Hello, my dear friend,

The days are sunny and warm—it feels like summer is almost here in Belgium. This past April, we took a little trip to France, visiting castles and fortresses. I love castles and fortresses!

I'm currently listening to the latest book from the Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson. I think it's the longest book I've ever read—or listened to. It has over 60 hours (!) and (I just looked it up) 1,248 pages. What can I say? I like big books and I cannot lie! Jokes aside, I find listening to a book while drawing or walking a great idea. I also love long books because, if I enjoy the story, I know there are many more pages (or hours) to savor. I like getting to know the characters and following them on their long journey—they somehow become friends for a while. If an author mercilessly kills off too many characters (looking at you, George R. R. Martin), I’ll most likely stop reading their books.

I've also been making patterns and sketches. I'll start by showing you the patterns.

Patterns

I took an older illustration I had made of Pitzu—the beloved black cat my parents had when I was young—and turned it into a pattern. I was aiming for an Art Deco style, but ChatGPT says it leans more toward folk. You tell me!

Looking at this image now, I also notice a little mistake I had overlooked. I've corrected it on Spoonflower and Redbubble, but I'm leaving it here above in case you fancy a little search challenge.

Here are the links find this on my Spoonflower and Redbubble shops.

This year, I haven’t spent as much time looking at magnolias as I would have liked, but I did look!

A digital wallpaper featuring this pattern is this month’s gift for newsletter subscribers. You can download it here.

Here are the Spoonflower and Redbubble links.

And finally, my favorite pattern! I call it My Strawberry Thief. It’s, of course, inspired by our little dog, who loves strawberries—but to be honest, he loves most food! For this one, I worked with a long repeat tile because I thought it would look better on objects that are longer than they are wide, like a phone case.

You can find my strawberry thief through Spoonflower and Redbubble.