Pretty Kitty Princesses & Block 8 of the Sew-Along!

Block 8 of the sew-along has been uploaded to the website! Block 8 can be a blowsy rose (my favourite kind) or a peony. We can't grow peonies in our sub-tropical climate but I adore them just the same. I had thought of pranking everyone by making Block 8 a solid brown block, with nothing on it, because our yard and garden is nothing more than a 1/4 acre of sludgy mud right now. We've been moving the raised garden beds to allow the run-off from the rain to get away more easily, and we're still digging drainage channels. The best anyone can work out is that a neighbour, or Council, has a broken drainage pipe somewhere! When I'm not digging mud, I've been messing about adding bold black & white stripe sashing strips to the sew-along quilt, and they've certainly added some pizzaz to the blocks. You know me, I can never leave well enough alone and am constantly changing things. I stumbled across this WIP this week (second image). It got packed away for some reason and I didn't finish it. I'm happy to say it's ready to be quilted and the pattern is in progress. It's such a colourful quilt, I'm in two minds about it. I've found some really bright, rainbow stripe fabric for the binding. Too much is never enough in 2026!

 

Little Princesses

Size 60" x 66" (154cm x 169cm).
Bonus 'Little Princes' templates included.

The discount will be applied at the checkout, the discount won't appear on the product page. You don't need to purchase both patterns to receive the discount. Offer ends Tuesday, 30th June, 2026 AEST.

 

 

Pretty Little Kitties

Size 60" x 60" (154cm x 154cm).

The discount will be applied at the checkout, the discount won't appear on the product page. You don't need to purchase both patterns to receive the discount. Offer ends Tuesday, 30th June, 2026 AEST.

 

 

Our wee boy passed away last week and we are devastated. We had him for 13 bossy years and it wasn't long enough. He passed peacefully in our arms and we miss him like crazy.

He looked like butter wouldn't melt in his mouth, but he ruled with an iron paw. He was a gangly kitten and I called him 'my ugly little spud' as a joke and the name stuck. He was the most lazy cat you've ever encountered, a real couch potato (a real Spud).

He didn't play, didn't meow for two years (then he never shut up), he hated kitty treats, and wouldn't be cuddled. We always referred to him as 'wee Spud' but he was a huge cat, weighing in at nearly 8kgs.

He had quite a few knicknames... Caligula for his emperor like demeanor, Jean-the-Submarine (and Jaws) for his bent, periscope tail that was always up, and recently 'my little puffer fish' because his heart condition sometimes made him wheeze. He died as he lived, eating until the last, ruling over us like the emperor he was.

His ashes and collar will be placed in a kitsch 1940's ceramic cookie jar that my grandmother left to me. I played with it constantly when I was little and it's resided in my lounge room, looking over us, for many years. It's the perfect place for Spud; he'll continue to rule over us and be part of the family. I joked that I was going to make him a Santa hat for Christmas and wind some fairy lights around the jar - everyone thought this was a great idea!

I'm not going to apologise for talking about Spud or the less-than-perfect aspects of my life. I'm deadly tired of the notion we need to be perfect Instagram quilters, carefully curating our lives for bland cyberdom. I'm not that kind of designer - I'm a messy, imperfect, emotional human being. We should be celebrating our individuality not the boring awfulness the algorithm/s serve up.

On a happier note, if you're chasing a fantastic collection of bright prints, you can't go wrong with the Petit Pan collection/s from France. Jen Kingwell is stocking them in Australia and they will be available at Fat Quarter Shop in the US. I'm not sure about stockists in the UK and EU, but you can order direct from their website. I may have treated myself to a few 30cm cuts as an end of financial year mood boost.

Happy sewing,
toni xx

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