The Birds are Finished!!

Between the daily watering of my gardens to cope with the very dry weather here

and a week of happy days with my daughter and grandchildren visiting

I'm a bit off-schedule with this post but very happy with the results of the week!  We had a glorious week of fun and made some wonderful memories. 

 

This has to be my favorite -- a picnic supper with close friends and a "jam" session introducing my grandchildren to the joys of spontaneous music making!

My granddaughter has been studying the viola since September and the group ushered her into improvisation which was fun to watch.  My grandson is always up for re-enacting (they live on the edge of the Gettysburg Civil War battlefield) and got right into the singing along.

I still haven't stopped smiling!

 

Happily, parts of the garden are responding to my effort -- the cucumbers are quite happy.

The red currant bush is just about to overwhelm me with it's bounty yet again! 

And the black raspberries are going to be sweet if I win the competition with the birds to get there first! 

So to have finished my DREAM BIRDS quilt is a bonus!!

I hung it out on the clothesline this morning for some beauty shots! 

Most of the blocks were made by members of Hive #7 during the 2015 Stash Bee block exchange (read my original post HERE) organized by Alison over at Little Bunny Quilts using a pattern from Block Lotto -- HERE is a link to that pattern.

 

I shared the process for creating the setting of this quilt HERE.

 

The quilting is simple - a series of vertical graceful lines.  Every third line has a few of these bubbles inserted for visual interest.

I started at the center of the quilt and as I approached the side borders I decided to rotate the lines by 90 degrees for a faux piano key look.

I originally bought this cheerful bird fabric for borders but decided it would overwhelm. Instead I used half of it for the backing (leaving half of it for something else)!! 

This is the view from the patio of the quilt hanging at the back of the lawn -- made me think it would be fun to have a quilt hanging in the yard! 

 Nice backdrop for the quilt! 

Maybe I'll try that for my next garden stitching gathering? 

With this finish, I have managed to complete two of my six goal projects for the second quarter of the Finish Along 2016 -- I had hoped to do better, but the significant aspect of this finish (besides I love it) is that there was no date deadline -- that almost never happens.

 

Check out all the other FINISHES HERE -- very inspiring!!

 

It's Independence Weekend here in the USA -- I'm praying for a peaceful and quiet celebration for all of us.

 

Mary Huey

 

 

 

BIG news for birders!!

(2/24/2017 -- I've had so many questions about whether there is a pattern for this quilt and the answer is "no".  The block pattern is from someone else and the "original" part is my setting.  So I have gone through the original post and italicized the sentences that explain how I organized the setting to help any who are interested in using my idea.)

Currently the International Ornithological Union recognizes 10,615 living species of birds worldwide.  That number fluctuates due to new discoveries, split and lumps.  But wait until they hear about the 36 previously unknown species that I hosted on my studio work wall this past weekend!!  LOL

These delightful blocks have been showing up here on my blog off and on since summer.  I collected them from my Stash Bee Hive 7 mates during the summer.  HERE is a link to the post I wrote to request the blocks (there's a link in that post to the Block Lotto post with the bird pattern).

I made a few myself and then another web friend and I traded a few blocks this winter. 

Since I was anxious to work on this piece, I included it in my First Quarter goals list for the 2016 Finish-A-Long.

This weekend had three totally empty days -- the time had arrived to set the top together.

I asked everyone to "name" the birds they made -- that's what all the pieces of paper pinned to each block are.

My first step was to square up all the blocks.  I stitched 2" wide background strips to the left or right side of each block.

Then I trimmed and squared up the blocks -- the heights vary but the width of all the blocks is consistent.

The next task was to "identify" all the species included in my collection.  I printed labels using a fabric prepared for printed with my inkjet printer. 

There was lots of stopping and starting as I moved through this project and one of the long pauses occurred while I figured out a simple and effective way to add the labels to the blocks.  I finally settled on fusible web which I fused to the back of the printed fabric before trimming the labels apart.

I experimented with hand stitching or machine stitching them in place and as you can see, I settled on the machine and used black embroidery thread.

Here's a close-up of the newest species of cowbird, the domesticated cowbird. 

They are easy to identify as long as you know cow breeds.

