I have three children; my oldest daughter and two boys. In 2020, I tested a pattern for a quilt designer and my daughter quickly claimed the quilt as hers. In true sibling fashion, that immediately meant that I had to make a quilt for the other two kids. Of course, I had made all three their own throw quilts but as my skills have developed over the years, I enjoy making bed quilts and figured it would be nice for all three to have their own bed quilts.
My middle child is wise beyond his years. He's sophisticated and craves knowledge. At the age of 3, he could tell you anything about every shark species. By the age of 4, he was obsessed with dinosaurs. And now at the age of 6, he's consumed with big cats.
As soon as we started talking about a quilt for his bed, he said he wanted something with big cats. I was a bit hesitant as I know how quickly his likes change and figured it might even change by the time I finished a quilt!
While looking for ideas in the Keepsake Quilting magazine, we came across the Animal Kingdom line by Robert Kaufman. There was no turning back, he was in love! We liked the pattern shown by Elise Lea but decided to twist it up a little. I bought enough Amish black, leopard and cheetah prints to add alternating borders.
The top went together fairly quickly and then came the fun part: longarm quilting on my APQS with Intelliquilter! We chose the pattern Fireweed by Urban Elementz because we thought it would compliment the leopard's paws, claws and overall feeling of the panel.
The edge to edge pantograph quilting complimented the style just as we intended. And the best part, he absolutely ADORES the quilt. He loved being involved in the process and helping along the way. Will I have to make another quilt in a year when he's into something entirely different?! Probably, but do I really need an excuse to make another quilt? 😁