New Patterns: Jungle Monkeys Quilt & Hibiscus Pillow
After finishing the Monkey Business BOM I thought I should turn the monkey into a quilt that doesn’t feature human behaviour and is less complicated than the BOM quilt. So I took the first block with the monkey swinging on a vine with a banana and put together a completely different quilt with vibrant hibiscus flowers in the alternating blocks. And since I made the monkey pillow in fabrics matching the original Monkey Business quilt, I tried to make a second one with Jungle Monkeys colours but wasn’t really happy with the outcome. I guess I was bored by doing the same thing again, so instead I took the hibiscus block and turned it into a colourful pillow.
Both patterns are now available for purchase in the pattern store. I have also created a discount code, if you enter HIBISCUS you will get 20% off. The code is valid until Nov 14, 2022 (11.59 pm PST) and applies to the Jungle Monkeys and Hibiscus Pillow patterns only.
If you want both patterns, I have also created a bundle at a discount price that is valid until further notice.
Eine deutsche Version mit metrischen Maßen gibt es nur für das Kissen, für den Quilt lohnt sich der Aufwand für mich leider nicht. Der Discount Code HIBISCUS gilt natürlich auch für die deutsche Version.
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CATEGORIES: Pattern
TAGS: Appliqué, Custom Quilting, Patchwork, Pillow, Quilt
New Pattern: Monkey Pillow
I made this little pillow matching the Monkey Business quilt quite a while ago but then got sidetracked by having too much going on at the same time. I am now working on cleaning up all the different projects I have been working on, trying to take a more focused approach. I used to only work at one project at a time, and I am not sure when and where I strayed but I am determined to get back to my old ways because it works so much better for me. Anyway, I have finally published the pillow pattern, and I have also created a bundle for those who never had a chance to download the Monkey Business blocks last year when they were free.
Für beide Produkte ist auch eine deutsche Version mit metrischen Maßen verfügbar, und auch hier gibt es ein Bündel zum Sonderpreis.
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CATEGORIES: Pattern
TAGS: Appliqué, Custom Quilting, Patchwork, Pillow
New Patterns: Bunny Buddies Quilt & Pillow
When I started playing around with bunny ideas last year for the new BOM, I got sidetracked and came up with a different bunny pattern. I quite liked it even though it wasn’t suitable at all for a BOM. I have been working on it on and off, and the pattern is now ready to be released. The Bunny Buddies are simple shapes, so if my usual tiny pieces are not your cup of tea or if you have never tried your hands at fusible appliqué, this is a great pattern to start with. You can even substitute the bunny tails for circles instead of the flower shapes that I used. I also created a matching pillow, I just love the bunny silhouettes, and especially the little guy with the floppy ear.
Both patterns are now available for purchase in the pattern store. I have also created a discount code, if you enter BUNNY20 you will get 20% off. The code is valid until May 20, 2022 (11.59 pm PDT) and applies to the Bunny Buddies and Bunny Buddies Pillow patterns only.
If you want both patterns, I have also created a bundle at a discount price that is valid until further notice.
Eine deutsche Version mit metrischen Maßen gibt es nur für das Kissen, für den Quilt lohnt sich der Aufwand für mich leider nicht. Der Discount Code BUNNY20 gilt natürlich auch für die deutsche Version.
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CATEGORIES: Pattern
TAGS: Appliqué, Custom Quilting, Patchwork, Pillow, Quilt
New Pattern: Butterfly Pillow
Who still remembers my Rainbow Butterflies quilt? Or actually, even both of them? I made them a long time ago, before I started my first BOM here, so many of you probably weren’t stopping by at the time. The first Rainbow Butterflies quilt was made as a donation at the request of a local care home. You can read all about it here. I really liked what I came up with and decided to adjust the quilt size a bit and make a second one as a pattern sample. This is the final version of the Rainbow Butterflies quilt:
While I usually plan my quilt designs meticulously, I took a different approach for the Rainbow Butterflies and just made blocks in all colours, using whatever I could find in my scraps. When I had enough blocks, I started laying them out and shuffling them around until I was satisfied with the way it looked. This was still the original quilt that was donated later on. I had one pink block that I couldn’t fit in, it just didn’t work with the rest of the colours. I finally ended up stitching it to the back of the quilt with the label, and when I made my pattern sample I did not make another pink block.
But I still love pink and wanted to have a pink butterfly, so in December I finally made another pink block and turned it into a pillow. What a simple solution, and I should have come up with it a long time ago. Of course you don’t have to limit yourself to just one pillow or to a pink one, this is an excellent pattern to use up leftovers in any colour. Just sort them into light and dark values, and off you go.
I have also created a bundle with special pricing for those who would like both patterns for the quilt and matching pillow.
