Learning to Quilt

59 Replies

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.

59 thoughts on “Learning to Quilt”

  7. Sonja Forrester

    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!

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. wordsfromanneli Post author

      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.)

      Liked by 2 people

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  14. Ursula Kurz

    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).

    Liked by 1 person

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  16. reocochran

    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!”

    Liked by 1 person

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  18. Texas Quilting

    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.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓
    1. wordsfromanneli Post author

      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).

      Like

      Reply ↓
    1. wordsfromanneli Post author

      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! 😉

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓
      1. buchstabenwiese

        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

        Liked by 1 person

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