For a long time I have wanted to make the adorable “Paisley Splash” pattern by Windham Fabrics. I just needed the right excuse. So when Richard and I got the wonderful news that a fifth grandchild was on the way, I was all ready to tackle an elephant splash quilt.
This has certainly been a very popular pattern. Quilters have made many cute and creative variations, some with mirror-image elephants, some with baby elephants, even some with baby elephants holding umbrellas. I decided to stick with a single elephant. But I also wanted to emphasize the wonderful bounty of water (after all, I live in the desert) by having the “splash” create a flower garden. I enlarged the pattern and added my own flower and bird designs, so with the addition of the borders it measures 40 x 50 inches.
All of the applique pieces were cut from a single fabric, “Effervescence – Rainbow” by Robert Kaufman Fabrics. This fabric provides a bubbly full-width gradation from pink through yellows, greens, and blues to purple. That allowed me to selectively cut out a dark elephant, red flowers with green stems, and a rainbow of paisley-shaped water drops.
I made the quilt design entirely by hand with needle-turn applique and a few embroidered flowers, and then machine quilted it with mostly outline and echo stitching. Please click on the image below and use the full-screen and magnifying glass tools for a closer look at the details.
It was a joy to present “Splash! In My Garden” to Daria Rose Spingarn, born May 15, 2025.
