Paper piecing quilts: Elephant Abstractions

Paper piecing is a type of quilt making in which you sew patches directly onto a paper template (foundation).  You then join the different sections to construct the full quilt. It allows tremendous precision and can be used for nearly every type of quilt, including this fabulous elephant.

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Imarra by Marilyn Reid Pollow, quilted by Quality Quilterz

This stunning, large quilt depicts a female elephant matriarch in her habitat in Africa. This great quilt was based on the Elephant Abstractions pattern by Violet Craft. Marilyn Reid Pollow created an artistic background with natural-hued prints resembling the ground, trees/bushes, and sky. A particularly clever touch was the use of two different African print fabrics in the double border. The overall quilting design resembles giant footprints (below). 

In the closeup photo below, you can see the elephant's eye and the bridge of its trunk, all done with paper piecing using gray, taupe, and black fabrics.

 Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2023 Quilt Fiesta (Tucson, Arizona).