Canadian Sponsors for 2015 Quilt Retreat

This year's Quilty Pleasures quilt retreat was entirely sponsored by Canadian shops and businesses!

Be sure to have a look at each - there is a wide variety of fabric and notions available from our wonderful list of sponsors. Don't forget to mention you learned about them from our quilt retreat!

Mad About Patchwork

Fabric Spot

The Workroom

Fridays Off

Studio Fabric Shop

Fabric Spark

Canadian National Fabric

For the Love of Fabric

Stay Home Fabrics

Double Decker Fabric

A Great Notion Sewing Supply

Sew-Sisters Quilt Shop

Country Clothesline

The Quilt Patch

Clothesline Quilts & Handiwork

Hamels Fabrics & Quilting

Among Brenda's Quilts

Wanda's Designs

Highway 10 Designs

Cheryl Arkison Quilts

Castilleja Cottons

Cindy's Threadworks

Water & Ice Co

Grandin Bakery

Quilty Pleasures Quilt Retreat 2015!

Finally finding time to post about this year's retreat! The day was a wonderful time of sewing, chatting and of course eating.

It's always so much fun to see what everyone else is working on, different types of quilting and other sewing. Here are a couple of the projects we worked on:

During the day we had a couple of fun games, like the Fat Quarter Toss. We each took turns picking a fq, then attempting to toss it into a basket. If successful, the tosser got to keep the fq, if not, they joined the end of the line.

We had a great response from sponsors who donating everything from fabric bundles to notions to candy! And every one of our sponsors this year was Canadian - follow this link to see a list of all the shops and businesses that helped us put on this year's retreat. Thank you so much to all our wonderful sponsors:

A couple of the lovely doorprizes that were donated:

Friends stitching together. In the background can be seen some of the beautiful previously finished quilts, pillows, table runners and other items people brought to share.

The quilts we made together for charity from last year's blocks were displayed as well. Suzanne and I put them together this year, with layout help from Jess. 

A few of the attendees also generously donated quilts and crocheted blankets they had made during the year, so we have a nice bundle to bring to the Pregnancy Care Centre again this year!

Some of the very cute blankets and quilts that were donated.

This year's charity block was a cross on a white background. Should be fun to see how they all come together!

Agility Tank by 5 out of 4 Patterns

Last week I tested the new workout wear pattern by 5 out of 4 Patterns, the Agility Tank and Dress.

This one was fun, and very timely, as I've been hard at work on PiYo every morning. As a tall girl, it's great to be able to make myself a workout top that is long enough to stay put while active! I tell you, the name Agility suits this top - it keeps up with me!

The pattern has options for a stand-alone sports bra, this tank (or dress length) which is the sports bra plus overlay, and an A-line style tank or dress. Each variation also has a nursing access option. The pattern is well-written and was a joy to test. Jessica was a great designer to work with and ready with quick answers and prompt updates to the pattern pieces. 

This is my favourite part - the woven straps at the back. It also has an option for a T-back. I chose the banded hem option but there is also a drawstring hem option. I used one of Patty Young's Heaven and Helsinki knits, which is 58% cotton, 38% poly and 4% spandex, for the overlay and the straps, and a random piece of blue midweight french terry (?) for the bra part. The blue was leftover from another project so I'm really not sure what it is content, but it must have some spandex because it works really well.

The pattern is on sale today and tomorrow, and you can purchase 3 patterns for an extra 15% off cart total with the code Buy3.

Spool Love Mug Rug

Come see me over on So Sew Easy this morning for a fun tutorial with a little paper-piecing! This cute little sewing-themed project is the perfect size to try out this technique, or it can be super quick if you have some experience.

EDIT April 2026 - Since the pattern is no longer available at the So Sew Easy website, I'm hosting the whole tutorial and pattern here!

I'm back with a tutorial to make this cute little Spool Love mug rug!  It's something a little different you might not have tried before – paper piecing.  This technique is used to piece odd shapes together with precision.

You can also use the paper-piecing pattern and tutorial to make multiple spools in a mini wall quilt or a table runner too! I'd love to see whatever you come up with.  Have your own sewing blog?  Please link back if you adapt it to create your own project.

