VA Fibre Arts Blog

Hello! My name is VA (they/them) and Welcome to my Blog, VA Fibre Arts!

I am a beginner quilter and quilt pattern designer, but I've been sewing for most of my life. This blog was made to share the skills and lessons I've been learning, as well as the struggles and mistakes. Below, you can find all the posts I've made on a variety of topics I've been interested in, including some tips for fellow beginners, quilting research, my regular project updates, and quilting and sewing experiments.

If you'd like to get to know me a little better, please send me a message through my contact page or follow me on Instagram @vafibrearts. I would love to have you come along with me on my learning journey!

Midnight Circus: March Double Goose Units

Hello Friends and Welcome Back! After another month of ice and snow, I'm beginning to question the groundhog's credentials. But I continue to hope for warmer weather soon! And with the Winter weather persisting into March, we have a good excuse to stay in and work on this month's quilt along units! Midnight Circus brought us an easy month of piecing in February, so hopefully you found time to finish those units, and maybe catch up on any of the previous months if needed!

vafibrearts

2 hours ago6 min read

Lupine and Laughter: Accents

Hello Friends and Welcome Back! Hope you're not tired of hearing about Lupine and Laughter yet, because I'm not done talking about it! So far, I've been really focused on the lilac values in this quilt and haven't put a lot of thought into the accent fabrics since the very beginning of the planning process back in November. But after working out my fabric gradient placement a few weeks ago, I've been thinking a lot more about what accent fabrics I should use! I have a fe

vafibrearts

Feb 243 min read

Project Update: 17.02.2026

Hello Friends and Welcome Back! Last week, I was feeling a little under the weather, and though I was still stitching, I wasn't feeling up to sharing updates on my socials. We started house tours, so I'm not sure if I was reacting to the air in an unfamiliar environment, or it could have been the changes in air pressure as the warm weather rolled in. Of course, there's always the possibility that I caught a little head cold. But I'm feeling better now and wanted to get you

vafibrearts

Feb 173 min read

Lupine and Laughter: Gradient Planning and Fabric Placement

Hello Friends and Welcome Back! After many months of showings and open houses, our house has finally been sold! We reached an agreement on a conditional offer at the end of January, and received notice that the terms had been met early in February! Our closing date is late in March, so we'll be in the house for another few weeks yet, but it's such a relief to have all the tours and interruptions to our life out of the way! With that done, we're now starting the hunt for our

vafibrearts

Feb 104 min read

Midnight Circus: February Square and Sashing Units

Hello Friends and Welcome Back! Yesterday, I slept in while the groundhogs made their predictions, and though there was some disagreement across the country, most seem to think that Spring is on the way! Of course, their methods aren't the most scientific, so who really knows how accurate their opinions will be, but I do appreciate their optimism! Whether or not Spring is really on the way, I'm sure we'll still have a few more cold and blustery days, perfect for staying in

vafibrearts

Feb 35 min read

Project Update: 27.01.2026

Hello Friends and Welcome! This past weekend did not go at all as planned. We were meant to cross the lake to the cottage for some ice fishing, and meet some friends for skiing and snowboarding, but the absolutely frigid temperatures postponed those plans. We'll be rescheduling to a nicer weekend! Fortunately, our house showings were not rescheduled, and we got some favourable feedback from one group in particular! Still no offers yet this year, but we'll wait and see what

vafibrearts

Jan 274 min read

Lupine and Laughter: A Mystery Solved

Hello Friends and Welcome Back! Now that we are well into January, the Lupine and Laughter mystery quilt along has come to an end, revealing the full design of the quilt! The quilt pattern is really quite lovely in Bonnie Hunter's original colours, and quilt top assembly is made easy with very few matching corners! I'm looking forward to putting my own version of this quilt together! Of course, I'm still working on my Old Town quilt, so I'm not quite ready to get started on

vafibrearts

Jan 204 min read

A Year in Review: 2025

Hello Friends and Happy 2026! With a few weeks of the new year now behind us, I've been wondering how many different projects I worked on last year in 2025? I know there were a lot of different quilts in progress—some I've been working on for several years and others newly started—but I also worked on some other stitching and adjacent projects throughout the year! I'm excited to look back and see just how much I was able to achieve, and perhaps even find some inspiration to

vafibrearts

Jan 138 min read

Midnight Circus: January Star Blocks

Hello Friends and Welcome 2026! With the start of a new year, I'm reminded of all the new possibilities that are out there in the world. I can't wait to embrace all the new adventures, experiments, and projects to come, and to share them all with you! I'm also working on a resolution to get better at social media! As an introvert, it's not intuitive for me to think about sharing updates on my progress all the time, and it feels difficult to reach out to other creatives onli

