Jungle Fever Baby Quilt

Last month we were supposed to have a baby shower for a woman that work with. She's having a little boy and said that her theme was elephants.  I looked around in my craft room and found this cute elephant panel and decided to make a baby quilt for her.

I added some colorful pinwheels along the edge of the panel and then made a strip of squares for the top and bottom of the quilt.  I picked the colors from my stash and thought they matched so well with the panel.

Then I added a dark blue strip to frame in the panel.  And surprisingly I had some elephant fabric that matched the panel that I used for the borders. 

I used the same blue for the binding and just love how it all turned out.  It was my first time working with a panel and I was unsure how it would turn out, but now I feel like I can use panels in my quilts without fear! 

I pieced the back using the elephant fabric.  So cute, right?

Of course, I had to make a card to match.  :)

I took it over to her house last week to give the quilt to her and she just loved it.  I can't wait to see pics of her new baby on it. 

What Do I Do With the Cute Girl in the Fabric Panel?

This past weekend while I was at a Quilt Show in my area, I found this cute fabric with drawings on it by Cori Dantini.  I immediately recognized the artwork because I have a date book with some of her artwork in it.  Her images are just so sweet- I love their whimsical look!

Of course, I just had to buy it!  I bought a few coordinating fabrics to go along with it.  (I had to get those, too!)   I'm not exactly sure what to do with the panels, but I'm sure that I will figure that out!

Today I wanted to make a tote bag to bring to my sewing group at church.  All of the members are making and donating tote bags for children that need to go into the foster care system.  So I decided to make pockets out of two of the panels for the front and back of the tote bag.  I just love how it came out!

I had the striped blue and the checked yellow fabric already, but I really like how they bring out the colors that are in the panel.  I'm sure some little girl would love to have this to bring to her new foster home.

Here is a pic of the other side of the bag.  The images in real life are a lot brighter than what the picture shows.  I think the girl in this panel is working on some embroidery!

Well, I've used up two of the panels.  What other things can I make with these fabric panels?  I'm open for ideas.  :)