A Look at My Modern Elephant Block

One of the first quilt blocks I ever made was an elephant that I hobbled together from a pattern in my head (pictured below).

I've loved this block for years, but never had and idea as to what I could turn it into. Originally, I was hoping to make a full-sized quilt of elephants - but, as you can probably guess, that didn't happen. When I finished the block, the beginner quilter in me said - heh, yeah, that's too much work for a large bed quilt. So a single block, she remained. 

Then, when I signed up for to host a week here at 52 Quilters, Chris asked for an 8" block to commemorate my time, and, almost from the beginning, I knew I wanted to revisit this elephant. I dug out the older block, did some quick math, and realized that I had enough scrap fabric from the quilts I brought to Ecuador to complete a cute little block. So, without further adieu, I'd like to present to you my modern elephant quilt block:

She's a little more abstract that the original, and reminds me of a more cubist elephant, but she's a perfect representation of my style and sentiment. The pink and dark blue fabric are from my sponsored girl, Emily's, quilt. The white and teal dot are from Valeria's quilt, and the the solid blue is from Josué's quilt. 

I used a small, found button for the eye, and embroidered on a tail. All in all, I really love how this block turned out, and now that I've made another, I could easily see the original becoming part of a larger pillow sham or table runner. I still think it would be too much to make any kind of large quilt out of them, but a smaller wall-hanging could be cool. If anyone is interested in the pattern, please let me know. I'd be happy to share it. 

And so, while I'm blogging from Ecuador and bringing quilts to each of my kids here, I'm also using the same fabrics to remember my time hosting this blog. It has a sort of beautiful symmetry, no?

Post by Emily - Week #15:   Emily shares her love for sewing, gardening, and children’s ministry on her blog, With Elephant Grace. When she’s not picking numerous loose threads off her lap, Emily likes to post about encouraging Compassion International Sponsors, straw-bale gardening, and crafting. You can find out more about Emily by following her on Instagram.