A Day at the Zoo, Part 1

Hi Quilting Friends,

Spring and early summer are the best times for a visit to the zoo!  The weather isn’t too hot yet, and the new baby animals are out and about, ready for visitors.  My husband and I took our boys to several zoos during our family vacations over the years, and it was always a nice way to spend the day.

Susan and I decided to create a zoo as our very first commercial quilt pattern, and then, about a year later, we returned to the zoo theme for another visit (and another quilt pattern)!  If you’re interested in purchasing animal blocks or a zoo quilt pattern, just click the images and links below to visit Ms P’s Pattern Shop!

Here’s a photo of our original zoo quilt, “A Day at the Zoo”, made by Sharon using brightly-colored scraps:

And here’s a picture of our “A Day at the Zoo, 2.0”, made by Susan with pretty bright pastels:

Some of the animals are the same on both zoo quilts, so we’re going to have a look at them in today’s post.

The peaceful giant panda,

 

Our visit to Washington, DC, included a trip to the National Zoo to see the giant panda exhibit!  They’re such amazing animals, and we spent quite a while just watching them.

The kingly African lion,

 

The lions at our Houston Zoo don’t seem to do much except lie around and enjoy a nap in the sunshine, with an occasional large & lionly yawn.  I suspect that they’re more active at night.

The fun-loving zebra,

 

The zebra exhibit at the San Antonio Zoo included several other compatible animals, so it was fun to watch them interact with each other.  They seemed happy to have such a nice big space to run around.

The brilliant flamingo,

 

The San Antonio Zoo also has a large population of flamingos, which some folks would call a “flamboyance of flamingos”.  (I Googled it!)  I found it interesting that their nests are built on the top of a pile of mud.

The gentle giraffe,

 

We always visit the giraffe exhibit first when we go to the Houston Zoo.  I guess that they’re a favorite with many visitors, as the area is usually full of people.  Giraffes are SO cool!

And the perky penguin,

 

My favorite penguin display was at Moody Gardens in Galveston, TX.  The birds were swimming around in a nice cold aquarium, with plenty of rocks for resting (and nesting) when they got tired of swimming.

Come back next time to meet the rest of the adorable animals from the original “A Day at the Zoo” quilt!  Thanks for visiting!

Happy quilting,

Sharon

 

P. S.  If you love our zoo animals and would like an assortment of fabrics to make them, you might be interested in this new addition to our Etsy shop.  We’re offering a packet of 26 hand-picked 7″ fabric squares (both prints and solids, and no duplicates) for making our fun designs.  The supply is limited, so please don’t wait too long!  Just stop by our Etsy shop and pick some up today!