Tu-Na Quilts: On Pins and Needles

I spend my winters in the Sonoran desert around Phoenix, Arizona. I’ve loved the saguaro cactus from the first time I’ve seen it. Click here or here to read more about what I wrote about these majestic beauties.

And I love to see the cacti bloom in the summer. Click here or here to read more about what I wrote about some magnificent desert blooms.

The U.S. seems to have unusually snowy and cold weather this winter. Here in the desert we have not been immune to this unusual weather. We received over two inches of rain in two days last week and awoke several days to frost on the golf course. On Sunday, Tu-Na Helper and I, along with my sister and her husband, took a very short drive to see the snow which had fallen around the area.

People who’ve lived here over 30 years have never seen snow on the Superstition mountains. It stayed for three days.

It’s not unusual to occasionally see the tip of Four Peaks (just to the left of the Saguaro in the center of the picture) with some snow. However, it is unusual to see snow this far down on the mountain and this deep.

When I started planning for the upcoming Sew Let’s QAL, I decided to make several useful projects for myself and my sewing room in my Arizona house. It seemed just natural to incorporate some cactus fabrics into the blocks. (Click here to read the Sew Let’s QAL introductory post in case you missed it)

I couldn’t resist buying a half yard of each of these three when I was shopping at my local quilt shop earlier this month.

I also found a few cactus fabrics in my stash.

So I decided my Arizona sewing room will have a few new projects made with cactus fabrics. I also added other fabrics from my stash.

I’ll use these fabrics for all the blocks in Segment One making one larger project.

I’ll use the fabric groups below for the remaining blocks for Segments Two and Three. I’ll be making several blocks from each fabric group for my projects.

What I Learned Today:

I change my mind a lot (Tu-Na Helper already knows that) so I reserve the right to eliminate or add other fabrics. That’s half the fun of picking the fabrics.
I can teach my sister something new. To remove a small cactus sticker from a finger (or other body part), cover it with white school glue and let it dry. Then peel it away. I keep a bottle in our first aid kit.
We haven’t had to use it yet.

Question: Do you think of color when you think of a cactus or the desert? I even found tiny purple wild flowers on Sunday.

Thanks for stopping by and do come again.

Karen, Tu-Na Quilts

28 thoughts on “Tu-Na Quilts: On Pins and Needles”

Leslie Schmidt February 27, 2019 at 12:10 am

I love all your fabrics, Karen. I’m sure your blocks are going to be spectacular. I’m afraid I usually think of green when I think of cacti. I’ve never seen any in person when they are blooming, but I have enjoyed your photos. I’m looking forward to seeing what you clever designers come up with. We have a friend who lives somewhere in AZ, and he has sent us pictures of the snow he has received. It looked like Minnesota! We’ve had over 20″ in February.
Stay warm.

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