Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Laughing Elephant--Make Us Laugh Blog Hop

Welcome to my stop on the Quilt Qwazy Queens blog hop, a celebration of National Quilt Day and the week surrounding it.  Thanks so much to Joan of Moosestash Quilting for hosting!

This year's theme is Make Us Laugh.  I struggled with the theme, because I kept trying to thing of a joke of some sort to put in a quilt.  And that just wasn't working for me.  So then I remembered a pattern I've been wanting to make that I think looks like what laughing feels like.  But Husband said that was too abstract.


I made it anyway.  I told him I planned to name it "Laughing Elephant."  He claimed the elephant isn't laughing, since the "laughter" is coming from his trunk like water and not from his mouth.  So I countered with those moments from elementary school when you laugh so hard that milk comes out your nose--clearly this elephant is laughing to hard that water came out his trunk!

fabric laughter!
So I hope the backstory of my elephant laughing so hard that it came out of his trunk made you laugh!  After all, that is the point!


The fabrics are all Island Batik.  The elephant is the solid gray.  In retrospect, I wish I used the new dark gray as the contrast would be better with the background.In person, the contrast is fine but it doesn't show up really well in photographs.  The laughter are all brightly colored scraps.  I sewed all the applique shapes with blanket stitch.The binding is Island Batik solid in fuchsia.


The pattern is "Paisley Splash" and is a free download from Windham Fabrics. I printed the splash pattern pieces on Heat 'n Bond EZ Print Lite sheets.  I did not use the layout from the pattern but instead played around until I found a layout I liked and then ironed it all down.  


You can kind of see the cross hatch quilting in this picture (above), if you look hard and ignore the wrinkles!  I did the quilting before adding any of the applique, including the elephant.


Laughing Elephant is my 7th completed project in 2020; my goal is 52 projects.


Be sure to check out all the quilters attempting to Make Us Laugh:

Wednesday March 18

Thursday March 19

Friday March 20
Monday March 23
Tuesday March 24

41 comments:

  1. Your elephant is definitely laughing, great job!

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  2. He looks like he is laughing to me, exuberantly while flinging the water in joyful playfulness. Great job!

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  3. He definitely looks like he's laughing; what a great idea and beautiful quilt!

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  4. Maybe not laughing, but happy, and the image brings a huge smile. Gorgeous fabrics.

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  5. I like the back story about you and your hubby discussing the quilt. It definitely made me smile.
    This is a great quilt over and above the giggles.

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  6. I remember those lunch room days with laughing so hard milk came through my nose. Thanks for the memories.

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  7. I've seen that elephant quilt in the past and always thought it would be fun to make. I love your version!

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  8. Laughing, for sure! Happy, for sure! Seven out of 52 is awesome!!!

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  9. I love this quilt and also the backstory. And I actually like the paleness of the gray for the elephant. It gives the elephant and ethereal quality and it makes the laughter pieces that much brighter.

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  10. Oh what does he know, where is his imagination? Ha Ha....I do love this and I agree with you on how it does look like laughing. Love it.

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  11. Oh Emily you nailed it with this adorable little guy! I'm grinning from ear to ear! Best yet I got a giggle out of thinking about the times I've shot milk and even soda out of my nose! Brings us right back to the fun things in life doesn't it?

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  12. Love it..makes me smile ...great goals for 2020 and thank you for the pattern link.

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  13. this is so adorable. and yes it made me laugh. thanks for sharing where the pattern is. this would be such a cute baby quilt quilting dash lady at comcast dot net

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  14. Actually I think this elephant is laughing, with or without water. Beautiful quilt.

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  15. He is laughing! So adorable. It is super cute.

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  16. I get it, and think it's very cute!

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  17. I love your laughing elephant. So much fun.

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  18. Very cute! I would have to have done it in houndstooth and the "water" in Alabama fabrics!! Thanks for sharing!!

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  19. You are a quilt genius! I am actually laughing ALONG with the elephant!

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  20. Elephants are my favourite wild animal and they always make me happy and so does your. Very sweet.

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  21. What a great quilt! I was laughing along with the little elephant. Thank you for sharing such a wonderful project, and good luck on making 52 quilts!!

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  22. it's fun and it's frivolous, definitely made me smile and it was ingenious to add the water sprinkling out of the elephants trunk.

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  23. Cute idea! And who doesn't love a happy elephant?!

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  24. Awwwww, this is so sweet. I love elephants so much!

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  25. Hi Emily! Oh, I'm so glad you didn't listen to your DH and made and shared this with us. It does look exactly like an elephant laughing, or at the very least, having a wonderful time. I adore all the different happy-looking fabrics you chose for the splashes. Thanks for the smile today - you achieved the mission goal. ~smile~ Roseanne

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  26. So fun to see your version of the Paisley Elephant! Very creative defense of your design. I think it's the perfect interpretation! :D

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  27. I love this, and I could see the laughter right away. You are entirely correct in your milk-snorting laughter (gee, only in elementary school?). Thanks for sharing such a lovely wall hanging and providing the link for the pattern.

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  28. Love the milk coming out of his nose idea - I can just see it! Beautiful colors, thanks for sharing.

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  29. I can definitely see this elephant laughing. Thanks for sharing your project!

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  30. It's a great story, and the colors really make the quilt pop. Thanks for sharing the story. Linda Pearl

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  31. Oh wow! It makes me smile! It feels like the elephant is playing in the water!

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  32. Hi Emily, your husband was being too literal :-) It's an awesome quilt, congrats!

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  33. Oh yes that elephant is laughing his/her head off for sure! I adore elephants and when they spray water like that they are happy.

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  34. Super cute project - very cheery and so sweet! Well done Emily.

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  35. The elephant is certainly laughing. If they cannot see it, they need to borrow your eyes. Look with magical eyes. And he definitely made me smile :-)

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  36. lol A laughing elephant - great quilt.

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  37. This is such a great project. I just love your Laughing Elephant.

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  38. A quilt that looks like what laughing feels like - what a great description! It looks fabulous!

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  39. Hello Emily, I hope you will overlook the fact that my comment is many months late, but I just discovered your post from following a link on another blog. While reading your post and seeing your funtastic Laughing Elephant Quilt, I had to tell you how much it brightened my night and did make me laugh!! Thank you for sharing the pattern link and definitely for creating and sharing your splendid quilt!

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