Ingrid Whitcher

The last month at Guild meeting, I saw an incomplete quilt top with lots of potential on the “free table”. The members often bring fabric scraps, old pattern and magazines, and occasionally a UFO that they do not want to complete.

I saw the frogs and snatched it up. I did re-do the eyes and then added the borders. I put it on the long-arm with a polyester thread. I quilted up beautifully. I even made myself do pebble work in the center and borders – with success.

I like the skinny inner border and matching binding. I machine stitched the binding since it will probably be given to a child – well loved and washed often. I had a great piece of grass fabric already in my stash.

I am so glad that I finally get to share this project. I have been working on it for the past 6 months – no it did not take me that long, but I was not to share it. It was part of a challenge that my guild put on (Pensacola Quilters Guild). I LOVE Challenges.

The challenge was this:

• We randomly drew a word – Walk
• The word we drew must be in a song title – “Baby Elephant Walk”
• Randomly drew a color – dark royal blue
• Randomly drew an embellishment – Prairie points
• No larger than 24×36 inches

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I picked the song from a movie that my kids watched a lot when they were little, “Hatari”(1962). Logan went through a phase that all movies he watched had to have John Wayne in it. It is a beautiful movie with a lot of animals and lovely music.

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I was going to try to do something traditional – and I started well with a hand appliquéd elephant, but then I fell back into my curved designs.

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I did break out of my normal cautionary process and did not make a master and a copy. I cut up and destroyed the original as I pieced the quilt. Guess what – it worked! There will not be any patterns made from this design.

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I enjoyed every part of making this quilt. I enjoyed the colors, coming up with the design, planning the quilting and quilting. I love the line (circle) of quilted elephants. What was even better is that I did not have to buy anything. I even used a scrap piece of bamboo batting.

Just 3 more blocks to go and then need to design how they will all fit together. Of course, I left the hardest 3 for last. I have definitely improved over the course of this project and no longer go kicking and screaming when I need to appliqué something. =)

Mom sent me this small quilt quite some time ago.

I am trying to make myself not have more than 5 quilting projects at a time. (I mean un-quilted tops.) I have several tops in various stages as well. I am purposing not to start a new piecing project if I have more than 5 tops to quilt. This will help me work through some of my UFO’s.

I tried to keep the quilting somewhat traditional since the fabrics are vintage in style.

I also tried the new binding technique for this – love the “faux” piping.

Another baby blessing in our church is to be born in April.

I found a picture in a magazine, but I am not good at following patterns. I did try – but just could not do it. Mainly because the math just would not work out. The directions were poorly written – So frustrating!

I was not about to waste all of that cute fabric … So, I did what I do best. Starting with drafting and then making it all work. I really liked that the hour glass blocks are in two sizes.

I so rarely do chain piecing that it was a nice change of pace for me.

I quilted it on the long-arm. I am definitely getting more comfortable with it. The loading and quilting is not taking as long. I did a pieced back – love the words!