Spool Love Mug Rug 

Download the paper-piecing spool pattern at this link.  (Be sure to print the pdf with no scaling)

Materials: You will need some scraps, as follows:

- background (gray), 1 about 4″ x 5″, 2 about 3″ x 1.5″, 4 about 1″ x 1.5″
- spool “thread” (pink or color of your choice), 2 about 3″ x 2″, 2 about 1″ x 3.5″
- spool top and base (faux bois), 2 about 3.5″ x 2″
- binding, about 25″ x 2.25″ wide
- batting (scrap about 6″ x 8″)
- backing (about 6″ x 8″)

You can roughly cut your scraps to the right sizes, or just hold them up on the back of the paper to make sure they will cover the area. So, starting with the spool centre piece, cut out the paper pattern piece (doesn't have to be exact). Hold your spool centre scrap up behind the paper to make sure it will cover the centre, labeled #1. It should be with the wrong side toward the paper back. Then take your next scrap, a background piece, and lay it right side facing the centre piece. You want to make sure it covers space #2 when it is stitched and folded out toward the side.

This next photo here shows pieces #1 and #2, right sides together, with the edges about 1/4″ over the line, ready for stitching. Now take the paper pattern piece with the two fabric scraps in position and, using a short stitch length, stitch down the line from the right side of the paper. Start a few stitches back from the end of the line, as you will need seam allowance at the top and bottom to stitch this unit to the next ones. Once stitched, press the background piece #2 away from the centre, and then repeat layering piece #3 on the other side of the centre.

Your middle unit is finished. Move on to either the top or bottom section. Take a scrap of whatever you're using for the spool ends (I used faux bois fabric for fun!) and make sure it will cover area #1. Take a scrap of the backing fabric and line it up to cover space #2 and #3, the corners. (Be sure it will cover the space once it's folded back – triangles can be tricky!) Stitch the two angled lines from the printed side, then trim the seam allowance to 1/4″ and press each corner open. With a scrap of your spool end fabric, piece section #4, trim the seam allowance, and press open. Repeat for the second spool end.

Now that all three units are pieced and pressed, trim each of them down to the dotted lines around the pattern piece. Then match the spool ends to the middle section. For precision, poke a pin through the spot where seams match. Stitch carefully along the line to join both spool sections to the middle. Then peel the paper off each section carefully. A shorter stitch length makes for more perforations, so it should be pretty easy to remove the paper. If needed, use tweezers to pull out any stubborn corner bits.

Press the whole spool block – your paper-piecing is done! Trim the unit to 3″x4″. Next, cut two strips of the backing fabric 1″x3″ and stitch to the top and bottom of the spool block. Press the strips away from the block. Cut one piece of the background fabric to 4″x5″ and stitch to the side of the completed spool unit. Press seam. Your mug rug top is finished! Trim to 5″x6.5″. Layer the mug rug top, scrap of batting, and the backing fabric and baste.

Now you get to have fun quilting your little mug rug! I chose to stitch in the ditch around the spool ends and then free motion some “thread” around the spool, leading into a word.

TIP – use an erasable marker to draw out your word or design so you can follow the writing as you sew and then erase it afterward.

The last step is to trim the excess batting and backing and bind the mug rug. If you're looking for a good tutorial on binding, the last part of my Wonky Stars Mug Rug tutorial has one.

Your sweet mug rug is finished and ready to keep your sewing table clean and your mug happy!

The Haven Acres Mini Collection is here!

Welcome to Day 3 of the blog tour for the Haven Acres Mini Collection! Jennifer from Jennuine Designs created this beautiful equestrian-inspired collection, consisting of a pretty blouse, well-fitting leggings, and a totally adorable cap.

Jennifer's design is unique, but I'm even more impressed with her pattern! It looks so professional - from the beautiful watercolour cover to the thorough and easy to understand directions and perfect pattern pieces! One of my favourite things about Jennifer's pdf patterns is that she uses layers for the different sizes, so you can just turn off the sizes you don't need and print just one size, or two if you need to grade between sizes!

Sweet Pea Cap

It's been a long haul, testing this collection over the last couple of months but Jennifer stuck to it and has this beautiful pattern collection to show for it.

The Dressage Leggings pattern has options for basic leggings or the equestrian-style paneled version, and each of those versions also has a regular rise or a high rise for the smaller sizes, to accommodate cloth diapers. The leggings fit great and the paneled pattern pieces are perfectly drafted to make them easy to put together, including an option for flat-felled seams for comfort. This first pair I made out of a tan ponte di roma - since then a few tweaks have been made to the pattern to perfect the fit.

