This quilt is made from a panel. I cut the panel into individual blocks comprised of cactus blooms and pieced them into squares using the Maple Island Quilts pattern – BQ.

I bought the cactus block panels at the 2010 Creative Stitches and Crafting Alive Show held at Tradex in Abbotsford.

The BQ pattern is written for 12″ and 18″ sized blocks.  In order to proportion the block to fit the cactus prints, I resized the pattern to make a 9″ finished block.  I then set the blocks together with sashing and cornerstones from the same fabric as the background fabric in the blocks to give the appearance that the blocks are floating on the quilt top.  I used cornerstones to assist with lining the blocks up from one row to the next. 

This pattern remains one of my “favorites” as it pieces up quickly and is a great go-to for showcasing those prints that I seem to be attracted to.  This quilt was pieced to the flimsy stage on July 4, 2011 and was quilted on June 10, 2025 proving that we should never give up on even the oldest of our UFOs. 

Quilt size: 56″ x 76″