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.
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.
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.
Just a quick heads up: I have some medical appointments tomorrow morning, so it will likely be early afternoon before I can publish the May block. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
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.
Welcome to April! I started a lot of seeds in March, most of them indoors because it is still too cold for many to survive outside. But my peas, radishes, spinach, and carrots are all in the ground, as they do not mind the occasional overnight frost.
My veggie beds are all in the backyard. In the front yard, I have the sunflower beds but not much else, so we have started turning the area into a rose garden. There was one very pretty rose there when we bought the house, a Peace Rose, with beautiful colouring and a wonderful scent. Then a friend came across a rose called Pumpkin Patch and just had to buy it for me. We added a few more, and they are doing really well, which gave us the idea to plant as many roses out front as will fit.
But roses are expensive, so this project will take multiple years. We have eight so far, and I have ordered four more, which I should be able to pick up any day now.
As for our Safari, it would not be a very satisfying experience without seeing a lion, would it? I fiddled around with his mane a lot, trying to keep it as simple as possible, but it needed to be a bit spiky to give it enough texture. I did not like the smooth variations I came up with, so be prepared to cut plenty of points. Overall, I am now very happy with the way he turned out, very majestic but still rather friendly-looking.
As always, the pattern will be available for free download until the end of the month and move to the pattern store when the May 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.
And we made it to March! I should be able to start my garden outside soon, and I am hoping to eat fresh asparagus by the end of the month. My asparagus bed is well established now, and I am really looking forward to cream of asparagus soup. It is wonderful to have something to harvest this early in the season while everything else is just beginning to grow.
For this month, our Safari sighting is a meerkat. One of my cats often assumes a meerkat position when she spots something especially interesting or exciting, and it always makes me laugh. So when I was looking for African animals and the meerkat came up, I just had to include it in this BOM. His round face turned out a bit cartoonish, but it was too charming to leave out. I hope you like him too!
Für meine deutschen Leser: Das deutsche Wort für meerkat ist Erdmännchen. In Afrika gibt es auch ein Tier, das auf Deutsch Meerkatze genannt wird, aber das ist eine Affenart und nicht mit den Erdmännchen verwandt. Manchmal machen Übersetzungen/Sprachen echt keinen Sinn.
As always, 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: The month of free download is over, and the block has moved to the pattern store where it is now available for purchase.
And we are back with the next instalment of the Safari Block of the Month! I hope you enjoyed working on the little giraffe in January.
This month’s block features an ostrich. Ostriches are the largest living birds. They cannot fly, but they can run incredibly fast. While they are farmed all over the world, they are native only to Africa.
Here is a fun fact I discovered while designing this block: ostriches have only two toes. I noticed their feet looked unusual when I was studying pictures, as I somehow expected them to have at least three toes. Before finalizing the design, I double-checked and confirmed that they indeed have just two.
I had the assembled block sitting on the ironing board for a few days before I found the time to stitch down the pieces. Every time I walked by, I could not help but laugh at the silly face looking back at me.
For this block, I decided to make the ostrich pink and purple because I wanted something more colourful than just black and white. Interestingly, the black and white ostriches I usually picture are males, while females have brownish-grey feathers. Huh, the things you learn while designing quilt blocks!
The pattern is available for free download until the end of the month—here is the link. Have fun with it! And if you have a picture of your finished block, I would love for you to share it with me.
EDIT: The month of free download is over, and the block has moved to the pattern store where it is now available for purchase.
Happy New Year 2025! I hope it brings joy and creativity to you all. I am excited to introduce my brand-new Block of the Month project, Safari. This year’s format will be a little different from my previous ones. Instead of twelve blocks, there will be nine, running from January to September. In October, I will share the finishing instructions, and in November, the full pattern will be available. We will take a break in December, as it is such a busy time for everyone preparing for the holidays.
Safari is also different from my previous Block of the Month projects. Instead of one animal featured in different scenes, each month will showcase a different animal. All nine animals are inspired by those you might encounter on an African safari. While they will have a whimsical cartoon style, they will not display any human behaviours.
The layout will be similar to previous years, but this time it will feature a 3×3 grid instead of a 3×4. The finished quilt will measure approximately 52 inches square. The finishing instructions will be available as a free download in October, provided as a separate pattern. I always enjoy seeing pictures of your finished blocks! My email address is on the cover page of every pattern, in the lower left corner, so feel free to share them with me.
On the cover page, I have included an estimate of the amounts of background fabrics needed if you plan to use the same fabrics for all nine blocks. For the animals, simply dive into your scrap bin and see what you can find. The exact colours are not important—just work with what you have and, most importantly, have fun!
