Ambika the Minton Elephant Quilt

I bet there are two words in that title that you're not familiar with, right? Ambika is the name of the Asian Elephant that lived in the National Zoo (Washington, DC) for 59 years. She died last week at the same time I was making this quilt, so I gave my quilt that name.

Minton. Is that related to Minion? NO! It's the name of the fabric designed by Kaffe Fassett at least 15 years ago. So, now what does the quilt look like?

Ambika the Minton Elephant: 44" x 46"

Here's a closeup of the block as it morphed. I designed it 15 years ago. I cut it out with this fabric 4 years ago. Then I "lost" it in my sewing room (as I told you a few days ago).

Minton (see the fabric name?) Elephant

Auditioning my elephant with a beige background fabric.

Auditioning my Minton floral elephant with a beige background

Remember, I told you about being "lost" in a binder?

Minton elephant in protective sleeve in a folder!

And I took her out and gave her a sip of water and let her hang out with some other beautiful fabric.

I had a plan to surround her with strips and 4-Patches and I only stopped because I ran out of the beige fabric! But it's a good size and my husband likes it. It reminds him of when we lived in Africa (they have elephants, too!) - 40+ years ago.

You can find this 8 page pdf pattern at my Etsy store. You can make it in any colors, of course. I've included full size templates for the elephant to face either East or West. And  5 pages of detailed instructions (two of which are diagrams).