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.

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.

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”.

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.

This Double Irish Chain quilt was a guild project a while back, and Ellen asked me to custom quilt her version. She gave me a drawing of the feather wreath she wanted in the alternate blocks, and I filled the chain parts with diagonal lines. We were both quite happy with the way it turned out.

“Quill” is the name of the fabric line (by 3 Sisters for Moda) that Liz used to make this quilt. Liz likes swirly patterns, and this quilt is more about showcasing the pretty fabrics and didn’t need elaborate quilting, so we chose the pattern “Whisper” to finish her project.

Shelly made this memory quilt in purple and included a lot of personal pictures printed on fabric. For privacy reasons I have covered these pictures with white squares which makes the quilt look a bit weird, sorry about that. Shelly wanted to leave the photos unquilted, so I just stitched in the ditch around them, and for the background she asked for “feathers and swirls”, and I free-motioned all over it. I actually like doing that a lot, after the first hour or so I get into a “zone” and filling the background feels very calming and relaxing.

Thomasine also made this adorable little baby quilt with elephants. I quilted it with the design “Wandering Daisies” that has just the right amount of playfulness for the quilt. What a cute gift!

Here is a cozy flannel quilt made by Thomasine. I really like quilts that combine patchwork and appliqué, and a pattern like this one is a great starting point to try your hand at fusible appliqué. Big shapes, and just a few blocks… so even if you end up not liking the technique, it’s totally doable. We finished the quilt with the pattern “Fall Leaves”.

Both of these quilts were made by Dylena, and at least one of them, maybe even both (sorry, I can’t remember) where auctioned off for a charitable cause. As you all know I am more of an appliqué person, but aren’t those little pieced birds adorable? Both were quilted with “Taj Mahal” to add a minimal amount of texture, and as always the quilting is much more visible in the pictures than in reality.

Here is another cheerful little quilt made by Naida. I think the outer border fabric is a design by Me and My Sister, and I have always loved their fabric lines, exactly my kind of bright colours. The pattern “Champagne Bubble” finished the quilt nicely, picking up the circular design elements in the fabrics.

Happy New Year 2023! Best wishes for a great year to all of you, and welcome to my brand new Block of the Month “HedgeHUGS”. Once again there will be twelve blocks with a finished size of 10″. They all feature a hedgehog doing mostly human things, as you already know from my previous BOMs, “Hunny Bunnies”, “Monkey Business” and “Penguin Promenade”. This is a fall-themed quilt but not centered around a specific holiday. When I first announced the BOM last month, I learned that hedgehogs are not native to North America. I didn’t know that! They are all over the place in Germany but of course it was wrong to assume they’d be around here too. 

The layout will be the same as the last two years, the finished quilt size is approx. 52″ x 64″. The finishing instructions will be available for free download in December as a separate pattern. I am always happy to see pictures of your finished blocks, my email address can be found on the cover page of every pattern, in the lower left corner, so feel free to send them my way.

I have also provided an estimate on the cover page of the amounts of fabrics you need if you want to use the same fabrics for all twelve hedgehogs. For the accessories just dive into your scrap bin and see what you have. The exact colours don’t really matter, just go with what you have and don’t forget to have fun!

The free pattern will only be available in English/Imperial again. There will be a German/metric version available for purchase later. The rest of the rules are the same as always, and I copied them from last year’s post:

A new block will be published on the first day of every month at 9 am Pacific Standard/Daylight Time. Any changes I might have to make due to unforeseen circumstances beyond my control will be announced here on the blog. Since I am in the Pacific time zone,  it will already be the second day of the month for some of you. Please be patient and please don’t email me asking when the next block will be published. I don’t like to schedule posts to be published in the middle of the night. There can always be a problem with one of the pattern files, and I would like to be able to fix it within minutes instead of waking up to dozens of messages complaining about the bug. If you find an issue, then please don’t hesitate to contact me, so I can fix it ASAP.

Each block will be available for free download during the month of its publication. It will be moved to the store section when the next block is published. If you miss a block, you can still purchase it for a small fee. Please do not email me asking me to send you the pattern for free. I will ignore these requests. I only charge $2 per block (and that’s Canadian dollars – as I write this, this amount equals approx. 1.48 US dollars and 1.38 Euros – you can’t even get a decent coffee for these amounts anymore!), and I will make bundle packs available again for three or six blocks, once we get there, that will give you an additional discount. Please respect my copyright and don’t pass your copy of the pattern on to your friend who might have missed the free download. This will just result in designers not offering free patterns anymore.

Thank you for reading all this, and without further ado, here is the download link for the first block. Enjoy!

EDIT: If you missed the free download in January, Block #1 is now available for purchase in the pattern store.

Click to purchase HedgeHUGS Block #1 pattern (English/Imperial)

EDIT: Auch die HedgeHUGS wird es auf Deutsch/in metrischen Maßen geben, allerdings nur als Kaufmuster. Block 1 ist jetzt im Pattern Store verfügbar.

(Kauf)Anleitung HedgeHUGS Block #1 (Deutsch/Metrisch)