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!

Project Update: 10.11.2026

Hello Friends and Welcome Back! As the Autumn days slowly slip away, quilting, crochet, and renovations blur together, filling my days and making the new house feel more and more like home! This week, we've taken an exciting step in the renovation process as we began moving furniture back into the sewing studio, so for the first time since moving, I'm finally back to posting from my desktop computer! I still have a lot of files to move around before everything will be organiz

vafibrearts

5 days ago5 min read

Stitches in Stone: November Three Quarter Square Units

Hello Friends and Happy November! After another month of Autumn, the brightly coloured leaves have mostly fallen, and we've entered the grey and chilly part of the season. I can feel Winter lurking, but I plan to enjoy what remains of Autumn while it lasts! The weather over the weekend was great for enjoying a warm drink by the fire pit, then in the evening, I retreated inside for some relaxing stitching! Of course, the project I was excited to work on was the new units for

vafibrearts

Nov 34 min read

The Generations Quilt: Planning a Quilting Design

Hello Friends and Welcome! Over the weekend, I took the Generations Quilt on a visit with my sister, and after a little more hand applique, all of the half Dresdens are finally stitched down! With the quilt top progressing so well, I'd like to take some time to draw out some quilting designs, see which ones I like best, and share them with Mom and Grandma to hear their thoughts! But first, I'll be working through my ideas here, so let's get started! The Quilt Top Before we c

vafibrearts

Oct 274 min read

Project Update: 20.10.2026

Hello Friends and Welcome Back! With renovations progressing well, I'm excited to finally be sleeping in my bedroom again! Over the weekend, we installed most of the trim in the bedrooms and sewing studio, so have started moving furniture back into their proper rooms. I still need to do a thorough cleaning of the floors in the studio before I'll be able to use it, but I'm thrilled at the progress made so far! And while that's been going on, I've continued to work on sewing a

vafibrearts

Oct 203 min read

Renovation Report: 13.10.2026

Hello Friends and Welcome Back! We are several weeks into the Autumn season now, and I realize it's been quite some time since I last shared an update on the progress of the sewing studio renovation. So this week, I thought it would be fun to show off what we've been up to! The progress on the sewing studio itself may not seem that impressive for over a month of work, but please keep in mind that we've been working on two bedrooms and the living room in this time as well. I

vafibrearts

Oct 134 min read

Stitches in Stone: October Quarter Square Triangle Units

Hello Friends and Happy October! The past week has shown the most colour change of the season so far, with gorgeous reds, oranges, and golds appearing on all the local trees! I'm lucky enough to have a red maple in the yard at the new house, as well as several sugar maples, and it's been really fun to see the different patterns each type of tree creates! However, the season has also brought much colder temperatures, as well as crisp breezes and the occasional rain shower, so

vafibrearts

Oct 64 min read

Project Update: 29.09.2026

Hello Friends and Welcome Back! Now that the Autumn season has officially arrived, I've been seeing even more seasonal changes; more and more of the trees are changing colours, the days and nights are getting colder, and all the geese I was hearing last week seem to have moved on. And as September slowly slips away, I've continued to work on renovations around the house while still finding time to work on a few of my stitching projects! Some of those projects got a brief upd

vafibrearts

Sep 295 min read

Seasonal Goal Update: Autumn 2026

Hello Friends and Happy Autumn! Over the last few weeks, the weather has been getting cooler, bright reds and golds have begun blooming on the leaves of the trees, and the calls of migratory geese fill the air! Surrounded by so many beautiful changes, I've been excitedly anticipating the arrival of a new season. And with today's equinox, Autumn has finally arrived! As is my custom, I'll be greeting this new season by looking back at the projects I've been working on, checkin

vafibrearts

Sep 227 min read

The Generations Quilt: September 2026 Project Meeting

Hello Friends and Welcome! Over the last few weeks, I've begun assembling the first of the Generations Quilt tops! It's been so exciting to finally take the blocks we've been working so hard to make over the past few years and put them together into a more unified whole! And, of course, I wanted to make sure Mom and Grandma could share in that excitement as well, so I brought the top-in-progress with me when we all got together for a visit last week! After taking a look at

vafibrearts

Sep 153 min read

Project Update: 08.09.2026

Hello Friends and Welcome Back! Over the past few weeks, my time has been somewhat monopolized by the renovations. Priming and painting are some of the few steps that I can be trusted to do unsupervised, so those have largely been left for me to complete! And while it's nice to finally be more useful, the timing hasn't been great because I've had a bunch of end of Summer plans scheduled with Mom, Grandma, and my Sister. So while I'm feeling like I haven't accomplished much

