Author name: Beatrice

Block/Pattern of the Month

Safari BOM – Block #8

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I want to thank everyone for their kind words and messages of encouragement and also clear up one small misconception. Dancing and quilting are my two big passions. Since I cannot dance right now, quilting has become my happy place. So when I feel well enough to work on quilts or patterns, it is not out of obligation. I have always loved designing, but my brain has to be in the right place for it. Being able to return to that creative work is actually a good sign.

The August block is a fat, cuddly Crocodile. Well, maybe do not try to actually cuddle him, but I wanted him to be more cute than scary. His belly looks quite full, so hopefully he is not in the mood to attack anyone.

PPP-078-08 Safari Block #8 Crocodile

As always, the pattern will be available for free download until the end of the month and move to the pattern store when the next block is released.

Block/Pattern of the Month

Safari BOM – Blocks 6 & 7

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I am still not doing well, but I have had a few better days and am now able to publish both the missing block and July’s block together. I do plan to release the final two blocks eventually, but I am not setting a specific timeline. I truly appreciate those of you who have waited patiently and offered kind words. I will not be responding to messages demanding to know when the next block will be released. These patterns are a free resource, and they will be available whenever I am able to share them. I did not choose to deal with serious health issues, and I certainly did not expect things to unravel so quickly. But now that they have, I am doing my best to manage the situation—and I ask that all of you respect that.

Last month’s block was a Rhino, and July’s block is a Zebra. I have a few words of advice about the Zebra block: if you have a zebra stripe fabric, please, by all means, use it and save yourself the trouble of cutting and stitching all those black pieces. I just could not find a suitable fabric, so I had to come up with a way to make the zebra look like a zebra—rather than a white horse with attitude. 

EDIT: The period of free download is over, and both blocks have moved to the pattern store where they are now available for purchase.

PPP-078-06 Safari Block #6 Rhino

PPP-078-07 Safari Block #7 Zebra

Miscellaneous

Changes

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I know many of you are eagerly awaiting the next Safari block, but unfortunately, I must ask for a bit more patience. If I could, I would be happily posting here, making quilts, sketching designs, and writing new patterns. But life has a way of interfering, and this time it has done so in a big way.

For the past eight weeks, I have been unable to do much, creatively or otherwise. I still cannot sit or stand for extended periods, nor walk comfortably. On top of that, a new medication is causing significant nausea. Finding the right treatment is a frustrating process of trial and error — everyone responds differently, and it is hard to predict what will work best. So I have no choice but to be patient, and I can only ask the same of you.

These past weeks have given me a lot of time to think, and I have made the difficult decision to close my longarm quilting business. It is time to use the energy I have more wisely. I have not yet made a final decision about my patterns. We will finish the Safari Block of the Month, but on a revised timeline. At this point, even I do not know exactly what that will look like, so I hope you will bear with me as I figure it out.

At the beginning of the year, I was open about my ongoing health challenges, and I did note that there might be times when I would need to step away without much warning.

With that in mind, I kindly ask that you do not contact me to ask about the BOM. The contact form has been disabled, comments on this post are closed, and emails will not receive a reply. Please know that I am doing my best to recover, and I truly appreciate your patience and understanding.

Miscellaneous

Taking A Break

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Unfortunately my sciatic nerve is still very angry and demanded another trip to the emergency room over the weekend. I have no mental bandwidth left for quilting, sewing and this blog at the moment, so I am taking a short break. Hopefully I will see you all soon. Keep your fingers cross that the stupid nerve will calm down!

Block/Pattern of the Month

Safari BOM – Block #5

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April was a wild month for me, and not in a good way, so I am very glad it is over. I had a ventrogluteal injection right before Easter. Colloquially, you might say it was in the buttocks, but it is actually given higher up in the hip area. Everything went well until about six hours later, when my buttock muscles decided they did not like the injection and went into spasm. That put pressure on my sciatic nerve, and the pain was so intense that I had to go to the emergency room. I spent all of Easter flat on my back, unable to walk more than a few steps. It has improved since then, and I am able to walk around again and stand and sit, but the nerve is still very irritated and can be quite painful at times. The things you can get! I had scheduled a lot of blog posts ahead of time, and everything published right on schedule, but I could not keep up with social media. Here is to hoping that May will be better.

Our next Safari animal is a kudu, an African antelope with long horns that curl in a corkscrew shape. I had to simplify the curves in the horns a bit, but I think it is still very recognizable as a kudu. They are surprisingly good at blending in, even with those dramatic horns. Ours is doing its best with a mix of browns and beige.

PPP-078-05 Safari Block #5 Kudu

As always, the pattern will be available for free download until the end of the month and move to the pattern store when the June block is released.

EDIT: The period of free download is over, and the block has moved to the pattern store where it is now available for purchase.


Block/Pattern of the Month, Show and Tell

Show & Tell: Elaine’s Safari Blocks

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Elaine is participating again in this year’s Safari BOM project, and as always, she is very reliable in sending me pictures of her finished blocks, which I appreciate very much. Her blocks are super cute, and I thought I would share them here in case any of you need a little extra inspiration. I especially love the tiny specks of light she added to the pupils of the animals’ eyes. They add so much realism! Click on the images for a larger view.

Meerkat Elaine

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