Color Me Quilty: Elephants Under The Big Top!

I LOVE the design phase of quilting! So many possibilities! Last night I decided to have some fun designing a new block for a new quilt.

Approx. 19"x 23"

I've had this block in my mind's eye for a while now, but you never really know how it is going to turn out.

If you're curious, this is how I did it.

Fussy cut the elephants from the Caravan fabric. Size approx 9"x 12". The side strips are 1 1/2" wide. You will want to sew these on first.

Sew 1 1/2" strips to 4 1/2" strips (light green). Once strips are sewn on, I cut them to 7" long x 5" wide

Cut 5" blocks

Sew the block together and press.

Fold in half and make sure the the correct color face each other. Teal to teal.

Navy to navy

Stitch together and VOILA! Two-tone giant, dimensional, flying geese.

This was done for top and bottom of the block. Make sure you flip the colors so that they line up.

Cut a 5" square in half on the diagonal. Line it up so that about a 1/4" of the flying geese shows. It's okay if there is fabric hanging past the bottom.

Securely hold in place and stitch 1/8" from the bottom. I like to stitch from the back, easier to go over the seams and keep to an 1/8" (you don't want this stitching to show when you put the block together.

Once the bottom is secure, flip the edges up and press.

I hate using pins to hold this while I sew, so I use a thin line of Elmer's School glue. Then press. Because this is washable glue, it will wash out when you wash your quilt. I have never had this gum up my needle. Works great. Then stitch down each side.