The Elephant Quilt

March 27, 2016

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.