Blog - Pumpkin Patch

HedgeHUGS BOM – Block #5

Beatrice | May 1, 2023 | 4 Comments

You might have noticed that I haven’t been very active on here or social media over the last few months. While I am having some health issues again, I am mostly doing fine, I just don’t have the time right now for blog posts. Or rather, I don’t want to take the time. My garden has kept me busy, and I am going to Germany to see my mom in June for the first time since 2019 and have been sewing gifts. The BOM is not in danger, and I will keep posting on the first of the month, everything else has to wait.

I have already had the first gardening success of the year. I started asparagus from seeds two years ago, I had a 100% germination rate, and all plants seemed quite happy last year with pretty large spears growing already. In Germany everybody goes completely crazy over white asparagus from April 21 to June 24. Market stands are popping up everywhere, restaurants have special “Spargel” menus, and everyone eats as much asparagus as they can while the season lasts. And yes, if you mention asparagus in Germany, everyone will assume you are talking about white asparagus. Green asparagus is available but the craze is just about the white one. It is the same plant, you just have to protect the spears from light when they emerge. White asparagus is available here sometimes but it is very expensive, the last we saw at the grocery store was imported from Peru. So I decided we should grow our own. I hilled up the soil as much as I could this year and covered it with a special film that protects from light and keeps the soil warm, and we had a nice harvest already and ate lots of cream of asparagus soup, so yummy. It takes about five years before you can harvest for a full two months, so I have now removed the cover and will give the plants the chance to grow and develop sturdy root systems.

Our hedgehog friend this month is presenting the sunflower he grew to feed the birds. I love sunflowers but I am not interested in harvesting the seeds. I am fine with the birds and squirrels eating them, it also entertains my cats who love sitting in the window watching what’s going on outside. In the block the sunflower is there for the taking, I have omitted any tiny seeds… that was quite a pain last year with the bunnies sowing and feeding geese. The bird’s feet and beak are pretty tiny though, so you might want to embroider them instead of cutting them from fabric. As always the block will be available for free download until the end of the month and move to the pattern store when the next block is released.

EDIT: The month of free download is over, and the block has moved to the pattern store where it is now available for purchase. If you just need the finishing instructions, they are still available for free download.

Für die deutsche(n) Version(en) mit metrischen Maßen bitte dem/den Kauflink(s) unten für die englische(n) Version(en) folgen und beim Checkout angeben, dass die deutsche Version gewünscht ist. Ich verschicke dann per email die Anleitung(en) in der gewünschten Sprache.

Wer nur die Anleitung zur Fertigstellung sucht, kann diese nun auch auf Deutsch kostenlos herunterladen.

Block/Pattern of the Month

HedgeHUGS BOM – Block #4

Beatrice | April 1, 2023 | 1 Comment

After February dumped that huge amount of snow on us, March was very friendly and brought some early spring days. Suddenly gardening season was in full swing again, we had topsoil delivered and spent a whole day topping up the beds, built a new bed in the front and planted some pansies. The radishes and peas are growing quickly, and spinach and lettuce are starting to peek out. Unfortunately we have a new cat in the neighbourhood that loves to chew on our drip irrigation. I have put the chickenwire covers (that I used during the winter to make clear that my veggie beds are no litter boxes) back on. I am just not sure yet what she might do to the remay covers once I transplant the broccoli and cover the brassica bed.

In terms of sewing I am still completely obsessed with bags and purses. But I didn’t forget about April’s hedgehog, and he is celebrating Oktoberfest. That’s so not a thing in Berlin and northern parts of Germany but I think it is one of those stereotypical things that non-Germans immediately think of, so I decided to put it in. And I think the little guy is quite happy waving his Bavarian flag and enjoying a nice pretzel. As always the block will be available for free download until the end of the month and move to the pattern store when the next block is released.

Wer nur die Anleitung zur Fertigstellung sucht, kann diese nun auch auf Deutsch kostenlos herunterladen.

Block/Pattern of the Month

HedgeHUGS BOM – Block #3

Beatrice | March 1, 2023 | 2 Comments

Wow, February really got away from me. I had some time-consuming custom quilting to do, and I took a week off afterwards, and suddenly it’s March. On Sunday morning we woke up to the largest amount of snow of the winter, luckily it warmed up enough during the day that most of it melted again quickly. But the weather is still more winter than spring, and even though I am pretty adventurous in my gardening and do a lot by trial and error, even I haven’t started any peas yet. Just some parsley seeds inside, and quite a few of them have sprouted already. Other than that I think I caught the bag-sewing bug. Inspired by a guild trunk show I bought supplies for an Ultimate Travel Bag (By Annie pattern), and I actually finished it last weekend and am now looking through Annie’s other patterns to see what else I would like to make. Pictures will follow later.

Our little hedgehog friend is flying a kite this month. I have some vague childhood memories of kites mostly not flying but crashing down, and it was never my favourite pastime, but somehow autumn is still connected to wind and flying kites, so I just had to include it. As always, the pattern is available for free download until the end of the month and will move over to the pattern store when the April block is released.

Wer nur die Anleitung zur Fertigstellung sucht, kann diese nun auch auf Deutsch kostenlos herunterladen.

