Desert Daydreams Design of the Month-Jacquie

Hi there, all you cool Pins and Needles!  It’s Melisa from Stitchology.  I’m back today to share with you our 8th block in the 2025/2026 Design of the Month program. On the 2nd Friday of each month, I release a new nine-inch raw edge applique block kit.  This year’s theme, Desert Daydreams, is inspired by my childhood in New Mexico. In addition to the monthly blocks, we will release a quilt that incorporates all 12 blocks as we approach the finish line.  The blocks are available as kits or PDF downloadable patterns and once the month is over that kit will no longer be available, so you will need to be sure to check back monthly to see the new design and to grab your kit while you can!

Kits can be purchased here:

Our eighth block features Jacquie the jack rabbit.  She is inspired by the bunnies I see on my daily walks, and by my friend/ customer who rehabs bunnies and sends me fun pictures.

Jacquie was a humbling block for me, because she took several tries to master.  My staff and customers tend to think I have instant success with all my designs because they don’t see the behind-the-scenes work- and the failures, so I thought today it would be fun to show a design fail. I think it’s important to understand that the creative process is fluid and no one perfects everything the first time no matter what talent they have.  And sometimes, in order to achieve the perfect result, you have to let go of the original plan.

Jacquie was the first block I designed for this series.  As soon as I had the theme of “Desert Daydreams” she immediately popped into my head and I thought how easy she would be to make.  Using the picture of a bunny munching on lettuce as my inspiration, I started with my rough drawing, cleaned that up and had some artwork I was pleased with.

The fabrics jumped out at me and selecting them was easy. The block was practically making itself and I was feeling quite proud of myself.  And then I sewed my first sample……………and it was not good.

This block makes me cringe! Her face is wonky, her eye is loopy and it is not the cute bunny I had been imagining at all.  I went back to my drawing and tried tweaking it, but nothing was right.  I was ready to throw in the towel, declare defeat and decided I had lost my magic touch.  Then I decided to change the perspective, and I drew her from the front instead of from the side as I originally planned.   

And it worked!

Another block I struggled with was this Claret Cup Cactus.  I was determined to include a Claret Cup in the collection because these are stunning plants when in bloom.  I was determined it would be the December block because of the red flower on the green cactus. Again, I was pleased with my artwork, but once it was translated to fabric…….it wasn’t quite right.

I have spent a bit of time tweaking the design and I still don’t know what bothers me about this block. While it’s not terrible, I don’t like it enough to kit up and sell so I set it to the side as I developed other designs.  Ultimately, this design didn’t make the final cut to be included in the full collection.  But you can download the pattern for free here:

If you need a refresher on raw edge applique, you can find the tutorial here:

Once you complete the Jacquie block, she can be set to the side until all the blocks are finished. We will be back in January with our 9^th block!

Thanks for reading! 

Melisa