditional Mennonite quilts. AND coming up soon is the New Hamburg Mennonite Relief Sale and Auction. Check out this year's quilt catalogue!}

There's more to see, but I think I'll put it in another post!

I'm heading outside to do some planting - we might actually grow some of our own vegetables this summer. 

Plus, there's other things to enjoy in the quilting world this weekend, like the Blogger's Quilt Festival .


With Joy,

Sarah Vee

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