vafibrearts

Jan 67 min read

Seasonal Goal Update: Winter 2026

Hello Friends and Welcome Winter! After several weeks of snow, the Winter season has finally arrived! Despite the snow, it's been a pretty warm start to the season so far! Meara and I have continued to enjoy beautiful Wintery walks without needing to wade through deep snow or encountering too many slippy spots! Unfortunately for my husband's family, the warmer temperatures mean that the lake hasn't frozen yet, so the ice fishing season hasn't begun. But I'm sure they'll h

vafibrearts

Dec 23, 20257 min read

Lupine and Laughter: Mystery Musings

Hello Friends and Welcome Back! This morning, my community opened a millennium time capsule, prepared for us back in 2000! Nothing inside was mind boggling, but the contents painted a beautiful picture of small town life at the turn of the century! Gas and grocery receipts giving an idea of the cost of living; newspaper and cassette recordings of local radio stations to share important events in from the time; pamphlets from schools, churches, and local politicians speaking

vafibrearts

Dec 16, 20254 min read

Project Update: 09.12.2025

Hello Friends and Welcome Back! After another few weeks on the market, the house has had several new visitors, but no new offers. Waiting for someone to show interest is certainly not my favourite part of the house selling experience, but there's nothing I can do about it and this is the slow time of year for house sales, so wait I must! In the meantime, I've been doing my best to keep the sewing studio neat while working on several different quilt projects, let's take a loo

vafibrearts

Dec 9, 20255 min read

Midnight Circus: December Quarter Square Triangle Units

Hello Friends and Happy December! The last few weeks have been a mess of alternating weather patterns, bouncing between snow and sun, wind and rain, then back through it all again! But now that December has arrived, we seem to have settled into snow season, and with lots of time to spare before Winter officially arrives in a few weeks! Of course, December's arrival also brings us one step closer to completing our Midnight Circus quilts! Let's take a look at the new units!

vafibrearts

Dec 2, 20254 min read

Colour Scheming: Lupine and Laughter

Hello Friends and Welcome Back! Now that we've reached the end of November, I'm looking forward to starting a new quilt along soon! Over the past few years, I've enjoyed participating in Bonnie Hunter 's annual mystery quilt projects! So far, I've pieced Chilhowie (2022) and Indigo Way (2023), and have Old Town (2024) in progress. None of them have been completely quilted yet, but I do have plans to remedy that soon! This year's pattern is called Lupine and Laughter a

vafibrearts

Nov 25, 20254 min read

Project Update: 18.11.2025

Hello Friends and Welcome Back! I hope you've all come with treats, because today is Meara's fourth birthday! At this point in her life, she's a fully matured adult dog, but still shows off her puppy enthusiasm when she gets excited! While she's always happy to play a silly game, Meara spends most of her time napping, watching the road through the front window, and always keeps an ear open for the sound of car doors so she can be the first to greet any visitors! Here's to

vafibrearts

Nov 18, 20255 min read

My Method: Tips for Flying Geese

Hello Friends and Welcome Back! Last week, November arrived with beautiful Autumnal weather; though overcast, it was still pretty warm! But that changed this weekend when we got our second snow of the season, and it stuck this time. I'm not very fond of the cold weather, so I'm not thrilled that Winter is making itself known already, but it's pretty normal to have snow at this time of year, so I suppose I should be used to it by now. Of course, the cold weather just gives m

vafibrearts

Nov 11, 20256 min read

Midnight Circus: November Flying Goose Units

Hello Friends and Happy November! Over the weekend, Daylight Savings came to an end, giving me an extra hour of sleep and poor Meara an existential crisis! Like most dogs, she can't read a clock and doesn't understand why bedtime and walkies are delayed. In time, her internal clock will sync up with Standard time, but for now, she'll have a few extra hours of pouting each day. And along with the change to Standard time, we've also started a new month, which means a new upda

vafibrearts

Nov 4, 20255 min read

Project Update: 21.10.2025

Hello Friends and Welcome Back! As the season progresses, I've been enjoying the feeling of Autumn! I really love the contrast of the brightly coloured leaves against the grey and overcast skies, the symphony of wind and rain, and the feeling of cool air on my face while I'm out walking with Meara. A truly lovely time of year! While it's nice to get out and enjoy the season up close, it also makes a beautiful backdrop for a productive day in the sewing room! Ice Cream Soda

vafibrearts

Oct 21, 20254 min read

The Generations Quilt: October 2025 Project Meeting

Hello Friends and Welcome! Earlier this month, Mom and I had the chance to visit Grandma and talk a little more about our plans for the Generations Quilt project moving forward! For anyone who hasn't been following along; the Generations Quilt project is an intergenerational quilt collaboration between myself, my Mom, my Grandma, and my Great Grandmother. We started with a collection of Dresden Plate and Six Pointed Star blocks left behind when my Great Grandmother passed

vafibrearts

Oct 14, 20255 min read

Midnight Circus: October Four Patch Units

Hello Friends and Happy October! When a month starts on a Wednesday like this October did, I inevitably spend the first week anticipating...

vafibrearts

Oct 7, 20254 min read