And just like that, another year is almost over. Six or seven weeks ago we still had almost 30°C (over 80F), and suddenly Christmas is just around the corner. I think everyone was surprised by that this year, my quilting Christmas rush started a bit later than usual too but then of course it came with a vengeance, and everybody dropped off their quilts at the same time. I do have another BOM in the works for next year, and timewise it is looking good for a start date of January 1, 2023. So stay tuned, I’ll announce it sometime later this month.

But first we need to get to our last Hunny Bunny block. This month’s bunny is enjoying a rainbow. I visited Hawaii once a very long time ago, and I really liked how they said “no rain, no rainbows” over there. I have been meaning to come up with a rainbow design for quite a while but it turned out to be more difficult than I originally thought. I fiddled around with it until I finally put the colours into separate arcs that don’t really connect, that makes the assembly of the block so much easier. Have fun hunting through your scraps for just the right rainbow colours! And don’t forget that the finishing instructions are also available for download now. They are very simple (sashing and outer border), and of course feel free to come up with a more creative layout. The December block will be available for free download until the end of the month and move to the pattern store in January. The finishing instructions will always be free.

Click to download Hunny Bunnies Block #12 pattern (English/Imperial)

Click to download Hunny Bunnies Finishing Instructions (English/Imperial)

It’s November, and the vegetable garden is barely done. The weather is truly unbelievable this year, unfortunately not in a good way. I pulled everything before the big rain, and now arctic air is in the forecast, so that was the right decision, not much time left to clean up everything. But I still found two cucumbers growing on the vines, and I have lots of green tomatoes ripening inside. And I have so many carrots that I don’t know what to do with them… I have peeled and chopped and blanched and frozen so many over the weekend that my fingers seem to be permanently stained orange. If you are local and want some carrots, let me know, I have plenty.

This month’s block is the most complicated of the whole set. Feel free to simplify as much as you can. I debated taking out the bees but I think they are cute, and if you don’t want to fiddle with the small pieces, be creative. Find some bee buttons. Or fussy cut some bee fabric and appliqué. Or maybe embroider them. You have options 🙂 I really like my little beekeeper bunny and had fun putting it together. The pattern will be available for free download until the end of the month and move to the pattern store in December when the last block is released.

EDIT: If you missed the free download in November, Block #11 is now available for purchase in the pattern store.

Click to purchase Hunny Bunnies Block #11 pattern (English/Imperial)

EDIT: Auch Block 11 ist jetzt auf Deutsch/in metrischen Maßen im Pattern Store verfügbar.

(Kauf)Anleitung Hunny Bunnies Block #11 (Deutsch/Metrisch)

And suddenly it’s October, and the last quarter of the year begins. We still have summer weather with pretty hot temperatures (by our standards) forecast for the whole week. On some level we certainly deserve this because June was so cold and wet but on the other hand it is not exactly normal and we really need some rain. But it is good for my butternut squash that has struggled in previous years and is doing exceptionally well now. I have seven more on the vine that need another two or three weeks without frost to be ready. And I gambled and planted a third crop of bush beans, and the first ones are ready to be picked now. After all my complaining in the beginning I have to admit that the garden season turned out quite well in the end.

Our bunny friend is also busy in the garden this month but not tending to flowers or veggies. The garden fence needed some maintenance, so he grabbed a brush and a can of paint and is doing his best to cover it with an even coat of paint without making too much of a mess. The last blocks are a little more detailed/complicated, so feel free to simplify or embroider small details. Once again the pattern will be available for free download until the end of the month and move to the pattern store when the November block is realeased.

EDIT: If you missed the free download in October, Block #10 is now available for purchase in the pattern store.

Click to purchase Hunny Bunnies Block #10 pattern (English/Imperial)

EDIT: Auch Block 10 ist jetzt auf Deutsch/in metrischen Maßen im Pattern Store verfügbar.

(Kauf)Anleitung Hunny Bunnies Block #10 (Deutsch/Metrisch)

Where did summer go? I can’t believe it’s already September. However we had cool and rainy weather until the end of June, so I guess it’s no surprise that only two months of proper summer weather feels a bit short. And while I don’t like that it is getting darker every morning, I do enjoy that it is cooler and doesn’t usually heat up as quickly anymore. My garden is doing great, and I seem to be able to keep the powdery mildew away for longer this year… keeping fingers crossed. With our climate here it usually takes over at some point, and while the squashes do mostly okay, last year I had to pull my second batch of peas in mid-August because all the plants were so heavily covered in mildew that they were just done. Somebody in my gardening group said that spraying them with a solution of half milk and half water every few days as a preventive measure works really well, something about the milk protein reacting with the sunlight (?). That sounded easy enough, and as soon as the second batch of peas emerged in July I have been spraying the peas, cucumbers and squash plants. Aside from the occasional sour mik smell and the fact that the milk residue builds up on the leaves which doesn’t look too pretty it seems to be working really well. The peas are flowering and producing pods, and I have more cucumbers and butternut squash than ever before.