Our first animal sighting is a giraffe! Here is a picture of my sample block. Isn’t he just adorable with his big head, wobbly legs, and cheeky grin?
The free pattern will once again be available only in English with Imperial measurements. All other rules remain the same as in previous years, and here they are again as a quick reminder:
A new block will be published on the first day of each month at 9 a.m. Pacific Standard/Daylight Time. If any unforeseen circumstances require changes to this schedule, I will announce them here on the blog. Since I am in the Pacific time zone, it may already be the second day of the month for some of you. I kindly ask for your patience and request that you refrain from emailing me about the timing of the next block. I do not schedule posts to go live in the middle of the night, as this allows me to address any potential issues with the pattern files immediately rather than waking up to dozens of messages. If you do notice a problem, please do not hesitate to contact me so I can resolve it as quickly as possible.
Each block will be available as a free download during the month it is published. Once the next block is released, the previous block will move to the store section, where it can be purchased for a small fee. If you miss a block, you can buy it for just $2 CAD (approximately $1.39 USD or €1.34 at the time of writing—less than the cost of a decent coffee these days!). Please do not email me asking for a free copy, as such requests will be ignored. I also kindly ask that you respect my copyright and avoid sharing the pattern with others who may have missed the free download. Sharing patterns in this way discourages designers from continuing to offer free content in the future.
Thank you for taking the time to read through all this. Without further ado, here is the download link for the first block—enjoy!
EDIT: The month of free download is over, and the block has moved to the pattern store where it is now available for purchase.
Edit: Bedauerlicherweise muss ich die deutschen Versionen meiner Anleitungen mit metrischen Maßen nun endgültig einstellen. Schon seit einigen Jahren habe ich diese zusätzliche Arbeit nur in kleinere Projekte investiert, aber mit der Schließung von Makerist zum 1. April 2025 entfällt mein Hauptvertriebsweg für deutsche Anleitungen, sodass sich der Aufwand für mich nicht mehr lohnt. Die bereits existierenden Anleitungen biete ich weiterhin über meine Website zum Verkauf an. Bei Interesse bitte dem Link zum Pattern Store folgen, die englische Version bestellen und beim Checkout angeben, dass die deutsche Version gewünscht ist. Ich verschicke diese dann per E-Mail. Für zukünftige Projekte, einschließlich des Safari Block of the Month, wird es leider keine deutschen Versionen mehr geben. Ich danke für Ihr Verständnis.
If you are interested in my previous Block of the Month projects, they are still available for purchase here:
I have been hinting at a new Block of the Month (BOM) project for a while now, but I wanted to wait until everything was finalized before making an announcement. Well, the wait is over! I am thrilled to announce… drum roll please… Safari, my new BOM for 2025!
This BOM will be a little different from the last few years. I have decided to go with just nine blocks instead of twelve. A new block will be released each month from January to September. The finishing instructions, which will still be available for free, will follow in October, with the full pattern available for purchase in November. Since December is always such a busy time, we will take a break for Christmas, and—if all goes well—I hope to have another BOM ready for 2026. I already have something in mind, but for now, let us enjoy the adventure of a Safari!
The Safari quilt will feature a different animal each month. Each design will showcase the animal in a whimsical, cartoon-inspired style—just the animal, without any human-like behaviours. There will be no monkeys or hippos in this quilt. I think we have had our fill of monkeys, and with my Happy Hippo Hop quilt and matching pillow already in the mix, it is time to explore new options.
I am so excited to start another BOM, and I hope you are just as excited to join me!
It’s December, and once again I am asking myself where time has gone. The older you get, the faster it seems to fly. December is always busy with Christmas approaching quickly, and before we know it, another year will be over. We are not going to put up a tree as our silly cats are out to destroy it. And what’s even worse, they munch on the needles whenever they have the chance, standing there under the branches like little ruminating cows. The last time we had a tree we ended up moving it into our son’s room and kept the door closed, so it makes no sense to even buy one. But I will hang up my favourite Christmas decoration, a silly moose wreath I made a long time ago. Probably 20 years or so, and it came to Canada with us and still makes me laugh evey time I see it.
Our hedgehog friend is busy with one of our favourite fall activities – quilting! When summer is over, when the days get shorter and the air cooler, there is less to do outside, and we tend to spend more time at our sewing machines. This little guy or gal has assembled a pretty Nine Patch block. I tried to stay with fall/Halloween-ish colours but feel free to substitute for your favourite colours. 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. The finishing instructions are also available now, scroll down for the download link.
EDIT: The year is over, and the block has moved to the pattern store where it is now available for purchase if you missed the free download. 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.
