The Elephant Quilt


My cousin is about to have a little girl ... when I asked her what she wanted in a quilt ... she replied, "I'm thinking sunshine yellow and maybe some various shades of green (spring, lime, etc.). I know a lot of people are pairing yellow and gray but I'm going for a warmer palette -- cream and natural browns instead of gray.   I'm doing a mix of animals for a motif (I am doing a project where I am framing various animal drawings with their "plural" names, e.g. "a parade of elephants").  We do have a chocolate brown rocking chair from K's grandma so trying to find a way to tie that in, too"

So that ... was the basis for this quilt.

The color palette and new fabric:




I do believe I made a couple of tweaks on the fabric as I couldn't find everything I was looking for.  With no LQS yet located near me ... I was pushed online to buy my solids.  I started at Fabric.com, but they are now charging a 50% premium for 1/2 yard cuts over their full yard prices ... while I appreciate why they have done this, the reality is I can't afford it and I didn't need 10 yards of greens and yellows to add to the stash.  So I went over to fabricshack.com who actually had a better selection of Kona solids and had a lower price per yard.  If I can't buy local, I am going to go for the lowest price.


Elephant Quilt Applique
The elephants were appliqued on.  While, I like the look, it definitely creates a shift in how the fabric feels after it's complete ... stiff.  Hopefully that will settle down after a little while.



The back is pieced ... a few prints from the stash for a little interest.  I had a diagonal cut piece of material that I had used before to make some bias.  I thought that it would carry the diagonal theme from the front ... it's OK ... but I wouldn't do it again if I had an option.


I am pleased with those points however!  And you can see that I went with a meandering quilt stitch.  I really debated this one ... I wanted to straight line ... but am still perfecting that approach and didn't want to risk it on this one.  And I do love that crinkled look you get with the meandering stitch.


The binding was in the stash & I'm not sure I have the name of the print.  It was machine finished with mitered corners.  

Quilt by the numbers:


  • Finished quilt dimensions:  A generous 40" x 48"
  • ~ 1/3 yard each of Kona solids + 2 yards of the pale yellow (Kona Meringue).  
Because I had purchased 1/2 yard amounts, I had enough to make a slightly smaller one which I have done the straight line quilting on the diagonal and have put in my Etsy shop.  I actually prefer the straight-line quilting ... I think it goes better with the design.  And I prefer the back on the shop quilt.



I did have a couple of learnings from this effort which I will share next week ... and a few questions for you talented quilters to help me with ...

Hope all is well with you and yours.

All the best,
Lisa


Comments

  1. I like your 'angled' back, to me it looks like an elephant house at the zoo, perfect!

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  2. Great quilts! I like the little parade of elephants, and I like the back of the small quilt, too. Happy Easter!

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  3. I'm looking forward to next week's post to see more details!

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