I am so happy to share that my Rainbow Cheetah Quilt is done! The finished quilt measures 70″ x 80″. I added extra background fabric to Violet Craft’s Cheetah Abstractions pattern to make this quilt fit on my bed. In Violet’s pattern, she gives options for both a traditionally colored cheetah in various shades of brown and also a rainbow version using 32 Kona colors. I used my Kona solids swatch cards and matched prints from my stash, and some were closer matches than others!
When I was at QuiltCon in February, I visited Violet’s booth and fell in love with her version on the rainbow cheetah quilt which measured 48″ x 60″. The photo below shows Violet in her booth with her amazing quilt behind her.
Rebecca Grace did the quilting for my rainbow cheetah using a variegated Cleopatra 40 weight thread with a Wildfire quilting pattern. I emailed Rebecca soon after I returned from QuiltCon, and she agreed to do the quilting for me after I pieced the cheetah pattern, and we set a tentative date in May for me to finish the quilt top and send it off to her. In the meantime, Rebecca made a big decision to do longarm quilting on a part-time basis for a store in Naples, Florida and to actually reclaim her evenings and weekends for herself! Please read the details about her big decision here. Even though I am sad that I won’t be able to send any more quilts to Rebecca for her to work her magic on them, I am totally supportive of her choice to have better work/home balance. Life is too short to spend far more time working than with her loved ones and her own creative ventures. And I’m thrilled that our final collaboration was on my rainbow cheetah quilt. If you can, please enlarge the photo below to see the beautiful thread and how it just glows with the Wildfire quilting pattern, bringing out all the rainbow colors in the quilt. Thank you, Rebecca, for all the amazing quilting you’ve done for me the past several years.
Here’s one more pic of the quilt. Literally one minute after I first put it on my bed, my cat, Sunny, had to jump on the bed and pose with the quilt! She obviously thinks she is the better looking feline!
Linking up to Quilting Jetgirl: Favorite Finish June 2024.
Quilting is in my Blood 
Oh wow, Mary – this is just gorgeous! I love seeing it on your bed, it gives a better idea of the size! I think Sunny is trying to one up the cheetah – haha. (I know a great longarmer if you are looking for one)
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Omg this post has me unexpectedly verklempt! I’ve got tears in my eyes seeing your cheetah quilt and reading how it’s your final collaboration with Rebecca Grace.
Zooming in to see the thread is what did it. What a magnificent piece, a poignant final collaboration, and what beautiful words you wrote about the importance of how we spend our time.
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Wow Mary, what a special quilt to have be the final collaboration with Rebecca. I’m glad you are going to get to keep and sleep under this one. And as much as I’m sure you love this quilt and are proud to have it on your bed, I can tell by her confidence and demeanor that Sunny is confident in your love! 🙂
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Thank you so much for linking up with Favorite Finish. I’m glad I got to stop by and admire this beautiful quilt again!!
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Beautiful result. The rainbow cheetah will cheer you up every time you see it.
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Mary it is so beautiful, even more so than I thought it would be! And of course Sunny is spectacular too. 😀 I actually like your version better than Violet’s, and I love the detail – how in the world did you do those whiskers? You must have really enjoyed putting it together, seems like it happened pretty fast. The quilting thread is perfect, and I love the quilting design for it. You’re going to love seeing it every time you walk into your bedroom!
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Oh yes, they are BOTH beauties!!! Fabulous job on making your own colors work!!! Wonderful quilting, too!!!
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