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CATEGORIES: Pattern
TAGS: Appliqué, Custom Quilting, Patchwork, Pillow
New Patterns: Penguin Pillow & Curling Penguin Pillow
I have been planning to make a matching pillow for the Penguin Promenade quilt for quite a while, and I finally got around to it. I also made a second pillow featuring a curling penguin. This was suggested by Linda and her sister who thought that in Canada winter activities need to include curling. And of course they were right! In Germany, curling is something that you see every four years at the Olympic Games and then forget about it until next time, so it never even occurred to me when I was designing the blocks for the Penguin Promenade quilt. But I was happy to follow up on their suggestion and came up with this little guy.
I emailed Linda the pattern a few weeks ago, and she surprised me by putting the block together quickly and sending me a picture. Isn’t he cute?
Linda’s Curling Penguin
Patterns are available for both pillows in English and German. I have also created two bundles with special pricing, one with just the two pillows and one with both pillows and the full Penguin Promenade quilt for those who missed the free downloads in 2020.
Anleitungen für beide Kissen sind auch auf Deutsch und in metrischen Maßen erhältlich, entweder einzeln oder als Bündel zum Sonderpreis. Und für diejenigen, die den kostenlosen Download im Jahre 2020 verpasst haben, gibt es auch ein Sonderpreis-Bündel mit dem kompletten Penguin Promenade Quilt und beiden Kissen.
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CATEGORIES: Pattern
TAGS: Appliqué, Custom Quilting, Patchwork, Pillow
New Patterns: Happy Hippo Hop Quilt and Pillow
It seemed to take forever but the Happy Hippo Hop pattern is finally ready to be published! It took a bit longer because I decided to make a matching pillow as well for those who don’t want to make a whole hippo quilt. The pillow has a 10″ hippo block while the hippos in the quilt are only 8″ in size. I just love this quilt, the smiling baby hippos are so cute, and they make me laugh every time I see them.
I wanted to incorporate the major elements of the quilt when I drafted the pillow design and put the colourful Flying Geese into the border. The hearts were separated and form the cornerstones.
Both patterns are now available for purchase in the store section (in English/Imperial measurements only). I have also created a discount code that is valid until October 30, 2020. Enter the code HIPPO during checkout for 20% off.
Die Anleitung für den Happy Hippo Quilt ist auf Deutsch leider nicht verfügbar, aber die deutsche Anleitung für das Kissen findet sich hier:
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CATEGORIES: Pattern
TAGS: Appliqué, Custom Quilting, Patchwork, Pillow, Quilt
New Pattern: Sleeping Kitty Pillow
As promised (or at least as planned), here is the other Tuxedo Cat pillow pattern. My favourite block is block #5 with the sleeping kitty. I am really happy with this design, I still think you can almost see her paws twitching, and those little pink paw pads are just adorable. This will be the last Tuxedo Cat block to be turned into a separate pillow pattern. As with the other pillow, I enlarged the block to 12″ instead of 10″ to make handling those small pieces easier. I have four more patterns left to publish and two weeks to go until Black Friday, I will try to have them all up on the website by then.
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CATEGORIES: Pattern
TAGS: Appliqué, Patchwork, Pillow
New Pattern: Tuxedo Cat Pillow
Here is the next of the patterns that I finished quite some time ago but never posted on the website: a Tuxedo Cat Pillow. If you have been following the Tuxedo Cats BOM, you will recognize this kitty from the first block that I published back in January. It is just a 12″ block instead of a 10″ one, and the Flying Geese border is 3″ instead of the 2.5″ from the quilt. I had planned to do a separate pillow pattern from the beginning. Not everyone is such a cat lover that they need a quilt with twelve different blocks, and this is also a great gift for the favourite cat lover in your life. I started selling the printed pattern at the Abbotsford show back in April, and it was a big hit, the patterns sold out right away. Over the summer I turned another block of the quilt into a pillow pattern, I am hoping to post this one next week, so stay tuned.
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CATEGORIES: Pattern
TAGS: Appliqué, Patchwork, Pillow
New Pattern: Elephant Pillow
I wrote a few patterns for smaller projects and made samples before the quilt show in October, and I am currently working on the German versions. The first one I have ready in both languages is this Elephant Pillow. I made the original version two years ago as a gift for a friend and was really happy with the result, it does indeed look like an elephant. And people seem to agree, this was one of my best selling patterns at the show.
In den Wochen vor der Quilt Show habe ich noch schnell ein paar Anleitungen für kleinere Projekte geschrieben und Muster dafür genäht, und im Moment bin ich damit beschäftigt, die deutschen Versionen zu schreiben. Dieses Elefantenkissen ist das erste Projekt, das ich in beiden Sprachen fertig habe. Das Originalkissen habe ich vor zwei Jahren als Geschenk für eine Freundin genäht, und der Elefant hat mir richtig gut gefallen, weil er so echt aussieht. Und anscheinend sehe das nicht nur ich so, diese Anleitung hat sich auf der Show super gut verkauft.
