The next block of Sue Garman’s “Friends of Baltimore” has me thinking. There is a bird in the basket surrounded by many flowers and leaves and I really I want the bird to stand out. I want to make the bird blue, so I don’t want him surrounded by blue flowers.
So here is the bird. I made him off-block, ready to place in the basket when the time is right!
And here are some of the leaves, flowers and buds. Oh, and a bow!
Some of the flowers have tiny, tiny pieces! So much fun!
Til next time….
Kerry
Simple Bird Applique 
The bird is perfect. thanks for sharing how you put it together.
Oh, boy, those are some small pieces.
Thanks! The pieces are so tiny, but I love a challenge.
Oh goodness – does that quilt look complicated! I’m just getting into applique and that block just boggles my mind! I will so enjoy watching your progress on it.
Actually, it’s not really complicated..just a lot of pieces. If you build it one flower (or bird!) at a time, it goes pretty smoothly!
utterly amazing! I love it all, especially the basket
Thanks, Kathy. Maybe there is a Baltimore in your future??
I have a question – I know this block was (relatively) a long time ago, but after reading about building the bird off the block, and now seeing this flower – after doing the freezer paper & starch, are you gluing these pieces together to stitch later, or are you stitching all the pieces down (like the little blue leaves on the yellow flower) now?
Also, for the starch, are you using a liquid starch, or spraying “spray starch” to get the liquid? Do you add any water?
Thank you!
Good question!! I try to stitch as much off-block as I can. I stitch the units together first, then I stitch it to the background. That way, I am not stitching through lots of layers. Also, I can trim out some of the layers of the unit, instead of trimming away the background. I like to use actual spray starch, which I spray into a container to make a liquid. I also use Mary Ellen’s Best Press, which works just as well. I do not add any water. I use a paintbrush to apply to the seam allowance.