Happy Pride Month!  I am excited to be able to offer these free paper pieced patterns for a variety of pride flags.  They were drafted with someone special in mind and I am planning to make one to go with the LGBT resource center our Girl Scout troop installed in a local teen center.  It is my hope that eventually a number of these will grace the walls of LGBTQIA+ resource centers, community buildings, or the walls of you or your loved ones around the globe.

The size of the completed wall hanging as shown will vary depending on sashing size, but should be in the neighborhood of 18" x 48".  Each flag is a couple of inches smaller than a piece of letter-sized paper.  You can print just the ones you need and combine the patterns as you desire.  All the patterns are very simple, beginner-style patterns.  Most flags piece out in a single section except for two that require only two sections.

This pattern is provided for free and I hope that you will use it for your own personal use and for the benefit of your family, friends, and community.  Please feel free to share it as desired, as long as no money changes hands.  The freebies in the shop were getting numerous and cluttered, so you will now access them via the "The Freebies Collection" link and find the appropriate sub-menu.  The pride flags are in the holiday freebies.

As a side note, I know not everyone who identifies as LGBTQIA+ has the support they need in their lives.  My inbox (you can use the "Contact Me" form) is a safe space if you feel like you are alone.  Please feel free to vent there.  If you want no response I will respect that, and if you do, let me know and I will do my best to get back.  Stay safe and know that you are loved.  <3

As I have been trying to plan out the remainder of the year's blocks, I went back to some of the old messages from people looking for specific things.  One of the most sought after patterns, second only to the Game of Thrones sigils pack, is everyone's favorite Christmas sourpuss.  People apparently want the Grinch, the Grinch, THE GRINCH!

When I pulled the pattern, though, I was unhappy with it.  It was an older pattern from my early designing days and definitely needed some TLC.  The updated block is somewhat more simplified, contains more expressive embroidery options, and has a more appealing pattern layout.  This is still a complicated block and contains a number of sections (22 compared to the original 27), but that is the nature of the beast when dealing with a detailed picture with lots of angles.  In order to help make piecing a bit easier, I have sized this block at 12".

For right now, you can find the free Grinch pattern in the shop in one of two categories: Free Fandom Patterns and Holiday Freebies.  But there's more in store for the 2020 holiday season!  I am going back to redraft patterns for Max, Cindy Lou Who, and some funky Whoville trees, and the set will release in early November in time to stitch up a fun Christmas quilt like this one.  This quilt mock-up does not include the embroidery so Max in particular looks a little off, but it should give you the general idea.

I hope people are excited to see the Grinch in his rightful home and are looking forward to the release of more Whoville characters this winter.  Enjoy!

April is the national month for many things, but the first one that always comes to mind in our family is Autism Acceptance Month.  We have several people on the spectrum in our immediate and extended family, and their unique perspectives have opened up our worldview.  It is our hope that society will eventually adapt to reduce the number of challenges that neurodiverse people face when navigating the world.

Since there is some controversy surrounding the puzzle piece symbol for autism, I wanted to focus on a slightly more modern symbol.  For those on the spectrum who find meaning in and identify with the the puzzle piece, there are a number of patterns available from different sources that I am happy to help you track down.  The rainbow infinity loop represents the diverse spectrum of neurological differences, including autism.  You can also piece the pattern entirely in gold to represent autism specifically.  This could be used to brighten up your own space or that of someone on the spectrum, or would make a great end of year gift for SPED teachers and therapists.

The block is 10" finished and is very easy to piece.  The biggest problem you will run into is lining up the sections properly.  What I like to do when sections must match up is clip them together with Wonder Clips before sewing to gauge the position visually.  I then sew about 7 stitches over each seam (without backstitching) where the design is supposed to match up, leaving the threads on each side a couple inches long.  I open up the sections and finger-press the seam to check my positioning.  If it is off, the minimal stitching is easily pulled out to try again, and if it is correct, I sew the whole length of the seam and then remove those stitches using the long tails.  These methods usually mean my patterns end up matching up almost seamlessly, although it does sometimes take a time or two to get it right.

You can find this pattern in the Holiday Freebies section of the shop.

In honor of my favorite person with autism, I also designed a gentoo penguin block that will be available for purchase as soon as it is tested.  Our son is the world's biggest fan of the movie Mr. Popper's Penguins (I'm pretty sure we have watched it literally more times than we can count), adores penguins in general, and loves gentoos best of all.  Santa even adopted him one for Christmas and he keeps a picture of his penguin "Captain" in his room.  He has named the penguin in this pattern Captain as well, and Captain is in need of a tester so she can be listed in the shop.  Ultimately I hope to stitch up all the penguins: Captain, Loudy, Bitey, Stinky, Lovey and Nimrod.  I will probably have them all face one direction in a quilt but reverse Nimrod just for fun.  You may even see a quilt block of Mr. Popper at some point; if I do add him to the quilt he will be added to the shop as a fandom freebie.

I am excited to release our Easter freebie: the sweet bunny!

This 10" block can be worked in realistic bunny colors or pastels for a traditional appeal, or in bright, mod colors for a fun take on a spring bunny.

To find this fun Easter freebie, pop on over to the shop and check out the "Holiday Freebies" category.  I hope you enjoy!  The next scheduled freebie will arrive in the shop shortly before Mother's Day.