So I have been asked to make a baby quilt for my friend Teresa whose daughter is having a baby girl. She showed me a pink and gray mama and baby elephant quilt to give me an idea for the theme. So I did a little searching around and I will be making my own version of this!
This is a free pattern that can be found at www.windhamfabrics.com designed by Mytesha & Katie and written by Laura Jaquinto. The original quilt Teresa showed me was a little more pastel than this one so I am toning it down a bit. I am also adding a baby elephant next to the mama. The background is going to be light gray, the mama and baby elephants are going to be a medium gray with polka dots.
I'll be using a light gray cotton for the background and for the paisley "water" I'll be using a variety of pink flannels.
Here is the first batch of paisley pieces . . .
So my plan is to use Heat N Bond to fuse these pieces down and then satin stitch around the edges. Not so sure how I'm going to do the baby elephants tail. Would you use gray thread or pink thread? This quilt isn't very big at all so I'll be adding an extra border around all four sides. I haven't decided exactly what I'll do for the extra border yet.
This is the fabric I"ll using on the back. It is the most soft and cuddly stuff! I just love it! It's kind of like minky but not so thick.
I'm having fun cutting everything out, now we'll see how well the fusing part goes!
And yes, I am still on track with Morgan's quilt. Getting at least 15 minutes of sewing done every day. I am officially half way done with his quilt top!
Would you like to see a few more quilts from the Boise Basin Quilt Show?
This was made by Jean Van Bockel and quilted by Susan Nelson.
Her description said "The center of the quilt is a hand applique of our home with a photocopy of my sister and me standing on the porch wearing cowgirl outfits. The blocks are fabrics I used in clothing and quilts or are leftover quilt blocks. You will also find a pocket from a favorite dress and doll clothes, some made by my Nana."
Here are a few closeups of the details . . .
Still got a few more to show ya next time around!
If anyone has some tips an inexperienced appliquer ought to know, please share!
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First of all I love your version of Paisley Splash. The addition of the baby elephant works very well and you could even space it out a little more and cut the background a little bigger if you haven’t already cut it. Either thread colour will work, pink would make a lovely contrast in my opinion, especially with satin stitch, just remember to use a stabiliser behind. I can’t believe how fast you are making Morgan’s quilt, it looks wonderful. Lastly I loved seeing the quilts from the show, especially the first one, the details are wonderful, thank you Janice.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a sweet colour palette - I love it! The backing is perfect too. Kate has stolen my tip, but I know Paige has a tutorial on her blog so check that out if you haven't already. Morgan's quilt is coming along quickly!
ReplyDeleteNo tips from me, but I do so love your elephants and water. I continue to be impressed with your 15 minutes a day and I can see the progress in Morgans quilt.
ReplyDeleteI am loving seeing your progress. The elephant quilt is going to be darling. If it were me I would use a dark grey thread on the elephants. Did you put fusible on the parts before you cut them? And is it the light weight one?
ReplyDeletethat is a lovely pattern but with the wifi I have that is the only photo that opened! I will look forward to seeing the quilt another day
ReplyDeleteThe elephant quilt is darling. My tip is to pull up the bobbin thread when you start sewing. Also you can use any stitch you want to hold the applique down. I wouldn't use satin stitch since it takes a lot of thread, is slower and pulls the fabric. Maybe a close zig zag, a button hole stitch, or even an embroidery stitch. I like my stitches closer enough to secure things but not overwhelmingly so. The quilting can help hold down the applique too.
ReplyDeleteI really like the house quilt. So precious.
Wow, the start to this is amazing! I love the pink "water" swirls and the polka dot gray for the elephants is perfect! Lucky baby!
ReplyDeletePerfect solution! I love this quilt idea. You’ve been given a lot of good advice already. I agree with Shasta about the stitching. The baby elephant should have a pink tail! Can’t wait to see it completed.
ReplyDeleteLove the elephant baby quilt! It's very pretty. Congrat on all the progress on both projects. You have to be sewing more than 15 minutes a day to get all of that done!
ReplyDeleteThose elephants are adorable. Have fun. I'm hoping to start with sewing 15 minutes a day to get myself back into the swing of things and back on track.
ReplyDeleteThis quilt is going to be soooo cute! I have a copy of this pattern, too, but have never been brave enough to try it. I'll be eagerly following your progress and reading any tips you have :)
ReplyDeleteYour changes to the elephant quilt are fantastic! I love how it looks so far. And grey for the tail, but you could put a pink bow on it if you wanted both colours.
ReplyDeleteLove love love the baby quilt!!
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