Monday, May 6, 2013

Let's Hear It For the Birds!

I was really excited when Mdm. Samm announced this blog hop.  My DH and I feed the birds year round and always enjoy watching them outside of our sunroom windows and snapping their pictures.  I wish my camera did a better job through the window, but this was the best I could do.


                                                     
                                                               






 


I am excited to share my projects with you today.  The first is a cardinal wall hanging.  The background is made using Eleanor Burns' "Trip Around the World" technique.  I sewed several pieces of  fabric together to form a large loop, cut the loop into several smaller loops of different sizes, took them apart at different seams, and sewed them back together.  I wanted the effect of the sky coming through the leaves in the woods.  Then, I hand-appliqued the cardinals onto the background.  They have small black beads for eyes.  If you look closely, you can see there are leaves hand quilted in the background.



I have really admired Ryan McKenna's work for quite awhile, but this is the first year I have attempted any of her patterns.  This first one is from her "Forest Hollow" collection.  I machine appliqued part of the block "Out on a Limb".  It is machine quilted.



I used a brown colored pencil to make the bars on the owl's wings.  Everything else is appliqued.  The feathers were each put on individually.


I also made a Ryan McKenna quilt out of the Fons and Porter magazine (last September's edition).  I saw her demonstrate how to make it on "Love of Quilting."  I knew it would be perfect to make for this hop.   I love her use of batiks in quilts.  This one was machine appliqued.  I fused the pieces onto the background, then layered the quilt.  The machine applique was done through all 3 layers, so that little additional quilting was needed.

The butterflies are 3 dimensional, attached by the bodies.  Then, the antennae were embroidered.  A small black bead was all that was needed for a perfect eye for this chickadee.


My 4th bird quilt  is from a pattern by Columbine Designs called "Rocky Mountain Memories."  I changed the flower from the original pattern to a blue columbine since that is Colorado's state flower.  I made it for my daughter-in-law, Susan, who lives in Colorado.


Another quilter that I really admire is Carol Armstrong.  If you love applique and hand quilting and aren't familiar with her work, you should check out her books.  She has books on birds, cats, wildflowers, etc.  The hand quilting on this block was inspired by her work.  This quilt is also hand appliqued.



I finished my last project Sunday.  I loved this fabric when I saw it at JoAnn's and thought it would make a great project for this hop, especially since my previous projects didn't include bird fabric.  The purse is patterned off of one taught to my quilting club by a friend, Betty Sue.  I adapted the pattern somewhat so that it would have a coordinating band at the top and left off the outside pockets because I didn't want to hide the beautiful fabric.


I love the way my machine quilting turned out.  Every project I do gets a little bit better.  I know I owe a lot of the success to my Janome 7700.  It makes my sewing and quilting sew much easier!




  It does have 3 pockets inside to help keep me organized, and everyone who really knows me knows that I need all of the help I can get in that area!



Thanks to Mdm Samm and  Mary  for all of their time devoted to this hop.  I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone's work today and throughout the hop!  The schedule for today is below. Make sure you visit all of the other bird lovers.  Have fun following the hop!  I know I will!


Tuesday, May 7

82 comments:

  1. What fantastic bird projects! I love McKenna's designs and have several in my sewing room. Thank you for sharing all your pretties.

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  2. Oh, my! Busy, busy! I love the hummingbird since it is my favorite little bird! Great work on all of your sew tweet creations!

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  3. All of your bird projects are very pretty. You really went all out for this hop.

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  4. Great projects, really love the owl!

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  5. Love all your beautiful work. Thank you for sharing it.

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  6. What gorgeous projects, I esp love the hummingbird one. :)

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  7. Every one so precious! Beautiful and I love cardinals!

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  8. Your projects are so beautiful and lovely. Thanks for sharing your creativity

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  9. I love the pictures of the birds, and all the bird quilts! Beautiful work!!! ♥♥♥

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  10. wow all that work is adorable, thanks for sharing!

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  11. Your quilts are lovely I especially like the chick a dee and your purse....have fun today

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  12. Your quilts are gorgeous. I love the Colorado one with the columbine and humming bird.

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  13. oh wow, so many projects, I especially like the cardinals, so beautiful.

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  14. Such lovely projects. You have been very busy. Thank you for sharing with us.

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  15. I love your bird pics AND your bird quilts. I see you love birds as much as I do.

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  16. I think this bloghop was made for you as you really love birds *lol*
    Thanks for sharing all your beautiful birds quilts/bag and the great birds pictures.

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  17. What a wonderful collection of birdy projects. Thanks for sharing all the wonderful things you made and the beautiful pictures from your garden.

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  18. Well done my bird loving friend! :) Your bird projects are inspiring!!!

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  19. What wonderful projects you stitched. The cardinals are so cheerful. What pleasure looking out your window must give you.

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  20. Wow, so many projects and they're all wonderful!

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  21. Beautiful beautiful work...thank you for sharing with us

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  22. Your bag and the quilts are all fantastic! I have several of McKenna's patterns. Just need to get them done up!

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  23. You really outdid yourself. They are all very lovely.

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  24. Lovely bird quilts. I especially like the hummingbird. I do love those Carol Armstrong books too. Great looking bag you made as well.

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  25. What a gorgeous collection of bird quilts. The columbine/hummingbird one is my fav of them all. Tote is cute too. I have some of that same fabric and love it!