Our bunny friend is using the garden for a different purpose this month, hanging up laundry. While it is so much easier to just stuff wet clothes into the dryer than hanging them on the line, nothing feels and smells as good as freshly sun/wind-dried laundry. As always, the pattern for this block will be free until the end of the month and then move to the pattern store when the next block is published in October.

Edit: If you missed the free download in September, the pattern is now available for purchase in the pattern store. I have also created a discount bundle for blocks 7, 8 and 9, if you missed more than just one download.

Click to purchase Hunny Bunnies Block #9 pattern (English/Imperial)

Click to purchase Hunny Bunnies pattern bundle 7, 8 & 9 (English/Imperial)

Auch Block 9 ist jetzt auf Deutsch/mit metrischen Maßen als Kaufmuster erhältlich. Es gibt auch wieder ein Bündel zum Sonderpreis für die Blöcke 7, 8 und 9.

(Kauf)Anleitung Hunny Bunnies Block #9 (Deutsch/Metrisch)

(Kauf)Anleitungsbündel Hunny Bunnies 7, 8 & 9 (Deutsch/Metrisch)

Tomato season has arrived, yay! If I could grow only one thing, I would definitely choose tomatoes. Nothing tastes better than the first homegrown tomato of the year. I thought it would probably take a bit longer this year with the cool, wet weather in June but the cherry tomatoes have been going strong for almost three weeks now, and I harvested the first big tomato yesterday. I am also starting to drown in cucumbers, I have blanched and frozen quite a few loads of beans, and my butternut squash looks better than ever. After a very frustrating start, this gardening year turned around quickly, and with the hot weather we are having now, I am really enjoying our drip irrigation, it was so worth it.

This month’s bunny is feeding geese at the pond. It is a fairly simple block, at least by my standards 😀 I really tried to keep the number of pieces down this year but there are a few blocks coming up later where it just wasn’t possible, so enjoy it while you can. The pattern will be available for free download until the end of the month and move to the pattern store when the September block is released.

EDIT: If you missed the free download in August, Block #8 is now available for purchase in the pattern store.

Click to purchase Hunny Bunnies Block #8 pattern (English/Imperial)

EDIT: Auch Block 8 ist jetzt auf Deutsch/in metrischen Maßen im Pattern Store verfügbar.

(Kauf)Anleitung Hunny Bunnies Block #8 (Deutsch/Metrisch)

Happy Canada Day! It seems it took forever this year for summer to arrive. With this crazy weather we have had, everyone in my gardening group is complaining about what went wrong for them this year, and I could also tell quite a few stories like that but have decided to instead talk about what worked well. The peas loved the cool weather, and I ended up with a wall of peas, higher than ever before. I have started picking the pods, and I will be very busy for the next few days blanching and freezing peas. The potatoes were also fine with the weather, the first variety has started flowering. And I managed to harvest some broccoli before it bolted. The head were fairly small but at least I caught them in time and was not greeted one morning by a field of yellow flowers, as so many others experienced this year.

And in the spirit of gardening, our bunny friend is planting seeds this month. The pieces for the seeds are big enough for fusible appliqué but you can always choose to embroider French knots or maybe use some beads or other embellishments instead. The block will be available for free download until the end of the month and move to the pattern store when the August block is released.

EDIT: If you missed the free download in July, Block #7 is now available for purchase in the pattern store.

Click to purchase Hunny Bunnies Block #7 pattern (English/Imperial)

EDIT: Auch Block 7 ist jetzt auf Deutsch/in metrischen Maßen im Pattern Store verfügbar.

(Kauf)Anleitung Hunny Bunnies Block #7 (Deutsch/Metrisch)

Welcome to June and (almost) summer! Although it sure doesn’t feel like summer up here in the Pacific Northwest! May Long Weekend was quite nice, and we are supposed to have a few warmer days this week but other than that the forecast looks not very promising. But at least the overnight temperatures are warmer now, and I was able to put out all my tomatoes, cucumbers and squash plants. The cukes and squash collection especially was quite a jungle already! I started them later than last year but once they sprout, they just grow like crazy. The brassicas (brassicae? I studied Latin for seven years, I guess that still shows sometimes LOL), seem to like the weather though, as do the peas. The potatoes are looking good too. My husband suggested last week that we should grow sweet potatoes next year. Ha… I wouldn’t even know where to put those. We are definitely running out of space in the backyard. Maybe we need to put a bed or two out in front of the house? Something to ponder next fall/winter.