vafibrearts

Sep 85 min read

Stitches in Stone: September Half Square Triangle Units

Hello Friends and Happy September! With the Summer season drawing closer to its end and the beginning of a new school year approaching, September is now upon us! I was fortunate enough to be able to visit with my Mom and Sister over the weekend, spending time at the beach by Lake Ontario and hiking in a few nearby Provincial Parks! After spending a few days enjoying the outdoors, I'm looking forward to diving into the first set of piecing instructions for our Stitches in Ston

vafibrearts

Sep 14 min read

Renovation Report: 25.08.2026

Hello Friends and Welcome Back! After several more weeks of renovations, I'm excited to share another update on the progress of the sewing studio! As you may remember, we've been working on several rooms simultaneously—including two bedrooms and the living room—so my updates on the progress of the sewing studio have tended to come a little sporadically. As such, it's now been nearly two months since my last update and I can't wait to show you what we've been up to in all tha

vafibrearts

Aug 253 min read

Project Update: 18.08.2026

Hello Friends and Welcome Back! After focusing on the Stitches in Stone quilt along for the last few weeks, I'm excited to spend this week relaxing with a project update! My last update was a few weeks ago, at the end of July, so I've had lots of time to continue working on some of my ongoing projects, and to start something new! I can't wait to share what I've been working on, so let's take a look! Crochet Afghan At the end of July, I was just getting started on my duplicate

vafibrearts

Aug 184 min read

Stitches in Stone: Fabric Requirements

Hello Friends and Welcome Back! After another week of warm Summer weather, and the occasional thunder storm, I'm excited to share the first set of instructions for the Stitches in Stone quilt along! We started the quilt along last week by taking a look at the design of the quilt, and I shared the inspiration behind the pattern, as well as my process for designing the quilt! Moving forward, we'll be focused on taking this design and making it our own! I can't wait to get star

vafibrearts

Aug 114 min read

Stitches in Stone: Pattern Reveal

Hello Friends and Welcome! Now that August has finally arrived, I'm excited to share my new quilt along pattern, Stitches in Stone! I've shared a few glimpses at the design as I've been developing it, and talked a little about where I was drawing inspiration from along the way, but I'm looking forward to elaborating on that a little more today with a first look at the completed design! I can't wait to share what I've been working on! Finding Inspiration While working on my

vafibrearts

Aug 43 min read

Project Update: 28.07.2026

Hello Friends and Welcome Back! As the Summer days continue, I've been enjoying the warm weather, time with family, and moments spent working on my stitching projects! This past weekend, we invited my Mom's family to see the house! Most of them live a few hours to the Southwest, so this was the first time they'd been able to see the property in person! It was really exciting to be able to show off our progress with the renovations and share our plans for the next few steps!

vafibrearts

Jul 283 min read

Pattern Preview: Stitches in Stone

Hello Friends and Welcome Back! After a little more work on my pattern, I've finally reached the finished design! I'm not quite ready to share the full design yet, but I have decided on a name! This year's project will be called Stitches in Stone! , since it was created with inspiration from crochet stitching and the traditional Rocky Mountain Chain block! Now that the design is figured out, I'll be moving on to the pattern instructions, then to making a sample quilt! I'm

vafibrearts

Jul 211 min read

Project Update: 14.07.2026

Hello Friends and Welcome! With another few weeks of Summer gone, it feels like the season has been flying by! I've been keeping busy with family visits and home renovations, and when the weather really heats up, I retreat to the cool basement for some restful stitching! I can't wait to share the progress I've been making! Crochet Afghan In my last update, I was just getting started on my second Narrawong square, but since then, I've finished it and many more! In the top ro

vafibrearts

Jul 143 min read

Renovation Report: 07.07.2026

Hello Friends and Welcome Back! After another month of progress, I'm excited to share a new update on our renovations! Since we have several rooms in progress simultaneously, the sewing studio will sometimes sit unchanged for a few weeks at a time. But over the weekend, we made some exciting progress that I can't wait to share! Let's take a look! Filling in the Walls After replacing the window at the beginning of June, we were able to finish the electrical in that wall, whi

vafibrearts

Jul 72 min read

Project Update: 30.06.2026

Hello Friends and Welcome! After a much needed check up of my seasonal stitching goals last week, I'm feeling a lot more organized moving into the Summer months! And while I think I was already working in line with those goals, I'm excited to take a look at my ongoing project progress and see how well they align! My last project update was back at the beginning of the month, so I've had several weeks of stitching since then, as well as work on renovations and moving our liv

vafibrearts

Jun 304 min read