Once all the blocks were ready, it was time to make the setting decisions.  I found this yummy print last fall and thought it would complement the collection well.

I also won a scrap bag of polka dot strips from Moda during the winter and loved the way they looked with the birds.

Here was my idea before I began working with the blocks.

But as the auditioning progressed, I eliminated the warm colors and added grays, then the bird print was set aside for the backing of the quilt. 

Upon returning to the studio after one break, I decide the quilt was getting too wide and pulled away the sashing completely.  I not only liked the shape of the quilt better, but it brought the emphasis back onto the birds.  I achieved the "staggered" positions by alternating which side of the bird had the extra background strip added.  Then I set the vertical rows together adding another strip of background fabric between all the birds.  Another stagger was added by leaving that horizontal background strip off the top of the odd rows and off the bottom of the even rows. 

Finally I tried to spread the birds facing right around the quilt -- there were only 7 of them -- although I think one of them jumped out of the third row into the top row when I was snacking!?!

There was another series of auditions for the borders but I won't drag you through that.  In the end, I decided on a narrow line of black polka dot before adding a wider border of assorted gray polka dots.

All that remains to be done is to make the backing and layer it up for quilting.  There will be a significant pause as I ponder that aspect of this quilt.

I also have to contact the IOU and find out how to submit my discoveries. 

I'm sure they have no idea any of these species exist.   

 I probably should also figure out how to manage the onslaught of "twitchers" that will want to see these new species for themselves. 

Isn't quilting fun??

Mary Huey

Just for my Grands!!



Nothing like a (sort of) tidy sewing table to set off my urge to stitch. 

That is likely the real reason the studio never gets a complete do-over -- as soon as I get some open space on the tables, I take a break and stitch!! 

I'm part of one of Alison's Stash Bee groups -- the awesome Hive #7 -- and during July everyone made me funky birds based on this tutorial over at Block Lotto (tutorial is HERE)!  

 

I've made quite a few of them myself and with a camping trip on the horizon with my two grandchildren, I decided to use two of my blocks to make each of them a drawstring backpack. 

I enjoy all the tutorials that are shared over at Sew Can She and it didn't take long to find one for the bags.  You can find the full tutorial HERE.

I picked a bird for each, trimmed them up, and read through the instructions. 

First step was to frame up the blocks to the size needed for the bags.

I scaled the size of the bags down to fit my grands -- my beginning rectangles were 14" by 12".

I happen to be a long-time birder myself and have studied how American birds were named at one point.  So part of creating these birds has been "naming" them!!

This one is for my granddaughter and the bird's wing has a scrap from an outfit I made for her a couple years ago.

The Bashful Catbird is for my grandson who insists he "hates" catbirds (they rob the berry bushes in his yard).  And our native gray catbird is NOT bashful at all!

I'm always thankful for my years of experience making garments -- like turning the corner with a couple diagonal stitches to help make a sharper corner when the bag is turned.

And this is a trick I learned to helped guide the seams allowances into an "opening"  when it's turned to the inside making stitching the opening closed easier after it's turned. 

I was not looking forward to making the straps but the photos in the tutorial reminded me that I might have a bias trim maker tool.  Sure enough, there it was in the bottom drawer of the sewing table -- my designated storage spot for all seldom used tools!!

Of course, the instructions have disappeared so it took a bit of experimenting to remember that cutting the end of the strips on the diagonal and using a big corsage pin to encourage the strip into the tool works quite well. 

Once it's the strip is threaded into the tool, the pressing goes well and soon I was ready to stitch!!

Here are the results of a happy afternoon in a tidier studio!!

 I packed them with small journals and pencils to use during our 3-day camping break!

They were both delighted with the results and wore them for every hike and outing that the three of us enjoyed together.

This is one of my favorite pictures -- of course I want everyone to be a birder, too!!

The instructions and photos in the tutorial for the backpack are clear and easy to follow.  I loved working out of my fabric stash to create them and they just make me smile every time I look at them.  I'll be making more of these -- there are some moms and aunts with "backpack envy"!!

 

Mary Huey

 

Linking up over at MAIN CRUSH MONDAY!!