For this month’s bunny block, we have a little guy riding his scooter. My original idea was riding a bicycle but that would have been too complicated. The scooter was difficult enough to simplify, a bike would have been impossible. I didn’t even know where to start and quickly changed the plan. Of course he is wearing a helmet for safety reasons, get ready to dive into your scrap bins for just the right kind of fabric. The pattern will be available for free download (English/Imperial only) until the end of the month and move to the pattern store when the July block is released.

Edit: If you missed the free download in June, the pattern is now available for purchase in the pattern store. I have also created a discount bundle for the first three blocks, if you missed more than just one download. And there is also a six-block-bundle for those who are just catching up now.

Click to purchase Hunny Bunnies Block #6 pattern (English/Imperial)

Click to purchase Hunny Bunnies pattern bundle 4, 5 & 6 (English/Imperial)

Click to purchase Hunny Bunnies pattern bundle 1-6 (English/Imperial)

Auch Block 6 ist jetzt auf Deutsch mit metrischen Maßen erhältlich, ebenso gibt es auch wieder Bündel für drei oder sechs Blöcke zum Sonderpreis.

(Kauf)Anleitung Hunny Bunnies Block #6 (Deutsch/Metrisch)

(Kauf)Anleitungsbündel Hunny Bunnies 4, 5 & 6 (Deutsch/Metrisch)

(Kauf)Anleitungsbündel Hunny Bunnies 1-6 (Deutsch/Metrisch)

I was trying to stay positive last month when talking about the weather. This month… not so much! It has been much too cold for this time of the year although I have to admit that we had a couple of really nice weekends. Brian Minter who is among many other things the garden king of this town said the other day that we are about three weeks behind “normal”, so that gives you an idea. I have been trudging along, following my garden schedule, and it looks pretty good overall. I planted potatoes, the brassicas are covered and from what I can see love the cool weather, the radishes are almost ready to harvest, and I have planted sunflowers in the front yard. Underneath I sprinkled Nemophila/Baby Blue Eyes seeds. I got this idea from a Facebook gardening group, hoping for a sea of blue underneath the yellow sunflowers in honour of Ukraine. Seems like a pretty useless gesture but hopefully it will at least be pretty. The summer is supposed to be really hot again, and we spent the last two weekends installing drip irrigation. I am really excited about that. It looks like it is working well, and it will not only save water but also save me a lot of time. Last year I spent so much time watering everything by hand that it became a chore, and I’d rather avoid that feeling this year.

Of course our bunny is spending some time in the garden as well. As you probably know, April showers bring May flowers, and this month’s block features a bunny watering flowers. The block has quite a few pieces because of all the flowers but is not difficult to put together. Just scatter the flowers in a way that pleases your eye, and don’t obsess about exact placement, it doesn’t matter at all. As always, the pattern will be available for free download until the next block is released. Hopefully I’ll be back on schedule in June but if something comes up again, I’ll let you know in advance to make sure everyone has the chance to download the free pattern.

EDIT: If you missed the free download in May, Block #5 is now available for purchase in the pattern store.

Click to purchase Hunny Bunnies Block #5 pattern (English/Imperial)

EDIT: Auch Block 5 ist jetzt auf Deutsch/in metrischen Maßen im Pattern Store verfügbar.

(Kauf)Anleitung Hunny Bunnies Block #5 (Deutsch/Metrisch)

I try to post my BOM blocks on a regular schedule but sometimes life has other plans. I won’t be able to troubleshoot potential problems on Sunday (May 1), so I have decided to publish the May block a day early, on Saturday April 30. This means that the April block will move to the pattern store a day early as well. So if you haven’t already downloaded and saved the pattern, do it now before you forget 😉

The download link can be found at the bottom of the original post.

March has been pretty wet around here but overall much better than predicted. There was always rain in the forecast but we had quite a few nice and sunny days in between, and I did get some gardening stuff done. My peas are going strong, even the ones that I planted before the cold spell in late February, and the spinach and lettuce are growing as well. A friend gave me some raspberry canes and strawberry plants last weekend, so I am not only growing vegetables this year but also trying my hand at some fruit. What I am most happy about though is my asparagus that I started from seed last year. It is coming back, and the spears are growing so fast that I can almost watch them grow, it’s unbelievable. Asparagus takes patience, and I am at least two years away from my first harvest but the spears actually look pretty good already, compared to the tiny stalks last year.

