The following post appeared five years ago today. I really love this quilt and think I need to make another! Hope you enjoy this throwback post. Have a great day!
One of my goals for this month was to finish this Quilt of Valor. And it’s all done except for the label.
The standard Malachite panto is 10.75 inches wide. This one is 16 inches wide. Urban Elementz allows you to order pantos in custom sizes for a $2 up charge. Since my long arm, Friday, has a 24 inch throat, I can use larger pantos. So I decided to order a couple pantos in slightly larger sizes. I think it still looks good.
Here is a side by side comparison.
Obviously, the larger custom panto is a lot faster to quilt. It still gives great texture, but it also gives you a softer quilt.
Time to get that label done so this can be presented to a deserving veteran.
It would seem to be the wrong time of year to start a temperature quilt, but I just might do it. I was talking with my friend Kelly about this recently and then I found this bundle at Fat Quarter Shop . I will need to add a few more solids to extend the range, but this would give me a good start.
I wanted to include temps from both Michigan and Arizona in the same quilt, but how to do it had me stymied. Then I decided to do just the high temps for each state.
Kelly made this little quilt that I shared a while back and I think this design would be ideal.
I could use this die set for making bow tie blocks, but the triangle would not be as prominent.
I think I will piece a few blocks out of scraps today to try it out.
Remember this? It was taken in March of 2021. It was the day my friend Cactus Jack came to live with us.
He bloomed that very first season with us.
Jack was a good sport about getting dressed up for Christmas.
We bought old people clothes to pose for a photo with him.
The second year he put on quite the show! My friend Kelly sent me pictures since we weren’t there to see it in person.
E3 fell in love and talked of nothing else for months after he visited.
I even made him a quilt with Jack on it.
Sadly, the extreme heat this summer has taken a toll on many saguaros in the valley. I decided when I was there that Jack needed a cool drink of water.
Wrong, wrong, wrong. It made him heavy. Too heavy.
Last weekend, our dear neighbors sent me a text to say Jack was leaning.
He was. I couldn’t get anyone out to help, so I went in to action mode. Things got worse before they got better.
With the help of wonderful neighbors and my dear SIL, we got him propped up as best we could.
But then the monsoons finally hit, bringing the first measurable rain in nearly 150 days.
I woke up to this picture on my phone from our Blink camera.
It’s silly to cry over a cactus, and yet, I did. He lived over 60 years before he came to live with us. He should have outlived me by at least a hundred years. I hope he knows how much I loved him.
The day before I left AZ, Daughter #2 sent me a Marketplace ad for this.
This is more of what I really wanted for my dishes and just look at that color! It was very inexpensive. The seller only lives 5 minutes away and agreed to deliver. I am thrilled! my daughter knows me well!
KatyQuilts 