Backyard Birds

Piece O Cake’s newest pattern is Backyard Birds, and of course it drew my attention immediately!  The birds, and the simple setting of the applique elements, is a change from the  tradition floral applique settings.  I’ll be making a wallhanging with this pattern, likely just four blocks. Here’s the Baltimore Oriole block that I finished yesterday.

I folded in the edges of the block so that I could see how it would go into the quilt…the leaves are meant to be cut off!  I’m not sure yet how I’ll do the eyes on the birds…the pattern mentions paint and embroidery, hmmm.

While sewing the applique, I was thinking that perhaps these blocks would be better with a background that had a some kind of print, instead of the plain old vanilla that I often use.  Then, somehow, a tiny “blob” of ink appeared on the block…I really don’t know how!  I embroidered the feet, put the block down on the coffee table, left for a couple of minutes, then came back to get the block to give it a little rinse..and there was the ink!  Right beside the embroidered leg!  No pen anywhere nearby, and no ink on my hands.  It’s a mystery.  Anyway, I tried everything to get rid of that ink…soap and water, bleach on a q-tip, toothpaste…its stuck there.  Not as noticeable as I first thought, but annoying!

 

As much I’m going to enjoy sewing Backyard Birds, I will also soon be sewing My Enchanted Garden by Gretchen Gibbons.  It is pretty much one of those traditional floral settings that I mentioned earlier in this post, but with some animals hiding in the greenery, and more birds! and ,it is done with wool and cotton.  Sewing wool applique has been on my bucket list for ages, but the cost is prohibitive.  Because this is designed to be both cotton and wool, there’s little less expense but as I’m not a wool collector, the upfront cost would be scary!  So to spread out the cost, I’ll be making this as a block of the month with Primitive Gatherings.  The backgrounds that they’ll be using are little shirting prints, which I’ll enjoy having them select!