Leafcutter Mat

I am pleased to announce that a new pattern booklet is available in my SHOP. The Leafcutter Mat pattern was inspired by the mystery of perfect circles cut out of my rose leaves. Once I discovered that bees were the cause, I was happy with the holes. I am looking forward to their activity in the coming months.

This pattern is a big accomplishment for me. Not only did it take just one month from my first sketch, but also you may have noticed that it has been a couple years since I actually put out a new pattern. Let's hope I have my mojo back. There has been plenty of doodling in my sketchbook, instagramming, working on my new website, and of course life in general.

I had so much fun making this Leafcutter Mat. It reminds me of the little oasis that I have created in my backyard. I have been busy gardening and filling in dead patches of grass with clover, thyme and other perennial ground covers for the bees. I am mesmerized by my busy mason bees, and waiting for the chickadee babies to fledge and leave their nest. I will write a post about my backyard and gardening adventures soon.

I just had a good laugh in the middle of writing this post! I had mentioned on instagram that every time I passed by the Leafcutter mat one night, my brain thought it was a pizza. In my defence, the room was quite dark... and I was hungry! Just now when I added the image below, I noticed that the wix platform had automatically identified it as pizza and added a bunch of food tags. I am NOT crazy after all... pepperoni buttons & basil appliques! YUM!

My favourite part of every project is sketching designs and choosing the fabrics, trim & buttons! I take a long time auditioning all the different colours and sometimes the more I look, the more confusing it all gets. There are just too many options! This is usually when I decide to step away, sleep on it, and come back to the pile the next morning with fresh eyes.

I wanted to mention that I usually add embroidery as the last step for all my quilt projects. I usually work from the front, burying the knot and stitching through the quilt top and some batting only. This is what is easiest for me and I find that the stitches don't get in the way when I am quilting. If you prefer to embroider using a hoop after topstitching the appliques to the background, please do what is the most comfortable for you. What is your preferred method?

I have a few piles to clean up before beginning the next pattern. I always have to start with a clean room or I else I have trouble thinking. Which patterns will be next? My plan is this Round Bag but the Vintage Kettle oven mitt that I just designed is calling to me...

Well, that's all for now. This post is longer than I thought it would be! If you joined my mailing list, you would have received a note stating that you would receive an average of 1 or 2 emails per month. I have always been a very sporadic blogger. You may receive more some months and none during others. Hopefully you are fine with letting my creativity make the schedule!

Enjoy making your own Leafcutter Mat. It is the first of my new Garden Series, though I have a few others that also fit into the Garden Category. You will find the link to my pattern shop in the menu or click on the pattern cover image at the top of this post to go straight to the Leafcutter Mat pattern. Thank you!

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Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts,

Laurraine