Pattern

Hunny Bunnies – The Complete Pattern

Beatrice | February 6, 2023 | 2 Comments

I was so busy in January that I didn’t even have time to take a few detail pictures of the Hunny Bunnies blocks in the finished quilt. I published the full pattern on January 1st together with the last block and the bundles but I never got around to actually announce it here. So here we go, the complete pattern with all twelve blocks and finishing instructions is now available both in English/Imperial and German/Metric. I only added a crosshatch for the background of the blocks, I thought the background fabric provided enough texture. The sashing fabric was super busy, and the quilting doesn’t show much but I went with some spiral pattern that looks a bit like a stylized rose (at least if you have my imagination). For the outer border I used a pantograph design called “Let It Bloom!”. I finished the quilt a long time ago and it was actually displayed at the quilt show last October.

For those of you who missed most or all of the blocks last year, this is your chance, and if you enter HUNNY20 during checkout you will get an additional 20% discount. The code will be valid until February 12, 2023 11.59 PM PST.

Für die deutsche Version mit metrischen Maßen bitte dem Kauflink unten für die englische Version folgen und beim Checkout angeben, dass die deutsche Version gewünscht ist. Ich verschicke dann per email die Anleitung in der gewünschten Sprache.

Block/Pattern of the Month

HedgeHUGS BOM – Block #2

Beatrice | February 1, 2023 | 6 Comments

(Edit: Of course I worried for nothing… It snowed again overnight, so we left extra early, and the roads were clear and traffic wasn’t a problem, and they were able to get me in and out quickly although I arrived way too early, and I am back almost in time. But that’s Murphy’s Law, if I hadn’t worried about it, I’d still be stuck in traffic somewhere :))

It is still too early in the year to start rambling about my gardening adventures. It is actually snowing outside as I am writing this. Just a little, and the temperatures in the forecast are above freezing, so it should be disappearing fairly soon. But I am ready to go again, maybe plant some peas towards the end of the month and start the first seeds indoors.

So let’s look at our little hedgehog friend right away, who is out in the woods this months looking for mushrooms. I really hope he knows which ones are edible! I am not into collecting mushrooms in the woods, I grew up in a big city and wouldn’t know one from the other. But I have a very distinct memory from when I was nine years old and we were on vacation in Switzerland. We found some mushrooms in the woods, and my mom insisted these were chanterelles (I hope that’s the right name, I had to look up the English word). She took them home with us and said she would turn them into a delicious dish for all of us to enjoy. My mom had grown up outside the big city and she may or may not have been right, who knows. But all three of us kids only knew stories and fairytales with poisonous mushrooms and as city kids we found eating anything that we found in the woods appalling. Neither of us would have touched the dish, and we were so afraid that our mom would eat the mushrooms and die. Luckily for us, she put them in the fridge and forgot all about them. When she remembered them, they were spoiled and had to be thrown out. Phew.

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

Wer nur die Anleitung zur Fertigstellung sucht, kann diese nun auch auf Deutsch kostenlos herunterladen.

Block/Pattern of the Month

Important: HedgeHUGS Block #2 will be released LATER in the morning on February 1

Beatrice | January 31, 2023 | 3 Comments

Just a quick update: I have a very early medical appointment tomorrow and will probably not be back by 9 am to release the second block. You all know that I don’t like to schedule these free pattern releases for automatic publishing when I am not around for potential troubleshooting. So tomorrow you will have to wait another hour or two, depending on the weather and how busy the roads are. I will release the block as soon as I am back. Please don’t send me messages or comments, wondering where the block is. Thank you for understanding.

Longarm

Fleur – Lisa’s Version

Beatrice | January 30, 2023 | Leave a Comment

Previously I posted pictures of Cynthia’s version of this beautiful Susan Smith pattern called “Fleur”. When her friend Lisa finished her top, I got to quilt another one of these beauties. Lisa had of course seen Cynthia’s finished quilt and liked my quilting, so I didn’t really change much, especially since I quite like it too.

Longarm

Herringbone

Beatrice | January 27, 2023 | 1 Comment

Karen made this modern quilt as a gift for her granddaughter who was involved in the design process. She had seen a similar quilt on Pinterest and liked it a lot, she helped pick out the fabrics and also requested just straight lines for quilting. Her original plan was to have vertical parallel lines all over. I suggested the diagonal parallel lines, following the seams in the herringbone pattern. The idea was approved by Karen’s granddaughter, so that’s what I did, and I believe it adds a bit more interest to the quilt.

Longarm

Urban Jungle

Beatrice | January 25, 2023 | 1 Comment

This colourful modern quilt was made by Lynnette. What a great setting to showcase some pretty fabrics, and I especially like how the black sashing brings out the bright colours even more. I quilted it with a leaf pattern called “Ground Cover”.

Longarm

Floral Stars

Beatrice | January 23, 2023 | 1 Comment

Here is another one of those quilts that I am particularly fond of where your brain starts seeing secondary designs when you look at it for a while. This one was made by Kelley, showcasing a pretty floral fabric. I quilted it with “Azaleas”, a floral design with a bit of echo quilting.