Leo the Lion

Brady’s Leo the Lion quilt is a very happy finish. As I stated in the progress post, this is a pattern I bought from Tartan Kiwi Designs ten years ago, knowing I would one day make it for him. I intended it to be the centre of a quilt, and even when I first started making it, that was the plan. However, as I often say, quilts talk, and this one decided it wanted to be THE star, and so it has become a wallhanging.

I think he was right: he is the star.

I’ve been back home for a few days now. It sure makes one appreciate one’s life partner, aka husband, when dealing with inside and outside house stuff, two dogs, one of whom is, ahem, high maintenance, and general life stuff. MacGyver gets home early next week.

In the progress post, I’d left it at the centre block stage, intending to put floating stars randomly around with paw blocks in the corners. Once I knew it would be a wallhanging, I auditioned two frames, a narrow pop of colour with a final navy.

I went with the gold from his face, thinking the orange was too close to his mane, but intending to use it as cornerstones. In no time, especially after all the time spent paper-piecing the centre, I had a flimsy. All this while I was dealing with a lot of pain in my right foot, (yes, the sewing pedal foot!) from a ganglion cyst that turned into bursitis. Monday, May 25, before I left for Edmonton, MacGyver drove me 60 km up the 401 highway to Chatham to see a chiropodist who happened to have a cancellation; otherwise the ones in Windsor were looking at August or October for availability. She (Sasha Kozera-Faye, B.Sc. D.Ch. highly recommend) spent a lot of time with me explaining what was going on, gave me two options, and I took the second: short term pain (lidocaine and steroid shot—yeeoww—but by Brady’s grad on June 6 it was finally starting to feel better.

I’ve had the lion-themed backing for several years too, thinking of using it somewhere in a lion quilt, front or back. I did use some a few years ago for a 'very large' pillow case as per Brianne’s request for Brady, so it wasn’t quite big enough, but pieced backs have long been in my wheelhouse, not a problem. Onto Avril it went.

The triangle part of his nose and the flowing lines in his mane were both inspired by Tartan Kiwi’s lion.

I used a variety of threads from polyester to cotton, six different colours.

I made ‘whiskers’ in his muzzle and after studying some lion photos online, quilted his chin fur as you see. A basic meander went in his face and background. I did a fair amount of ditch-stitching on his face features and mouth and pink nose, and of course in the frame seams. I did piano keys in the navy and a dot-to-dot in the cornerstones.

In the sun to better show the quilting:

I’m really pleased with it! Here’s the back:

I did a pretty sweet job of aligning the lion fabric, not so much with the plaid, but I didn’t have enough but it was the perfect tone of red and cream.

The label:

Were it to be judged, they’d not like the clash of the orange binding against the red backing, but too bad, because it works so well on the front! Here you can see the dot-to-dot design I did in each cornerstone.

This is for Brady’s 18th birthday which is in July, but since I was flying out for his graduation, I wanted to give it to him in person.

A fine young man he has become.

Grad 2026

I did not get a photo of him holding the quilt while I was there, but MacGyver has promised he will get one for me so I can add it to this post. He forgot on Sautrday which is when I am writing this to post tomorrow, Sunday. 

Quilt Stats:

Size: 34.5" square

Pattern: Lion by Tartan Kiwi Designs

Fabric: stash

Batting: Thermore by Hobbs

Backing: The Farmer Fancy by Windham Fabrics in Association With The National Museum of The American Coverlet

Quilted: on Avril, 31 615 stitches

Threads: pieced on my Bernina with Gütermann; quilted with Essential 100% cotton, Aurifil 100% cotton and Exquisite 100% polyester; rayon by Floriani in the bobbin.

I’ve got the third of my three Lyra quilts loaded and hopefully can get it quilted and bound by Monday or Tuesday. The parade of quilts opens on Monday, and will be open for one week!