About ten years ago—though I cannot remember exactly when—I came across a free pattern for a “relaxing neck pillow.” It was quite simple to make, with three bone-shaped pieces sewn together using mitered seams, so I decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, I did not find it comfortable for my neck, so it ended up as a decorative pillow. Recently, however, I discovered its hidden potential. When I stuff it behind my lower back while sitting on a chair, it prevents back pain! I began carrying it from chair to chair, but eventually, one of the cats claimed it as their own, curling up against it. That was when I realised it was time to make a few more.
I made two new pillows—one for the chair at my sewing machine and another to leave on a random dining chair for the cat to snuggle with. Amazingly, I even found the original pattern piece I had traced onto freezer paper when I made the first one! The new pillows were quick to sew and finished in an afternoon. In the picture, the new ones are at the front, while the original pillow from ten years ago is the yellow one in the back.
The free pattern is still available! If you are interested in making one, just follow the link below.
In the middle of the Monkey Business BOM in 2021, someone left a comment on one of my posts, hoping for a cheeky monkey jumping on the bed. At the time, I was not familiar with the nursery rhyme and had no idea what they meant. Of course, that was not the motif for any of the blocks, as my BOM designs are always completed before I begin promoting them. However, their suggestion intrigued me, so I looked it up. The idea stuck with me, and I eventually created a quilt and matching pillow inspired by it. Both were finished quite a while ago, but I only found time to write the pattern this past summer. The monkeys can be boy or girl monkeys—or a mix—depending on your preferences. Customizing them is as simple as adding or leaving off a bow. Aren’t they adorable, having so much fun jumping on the bed? We will just imagine no one ever falls off or bumps their head!
When someone inspires me to create a specific quilt and write a pattern for it, I like to thank them by sending the pattern for free. Of course, there is no obligation to ever make the quilt. The Little Monkey projects were inspired by a comment left by Stacey B. in August 2021. I sent both patterns to the email address associated with the comment a few months ago, but I never heard back. It is possible the email address is no longer in use. Stacey, if you are reading this and have not received the patterns, please get in touch, and I will be happy to send them again.
Both patterns are now available for purchase in the pattern store. I have created a discount code: enter JUMPING at checkout to receive 20% off. The code is valid until January 17, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. PST and applies exclusively to the Five Little Monkeys quilt and the One Little Monkey Pillow patterns.
Die Anleitung für den Five Little Monkeys Quilt ist auf deutsch nicht verfügbar. Für die deutsche Version des Kissens 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.
If you would like both patterns, I have also created a discounted bundle, which will be available until further notice.
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.
Die Anleitung für den Jungle Monkeys Quilt ist auf deutsch nicht verfügbar. Für die deutsche Version des Kissens 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.
If you want both patterns, I have also created a bundle at a discount price that is valid until further notice.
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 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.
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.
Die Anleitung für den Bunny Buddies Quilt ist auf deutsch nicht verfügbar. Für die deutsche Version des Kissens 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.
If you want both patterns, I have also created a bundle at a discount price that is valid until further notice.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Die Anleitung für den Happy Hippo Hop Quilt ist auf deutsch nicht verfügbar. Für die deutsche Version des Kissens 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