The little red plaid blouse is the pre-test version of the Haven Acres Blouse - since then the length of sleeves and bodice have changed a bit and the front keyhole is a slightly different shape. I used a pretty soft cotton lawn plaid for a more country feel riding blouse, and she adores it. The blouse has the prettiest little peplum flounce with elastic casing at the waist, softly puffed sleeves in two lengths, and a bias-bound neckline with an elastic loop/button closure under a ribbon, or the option to add ties over the keyhole.

Here's the back of the Dressage Leggings for a better view of the riding-inspired panels:

And the last piece in the collection is the Sweet Pea Cap, the most adorable little riding-style cap because PONY EARS! (or so I am told by little miss.)

One of the testers also came up with a sweet design for kitten ears, which Jennifer kindly added to the pattern for even more options.  The cap is a super simple sew with several sizes based on head measurements (thankfully! My girlie has a huge head for a 3 year-old).

I did another pair of the Dressage Leggings and a blouse, all in colours to mix & match. For the leggings I used stretch denim with a red ponte di roma for the inner panels, and went up one size to account for the denim not being as stretchy. They fit like a dream on my skinny, no-butt girl!

Love the red topstitching. I had to use a regular needle in two passes instead of a twin needle because of the denim, and just regular thread to topstitch.

This version of the Haven Acres Blouse I used a soft jersey knit instead of a woven, just to try it out. I love the result!

Details of this blouse: I used her regular size, the size 3, just with a little added length to account for her long back. Instead of using binding at the neck, I drew a facing pattern based on the necklines combined with the keyhole facing.

I cut out the facing pieces from the same fabric and stitched them together at the shoulders. The I finished the outer edge with the serger (alternatively, this could be left raw, as jersey wouldn't fray).

Once I had sewn the shoulder seams of the blouse together as per the pattern, I pinned and sewed the neckline facing in place, and then stitched the keyhole opening as the pattern describes. From there it was simple to turn the facing inside and tack it down just at the shoulder seam. Alternatively it could be topstitched down all the way around, either very close to the neckline or close to the outer edge of the facing.

Thanks for the opportunity to test such a unique collection, Jennifer! I know there are more pairs of Dressage Leggings for sure and also another Haven Acres Blouse on the horizon for Abigail!

Check out the rest of the tour for more amazing versions of this collection!

[this post contains affiliate links]

Quilt Retreat 2015 is coming up!

Last year's retreat was such a success we are super excited about this one! 2013's retreat, the very first one, was great and we're determined to top it once again.

We've secured the same amazing, light-filled, spacious venue we've used in other years - Immanuel church's foyer!

A few more photos from the last two retreats:

The charity quilt everyone contributed to: 

Such a fun event, perfect timing to break up the winter blues. This year's Quilty Pleasures retreat (haha! I still get a chuckle out of that name!) is scheduled for Saturday, February 28, 2015, from 9am till 9pm. A whole day of sewing, chatting and yummy food that I don't have to cook! I'm in, for one! :D

Rainbow Diamonds Quilt

Finally finished! I actually started this quilt at last February's quilt retreat, so this one has been a very long time coming. A couple of years ago I was gifted a set of rainbow charm squares by a lovely group of ladies who were doing a swap. That started this quilt - I think there were 8 each of 8 colours, no doubles.

Then I cut some more from my own (very small) cotton scrap bin, and Suzanne let me dig through her scraps for the rest, till I had 13 of each colour total. I added gray to make them into half-square triangles. Part of the reason this took so long to make was because I couldn't decide how to arrange the blocks. There are just too many options with half-square triangles! I debating doing a spiral, chevron, or random placement, but eventually came up with this off-centred diamond rainbow.

The quilting was easy enough - just straight-line echoes in the gray. For binding I debated several options, but anything with a colour in it made that colour in the rainbow jump out, and the same dark gray made the gray the focus. I settled on solid light gray and I think it's just perfect.

I love the awesome backing! I found this great cursive script numbers fabric at IKEA a while back and knew it had to be a quilt backing. Especially for $3.99/metre! If I recall correctly, it's called Nummer. Slightly thinner quality cotton, but just fine for a backing.

At about 52" x 64", it's a great length for one person (even a tall one!), or it's also good across two laps - just what we need for the couch.