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  26. Oh wow. You have been a busy little bird doing all this sewing. They are all great projects. This is gonna be such a fun hop.

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  27. You have been busy. Thanks for sharing all your great projects.

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  28. Great bird projects and I love the real bird photos. Thanks for sharing!

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  29. Oh, my! You have certainly raised the bar! These projects are all just beautiful! Great job!

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  30. Thanks for all the lovely bird photos and fabulous creations. Sew lovely! You have been a busy birdie ... :-) Pat

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  31. Fun projects.. Love the fabric on your bird bag!

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  32. My favorite is the cardinals. Good job on all of them.

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  33. I really do love all the things you made, what an over-achiever you are !

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  34. WOW. You really got into the hop. Great job with all your projects. BTW, I've become a "FOLLOWER"

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  35. You sure have been busy! Great job on all of them.

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  36. you've been busy. Love the Ryan McKenna pieces and your purse is wonderful. Happy Hopping!

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  37. All are very nice but my favorites are the owl and the purse.

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  38. every one of your projects is outstanding...i had no idea there was so much to do with birds..yours bring a wealth of smiles

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  39. Wow! You have been quite the busy girl. I would probably pick the cardinals as my favorite but that is a hard choice with all the outstanding projects you featured!

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  40. What a lovely assortment of projects! I love those McKenna Ryan projects too!

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  41. WOW - great bird quilts and wonderful quilting!!

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  42. Ohhhh do I love your trip around the world quilt, and the birds you have appliqued on it. What a perfect way to really spark things up! McKenna Ryan is one of my favorite designers. You have done her proud!

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  43. I love all of your projects, so very nice..

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  44. I LOVE LOVE your birds - each one is just beautiful! and the bag is great too. Have fun hopping around!

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  45. Your inside birds are as beautiful as your outdoor birds.

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  46. a fellow bird watcher. Love all your quilts and your bag is gorgeous.

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  47. nice work on your quilts and purse. love them

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  48. We too feed the birds and watch them. You captured them perfectly in your projects. Thank you for sharing with us.

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  49. All your projects ar ebeautiful! I am also a feeder of teh birds and the squirrels of course:)

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  50. So many cute birds. Love this post.

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  51. You went bird crazy--love them all! Your pics of the birds are just so fun to look at. :O)

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  52. Wow! I love all your birds!
    Thank you for sharing!

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  53. Thank you for so much inspiration! I love your quiltwork, the fabrics, the patterns! Thanks for sharing.

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  54. Wow so many quilts you made. Love them.Thanks for sharing
    Frederika

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  55. Your projects all look wonderful! The quilting looks great and I really like the fabrics and style of the purse.

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  56. Wow loved those real bird snapshots. Especially the cardinal. I have one who visits my backyard every year. Wish it were possible to have one for a pet. Loved all your projects. Here's hoping I'm not a no=reply blogger but if I am, here is my addy:
    quiltlikecrazy@hotmail.com

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  57. Hi!!! These are all amazing!!! Love them all!!!!

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  58. Oh my goodness, just so beautiful, love the hummingbird!

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  59. My goodness you've been busy! And what beautiful work you do too! I haven't yet tried hand quilting, but did try applique for the 1st time with my birdie project. I'm pretty happy with it too! Love your creations!

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  60. Great outdoor wildlife; lucky you. All our birds are pretty drab. Love your hummingbird and tote bag. You have been a busy girl.
    swalker287(at)aol(dot)com

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  61. All of your projects are stellar. My favorite is the owl. What a wonderful job on the wings.

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  62. so fun to stop by and see what you did...love the eagle.

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  63. The bird fabric is absolutely gorgeous and your bag turned out so cute. I laughed to see your birdies in their bag nest!!! lol You did a fantastic job on all the other bird quilts. My favorite was the Colombine Memories one; you did an amazing job of the quilting on that one.

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  64. Wonderful quilts and the bag is lovely! I'd love to have bird feeder but, with six cats, it just wouldn't be fair to the birds! I settle for fuschia basket that attract hummingbirds...they are too fast for the cats!

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  65. You made a whole flock! All of them are wonderful.

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  66. Wonderful projects! I especially love the owl and the bag. Your quilting is superb.

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  67. I love your bird projects. I think my favourite is the owl and of course I can never resist a bag. John and I spend quite a bit of time bird watching around the south east of UK. We have feeders in the garden and love to sit and watch when we have time.

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  68. Thanks for sharing all of your wonderful projects.

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  69. Fabulous projects! The owl is my favorite!

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  70. You did a wonderful job with all your wonderful projects. It's nice to see what inspires you as you look out your window. Thank you for sharing them with us.

    Sincerely,
    Tricia

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  71. What a wonderful post! I love seeing all the bird projects in one place. Thanks for sharing!

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  72. Oh, I can tell you love birds. My best-est quilting friend feeds the birds. She has binoculars to watch the birds. I kid her that she spies on the neighbors. Your projects depict your love of birds. Thank you for participating in the blog hop and inspiring us. I hope to see you soon in more hops.

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  73. Wow! Your projects are awesome! You definitely have some bird love going on! :) Thanks for sharing!

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  74. Great projects! I love your birdie purse. The fabric is lovely.

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  75. WOW! wonderful porjects, love that purse and th equilting is great too. Jane

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