Sunday, April 26, 2015

Tanzania-Inspired Baby Quilt

What quilter doesn't love making baby quilts? I had so much fun making this one for my nephew and his wife. We have been obsessed with African animals since last fall, so we were thrilled that the parents-to-be chose animals as their nursery theme. Lorna McMahon of Sew Fresh Quilts launched her Elephant Parade Quilt Along at just the right time! 


You know I couldn't just follow the pattern. I had to tweak it just a little and add my own details. I pieced fewer blocks and added a cute border. 

Our memories of our Tanzanian safari were stitched into this baby quilt. There's nothing sweeter than a mama and baby elephant!


I had done all the piecing of this quilt on my vintage Featherweight. When it came time to embroider the eyes, I didn't want to switch to the Bernina, so I tried free motion embroidery on the FW. It worked! I'll show you how I did it very soon.


I went with yellow for the birds because I was already planning to use it in the border, and because we saw these cute birds everywhere.


By the way, the blue elephant below was pieced from fabric leftover from the wedding quilt


I simplified Lorna's flower pattern (and used orange fabric from the wedding quilt)...


... to mimic the fireball lily.


The leopard tortoise makes an appearance.



 The border print is Peek-a-Zoo by Timeless Treasures. After cutting the directional borders for the front, I didn't have enough left for the back.

 

Since I had to piece the back anyway, I figured I may as well make this a 2-sided quilt. I super-sized Lorna's adorable giraffe. One of the leaves is the label, with a space left blank for the baby's name.

 

When I saw the picture of Lorna's design, I told her it reminded me of my favorite view of giraffes on safari. They are so funny and beautiful!


Heidi is a beautiful mom-to-be. Mark is ready to go with his new burp cloths.


Great Grandma crocheted a beautiful baby blanket. Mollie is thinking, "Hey, that looks just like mine!"
 

They had a surprise for us, too! Great Grandma cut into the gender reveal cake to find she'll be 6 for 6 with girls. No great grandsons yet.
 

So there you have it. Washed in Ivory Snow, all crinkly and soft.
 

Elephant Parade
 Started 4/9/15
Completed 4/16/15
43 X 52" (after washing)

5 comments:

Sue SA said...

beautiful quilt, such fun and will have great memories for everyone.

Janet Ann said...

Just Adorable! Love it!! and the story that goes along with it!!

Debbie said...

Very sweet!

Lorna McMahon said...

So, so CUTE! I love the border with this design and the flowers and birds match perfectly! The back was also quite a surprise. I love this adorable quilt. Congratulations to you and your whole family on the news of a new little girl!

Dee said...

Amazingly awesome! Well done!