As for our bunny friend, he is experiencing Pacific Northwest weather this month… April showers. That’s why the Easter egg was already delivered in March. He has a huge umbrella, big enough to accommodate his ears, so he won’t get wet. And next month, the weather will hopefully be better and a lot warmer. The pattern (English/Imperial) is available for free download until the end of the month and will move to the store when the May block is released. NOTE: The next block will be released a day early, on April 30, so make sure you save the pattern right away.

EDIT: Block #4 is now available for purchase if you missed the free download.

Click to purchase Hunny Bunnies Block #4 pattern (English/Imperial)

EDIT: Auch Block 4 ist jetzt auf Deutsch/in metrischen Maßen im Pattern Store verfügbar.

(Kauf)Anleitung Hunny Bunnies Block #4 (Deutsch/Metrisch)

Welcome to March and hopefully spring! A couple of weeks ago we had the nicest spring weather, and I spent some time digging around the garden. It was nice and sunny and felt almost warm and I was eager to get some vegetable seeds started. And then the weather changed, cold air from Alaska came in, and suddenly we had -10 degrees Celsius overnight. So much for an early spring. The cold air has moved on, and we are back to normal rainy weather. With all the craziness in the world right now I am really looking forward to puttering around the garden again, it keeps my mind off things and makes me feel much calmer.

Spring means Easter, and although Easter isn’t until April this year I have decided to publish the Easter block in March. Our little bunny friend is bringing the biggest Easter Egg he can carry, complete with a bow. This is another fairly simple block. Be creative with the fabric you use for the egg. My purple floral is fairly conservative, you can go all out here with your craziest scraps. The pattern will be available for free download until the end of the month and move to the pattern store when the April block is released.

Edit: If you missed the free download in March, the pattern is now available for purchase in the pattern store. I have also created a discount bundle for the first three blocks, if you missed more than just one download.

Click to purchase Hunny Bunnies Block #3 pattern (English/Imperial)

Click to purchase Hunny Bunnies pattern bundle 1, 2 & 3 (English/Imperial)

Das Problem mit der deutschen Version der Hunny Bunnies ist behoben. Alle drei Blöcke sind nun einzeln oder als Bündel zum Sonderpreis im Pattern Store erhältlich.

(Kauf)Anleitung Hunny Bunnies Block #3 (Deutsch/Metrisch)

(Kauf)Anleitungsbündel Hunny Bunnies 1, 2 & 3 (Deutsch/Metrisch)

I hope you all had fun with the first block of this year’s BOM. Before we get to the next bunny, I have a favour to ask. If you purchased any of my patterns through my website, you probably noticed that I make you read a paragraph about a PayPal error message during checkout. Most purchases go through just fine, and we have never been able to determine the cause of the error. The weird part is that even though the error message appears, the purchase goes through, and that leads to a lot of confusion and extra work. If you encounter this error, I’d appreciate if you could take a screenshot and send it to me. When we put the pattern store in test mode, it all works fine, and we never receive an error message. My son who has a BSc in computer science went through a huge log file of communication between my store and PayPal over the weekend, and he says it all works the way it is supposed to work. So seeing the actual error message would be extremely helpful and maybe give him a better idea of what is going on, and any help you can give us is very much appreciated.

And now let’s move on to the second Hunny Bunny. This month’s block is much easier to assemble, it doesn’t have as many pieces. Some spring activities are quite obvious but after a while I had to think about what else the bunnies could do. Well, bunnies hop around, so jumping rope seemed like a good idea, and I came up with this little guy. The rope is embroidered, I figured we didn’t really want to handle skinny, curvy pieces, and the fabric would be mostly covered by stitches anyway. If you add embroidered details by machine as I do, don’t forget to put some stabilizer underneath the fabric, you really need it for the rope, or the fabric will pull. As always, the February block will be available for free download until the end of the month and then move to the pattern store in March when the next block is published.

EDIT: Block #2 is now available for purchase if you missed the free download in February.

Click to purchase Hunny Bunnies Block #2 pattern (English/Imperial)

EDIT: Auch Block 2 ist jetzt auf Deutsch/in metrischen Maßen im Pattern Store verfügbar.

(Kauf)Anleitung Hunny Bunnies Block #2 (Deutsch/Metrisch)