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CATEGORIES: Pattern
TAGS: Appliqué, Custom Quilting, Pillow
Free Pattern: Easter Cushion
Here is another free Easter egg, a cushion designed by Tracey Petersen of Peppermint Patch Quilts. You can easily turn this cheerful design into a table topper or wall hanging, just make more blocks in your favourite spring colours, maybe add a little sashing, and quilt as desired. There is enough time left to finish this before Easter.
Hier kommt noch ein freies Osterei, ein Kissen entworfen von Tracey Petersen/Peppermint Patch Quilts. Das fröhliche Muster eignet sich auch gut für einen Tischläufer oder einen kleinen Wandbehang. Mehrere Blöcke in bunten Frühlingsfarben mit Sashing dazwischen, dann quilten und fertig. Das lässt sich noch vor Ostern in diesem Jahr schaffen.
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CATEGORIES: Free Pattern
TAGS: Appliqué, Pillow
Free Pattern: Little Pumpkins Pillow
It seems to be Pumpkin Pillow week… I came across this adorable Little Pumpkins Pillow and thought it was perfect for here. It is another free pattern from Fons & Porter, the designer is Kristine Peterson. Sixteen little pumpkins, a few birds and leaves and some hand embroidery make for a wonderful autumn decoration. It is also a great opportunity to use up your wool scraps. Or try wool appliqué for the first time.
Es ist offenbar Kürbis Kissen Woche… jedenfalls bin ich auf dieses niedliche Little Pumpkins Kissen gestoßen und dachte, das ist doch perfekt, um es hier zu teilen. Es ist eine freie Anleitung von Fons & Porter, entworfen von Kristine Peterson. Sechzehn kleine Kürbisblöcke, ein paar Vögel und Blätter und ein bisschen Handstickerei, und schon hat man eine schöne Herbstdekoration. Ein gutes Projekt, um gefilzte Wollreste aufzubrauchen oder das Arbeiten damit einmal auszuprobieren.
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CATEGORIES: Free Pattern
TAGS: Appliqué, Pillow
What I am working on: Pumpkin Patch Pillow
I have been busy editing patterns and came across the one that started it all: my Pumpkin Patch pillow. You might recognize the design, that’s where I got my logo from. I love pumpkins – mostly for decoration, a pumpkin patch in October looks just so pretty, but also for food. We have an excellent recipe for a pumpkin soup with ginger, curry and coconut milk and tried butternut squash corn bread for Thanksgiving this year. Now you might say – and rightfully so – that a squash is not a pumpkin and pumpkin is a type of squash. But when I wrote the pattern and made the pillow more than ten years ago I was still living in Germany where we call everything by the same name, “Kürbis”. Ask any German, and they will tell you that the English word for “Kürbis” is pumpkin. Tell them that “squash” would be more accurate, and they will stare at you blankly. Squash only means a sport to them, and I don’t think I figured out the difference between pumpkin and squash before I came to Canada. Anyway, this is the reason why there is more squash than actual pumpkin in my pumpkin design. But no matter what you want to call it, I hope you like the pillow as much as I do.
In der Zwischenzeit habe ich fleißig an meinen Patterns gearbeitet und bin dabei auch auf das ursprüngliche Pumpkin Patch Muster gestoßen, mein Kürbis Kissen. Mein Logo ist die gezeichnete Variante dieses Musters. Ich liebe Kürbisse, vor allem als Dekoration – so ein Kürbisfeld im Oktober sieht doch einfach toll aus. Aber auch Kürbissuppe mag ich gern, wir haben da ein tolles Rezept mit Ingwer, Curry und Kokosmilch, und in diesem Jahr haben wir zu Thanksgiving Cornbread mit Butternut Squash ausprobiert. Die deutsche Bezeichnung hierfür ist laut Wikipedia “Moschuskürbis”. In Deutschland ist ein Kürbis ja ein Kürbis, egal um welches Mitglied der Familie Cucurbitaceae es sich handelt, und in der Schule lernen wir, dass ein Kürbis auf Englisch “Pumpkin” heißt. Allerdings ist das nur die halbe Wahrheit… Pumpkins sind nur die großen orangen Dinger, alle anderen werden als “Squash” bezeichnet. Und ein Pumpkin ist auch ein Squash, das ist nämlich der Oberbegriff. Richtiger wäre es also, wenn man uns in der Schule das Wort “Squash” für Kürbis beigebracht hätte. Aber egal, der Name spielt ja nicht wirklich eine Rolle, mir jedenfalls gefällt mein Kürbis Kissen immer noch richtig gut.
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CATEGORIES: Sneak Peek
TAGS: Appliqué, Patchwork, Pillow
