Welcome to 2024 – a Bonjour Quilts Update

Well hello there! It’s just me sliding in during the very last minute of January to say welcome to 2024.

It’s been a slow start to the year for me, sewing wise. But now the kids are back in school and the Christmas decorations are all packed away, so it’s time to get to work!

Can you believe it’s now 2024? And wow, what a year it’ll be:

• A leap year
• A (summer) Olympics/Paralympics year
• Over 40 national elections being held around the world
• A one-in-221-years double cicada brood in the USA
• I turn 50. Yikes.

Welcome to 2024 – The Quilter’s Planner

I love to start a new year with a new planner, and 2024 has been no different.

I’m thrilled to be a contributing designer to the 2024 Quilter’s Planner – my block will be featured in April.

You can buy yourself a copy of The Quilter’s Planner over at their website here. There are also lots of fun covers and organisational tools to be found in their online shop. If you need a planner, come over and support a quilting small business!

I took some time to sit down with The Quilter’s Planner and think about last year’s highs and lows, as well as what I wanted more (and less) of in 2024.

I enjoyed considering my goals for the year, and breaking them down into manageable chunks. Goals seem much more achievable to me that way.

The Quilter’s Planner puts your goals front and centre, which makes them easier to remember throughout the year (and to check in on your progress).

I don’t have any crazy goals for this year. Mainly I would like to sew more and think less about how I’m not very good at being on Instagram. A bit less duty and a bit more joy, methinks.

What I’m Sewing…

While it’s been a slow start to the year, I have done a little sewing. Just a little.

It’s been too hot to go shopping so I consulted my stash for some fabric inspiration. These colours are strangely modern and 1980s to me, and they were asking for me to use them together. (Sorry, Peach Fuzz.)

I whipped up some modified Bear Claw blocks, using two fabrics to create a bit of a ‘paw pad’ in the centre. It’s a bit playful and I’m liking the way they look together en masse.

It’s also handy that I can cut 2 entire paws from a fat quarter (FQ). I can then just swap the paw pad fabrics around until I like the matches, before sewing them all together.

I’ve got them sewn together in a baby quilt now (will show you when it’s quilted) and would like to sew another version in some small scale prints. I also think it would be fun to fussy cut some squares for the paw pads and coordinate with matching paw fabric. More to come on this!

Interesting Links Around the Interwebs

The Quilter’s Planner is having a sew-along to help you recreate the sampler – find all the details (including prizes along the way) over here.

The Go Pro camera Best of 2023 video (2 mins long). Bet you can’t watch this without saying ‘woahhhhh’ at least once!

This animated Op Doc in the NYTimes is a wonderful article on the healing powers of knitting (same could also be said about quilting).

Valentine’s Day

Yes lovers, it’s that time again. Time to wine, dine and knock the socks off the person you love. It doesn’t have to be about a significant other, it could be your friends or even yourself. Me, myself and I love to wine together ;)

But back to the quilting. I have a couple of heart themed tutorials if you’re looking for a small project to dress up a wall, table or couch.

Here’s a fun heart quilt block pattern tutorial, great with solids and scraps alike.

Here’s another patchwork heart quilted cushion cover pattern tutorial to try. Again, fantastic for using with scraps.

Over in the shop I have several heart themed quilt patterns that would work a treat for Valentine’s Day.

If you’re after something small, how about this Ribbon Heart Mini Quilt? (more photos in different fabrics here)

Then we have the Heartfelt Quilt Pattern, where the fabric colour changes across the whole length of the quilt. (Solid fabric version here, print fabric version here)

And finally, my current favourite, is Hello Hearts! This pattern looks great with all the hearts the same, and with scraps. (Single block version here, rainbow scraps here.)

Reader Quilts

Everyone’s favourite part of my updates! I love seeing the gorgeous quilts you’ve made from Bonjour Quilts patterns. Keep sending in your photos (email kirsty |at| bonjourquilts.com or tag me on Instagram or Facebook).

Firstly, come over to Bernie’s blog and read the story of her Diamond Quilt Block quilt. Bernie has made a beautiful gift to support a dear friend.

Here we have Joyce’s striking twin size Diamonds in the Deep. The teal green is gorgeous!

Kathleen sewed up two more patchwork drawstring bags for Christmas. These are a great through-the-year project you can work on to make sure you’re ready for December. You can find the tutorial for these bags here.

Charlene used the Adori Quilt Block tutorial to sew up two Christmas gifts for her son and daughter. I love how they are different but have a similar theme (just like siblings).

And Deb sent me some photos of the first two Alex Quilt Blocks she sewed up for a quilt for her grandson…Alex! He chose all the fabrics himself and I must say they look fabulous! You can find the tutorial for the Alex Quilt Block here.

Chez Bonjour

It’s been nothing but high humidity and sub-tropical rain here in my part of Queensland, Australia. The pool is overflowing and my hair is a frizzy mess. But at least the garden looks amazing!

The younger two kids are back in school and the older two will be at university in a couple of weeks. I still can’t believe they’re actual grown ups, to be honest. ????

And tomorrow is the start of February, which marks the start of my Festival of 50. I’m pretty happy I’ve made it to a half-century so I’m going to celebrate for a few weeks. I probably won’t make it to the next half-century marker so I need to live it up!

And finally, the cats send their love. Normally they like to sleep very close to each other:

However this month has been so hot and humid they have been sleeping in separate spots. Here’s Tigger looking like the angel he is not.

I hope this finds you all well and I wish you nothing but the very best for 2024!

Until next time,

Kirsty x

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