Applique Elephant {a finished quilt}

I needed a quilt for a friend’s baby shower, so I went to my copy of the book Quilts, Baby! for an idea.

This book has many inspirational and very original patterns in it, but I don’t recommend it to a beginner.  It’s more for an experienced quilter.

The elephant is raw-edge appliqued to the front.  After washing and drying, the edges of the elephant are softly frayed.

The background gray stars, the gray of the elephant’s body, and the pale yellow solid on the back are all Quilter’s Candy from Connecting Threads.  The brown for the eye and binding are from my stash.  And the blue plaid for the ear is from a recent trip to JoAnn’s.  It just called out to me from the fabric bolts as I was walking past.

The baby’s initials are embroidered with gray perle thread on the elephant’s neck. 

I wanted to make a matching basket for the baby’s room, using the same fabrics from the baby’s quilt.  The lining is solid yellow and the handles and bottom are linen.

I didn’t know what to put in the basket, but then I found a cute hooded towel (washcloths too) and onesies with elephants to carry on the theme and colors.

Too cute!

The finished quilt is 42” x 42”.   The batting is higher loft.

Thanks for reading!  Have a wonderful day!

Linking up with Fort Worth Fabric Studio and Crazy Mom Quilts.

Ellison Lane Modern Mini Challenge

I finished up another mini quilt last night.  This one measures 18” x 18” and is made mostly with DS Quilts Aunt Edna and some Hope Valley small gray print.  I know some people are sick of gray, but not  me!

This pattern was from a 2006 copy of Patchwork Quilting magazine.  I got a bunch of older quilting magazines from a friend, and this little mini caught my eye.  It was really good practice for me.

I almost didn’t buy that green houndstooth print when I saw it.  But I’m so glad I did.  I think it looks so pretty with the tomato red color and these little blocks were only 1.5”, so I needed small scale prints.

The backing is this great Aunt Edna plaid and the binding is from another DS Quilts line. 

I auditioned several prints for the binding, but I’m glad I went with the red and white stripe. 

Even the new cat approved!  I am entering this mini quilt in the Ellison Lane Modern Mini challenge.  There are some great prizes, and I picked fabrics that I thought my husband would approve of, hoping her husband likes them too!  His pick wins a $100 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop and I could put that to good use!

I am linking up this finish to Crazy Mom Quilts.