After finishing three bags at the quilting retreat, I was looking through some red scraps and found this elephant. I was about to cut the material up to make a bag with an elephant on one side when my quilting buddy suggested I make a coffee table topper. She has a good eye for possibilities and suggested the corners to accent the center. It was also her idea for me to make a flange.
I had never made a flange before, and in case you don’t see it, it’s the narrow dark border around the elephant square. The really neat thing about a flange is that this little trim lifts up and has a 3-D look. My free motion quilting is still … let’s say … in its developmental stage, but I had fun sewing swirly elephant-trunk-like designs all over the work. In the end, I was happy I didn’t make yet another bag out of this elephant.
Very nice looking work Anneli! 😀
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I’m glad now that I didn’t do a bag with it.
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He’s cute!
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Yes, a happy fellow.
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That’s really cool! Nice execution of a great idea!
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I’m so glad my friend had some good ideas.
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Your free motion looks great! That elephant is pretty adorable, too.
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I’ve just learned a few more tips about free motion quilting so I’ll be looking to try those out next.
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I can hear elephants trumpeting in praise for that one! BEAUTIFUL!!
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Haha. I can imagine him screaming and trumpeting but not sure what he’d be saying. Maybe, “Get away from me with that needle!”
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🙂 It’s a lovely coffe table topper, Anneli!
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Thanks, Dina. Glad you like it.
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Anneli, this is gorgeous! You could sell those!
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If I thought that was a possibility my sewing machine would be smoking hot by now. But thanks for the nice compliment.
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No, really, I can see where many people would love an Anneli original of this elephant or similar designs.
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Well, now I have something I can works towards. Thanks. 😉
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I have to agree with Luanne, you could sell those!!! 🙂 I love it! Bags are nice and useful, but this way you can enjoy your elephant at every meal or even when you are simply walking past your table. It is so beautiful!
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Aw, that’s sweet of you guys. Thank you. I have to get a lot better at quilting before I can sell this kind of stuff, but meanwhile it’s fun to work on it.
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That’s adorable, Anneli! I love it!
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He’s a cute little elephant. I keep thinking of the only circus elephant I know of and I’ve been thinking how mean of the other elephants to call him Dumbo. I guess he showed them though when he used his big ears to fly. (Kids will believe anything.)
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You are an all around artist 🙂
Good Stuff 🙂
Cheers !
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Thanks, Hans. So nice of you to say so.
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Beautiful colours, lovely work!
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Thank you, Belinda.
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Cute fella!
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Yes, he is kind of cute.
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Wow. is there no ceiling to your talent?
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For sure there is, but I like to try a lot of things and I’m finding that one life is not enough to do all the things I want to do. At least I’ll never be bored.
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Awesome. Inspiring, your energy level and your pursuit.
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Thanks, David. I feel the same way when I read about your running.
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Next on the list – cushion covers to match !
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What a good idea, Raili.
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I’ll be waiting for the pics 🙂
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Beautiful work Anneli! This elephant is so cute! And I love the colours a lot. And yes, you could sell your work and make a lot of money (which would probably take the fun out of it).
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You’re right about the selling, but maybe when i have so many things all over the house and I can’t give it all away, maybe then I’ll sell it. 😉
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Let me know when this happens!!!
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You’ll be the first to know. 😉
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Isn’t great to have like-minded friends who can give us some insights? You did a great job with her suggestion. Very nice.
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Thank you, and yes, that’s it exactly – like-minded friends helping each other out.
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Angela gave me the idea for the cracked wedding frame and the split screen on my book cover for Whit’s End. It’s so great having creative, kind friends.
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Two heads are better than one, right?
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Elephants are gentle and wise. I like this really nice coffee table decorative fabric tapestry. Nicely made, Anneli.
I do come and read your older posts, knowing I am late to arrive. My Mom always said, “better late than never!”
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Always happy to see that you’ve left a comment, Robin.
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You’re welcome, but as you know a lot of our community has retired or doesn’t work as many hours. Someday, I hope to visit more often in a timely fashion, Anneli. 🙂 xo
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This is horribly pretty! 🙂
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Okay, if you think so. Thank you, I guess.
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Wow! What a fantastic idea to put the flange in the main section of the quilt. This probably sounds dumb, but I’ve always only used it in conjunction with the binding (which I like to do because then I can machine sew the entire binding and don’t have to hand sew the back down). That looks great! Thanks for making me think about flange in a totally different way.
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I had to chuckle about this because it’s the first time I’ve ever sewn a flange and I know little about them except that I’ve always like the look. I’m glad you like the way I’ve used it (without knowing the difference).
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It looks great! I think your friend was right about the little squares in the corners too. They really set off the picture in the middle very well.
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Thank you, Bun. It has given me ideas for other table toppers with accent corners.
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I wish I had the talent to create something like this – gorgeous, Anneli.
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It’s not hard at all, but it sure helps to have experienced quilters give you tips.
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Hast du das selbst genäht, liebe Anneli? (Ich konnte den Text leider nicht zu 100 % verstehen. Trotz Google-Übersetzer. 😉 ) Das sieht auf jeden Fall super aus.
Liebe Grüße,
Martina
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Ja, selbst genaeht. Der Elefant war schon im Muster (sagt man das so?) aber alles andere habe ich selbst zusammen genaeht. Oh my goodness, that was a strain (anstrengend) for me to try saying it in German! 😉
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Ja, das kann man so sagen. Das verstehe ich. 🙂 Danke, dass du das auf Deutsch geschrieben hast.
Ich finde es auch anstrengend, wenn ich etwas auf Englisch sagen möchte. Ich bin so ungeübt darin. 🙂 Bei Instagram versuche ich den Text zu den Bildern auch immer in beiden Sprachen zu schreiben, Deutsch und Englisch. Aber das Deutsche lässt sich nicht immer genau so ins Englische übersetzen, wie ich es auf Deutsch schreibe. 🙂
Liebe Grüße,
Martina
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Es scheint als ob wir dasselbe Problem haben, nur umgekehrt. Bei mir geht’s viel besser auf Englisch und bei dir besser auf Deutsch. 😉
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As an aside, I used to be fluent in German…gotta get that fluency back!
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I love that you quilt…another creative venture. I like your elephant creation!
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I’m a relative newbie at it, but I love it. I joined the quilters’ guild and they are really helpful and inspiring.
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