A Sharply Dressed Elephant!

Posted in Civil War Bride Quilt, Hand-Applique Techniques, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

Once I finished both of the horses (and a nice little trough) I was ready to start the elephant. I searched through my stash for some gray fabric. I didn’t want just any gray fabric, I wanted something an elephant would be proud of! Sadly, the only gray fabric I own is a tone-on-tone that just says “blah”. So, I went shopping. And this is what I found! I am not exactly sure if it is even gray…maybe more of a brownish-gray-taupe kind of colour. The moment I laid eyes on it, though, I knew it’s destiny!

So…I did the same thing with the elephant legs that I did with the horses legs. I cut the templates into easier to manage pieces.

Next, I prepped the legs, tail and tusks.

Then came the trunk.

And the body.

And an ear!

The whole time I was working on all the body parts, I was wondering what fabric I should use for the blanket on his back. This is what I chose! Spiffy!

Til next time…

Kerry

P.S. I just noticed in the photo that the elephant appears to be walking on water! I may have to rethink that!

13Aug2013

A Challenge…or is it?

Posted in Bouquet For a New Day, Civil War Bride Quilt, Hand-Applique Techniques, Sue Garman Pattern, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

As I was getting ready to start the next (and last!!) block of Civil War Bride, I noticed the horse shapes looked a little challenging. If I were to cut in between the horse’s legs, there would not be much of a seam allowance.

Don’t get me wrong, I am always up for a challenge! But it just takes a few simple steps to turn a challenging shape into something very do-able. So here is what I did…

First, I added a few lines.

So, now I have 3 very simple shapes!

I prepped the legs and glued them in place…

I started to prep the body, but I thought the ears looked a little dicey. So I drew a line…

…..and I made another simple shape.

I glued the ear in place…

And, finally…a very easy to stitch horse! And I didn’t even break a sweat!

With this cooler than normal weather, I am able to hand-quilt most nights. The borders are coming along very nicely. I am finished the bottom border and I have passed the half-way mark of the side border.

Finally, here is the last completed block of Civil War Bride!

Til next time….

Kerry

7Aug2013

An Epiphany!

Posted in Bouquet For a New Day, Hand-Applique Techniques, Sue Garman Pattern, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

I must say I am pleasantly surprised at how quickly I am quilting the borders of “Bouquet For A New Day”. The bottom border is finished and I have now marked the side borders. As I was marking the borders, my mind wandered and I had an epiphany! ( a sudden realization–a flash of recognition in which someone or something is seen in a new light).

I thought…it is all well and good that the borders match up in the center of the border. But…wouldn’t it be interesting to put a design or something at the center and have the borders flow out from the design?? I thought it would be fun to incorporate 2013 in the top border (the year this quilt better be finished!) So here is what I did…

First, I found a font in Illustrator that suited the quilt. Then I drew an oval around it and printed it out. The borders are only 5″ wide so the design could only be around 4″ tall. Next, I drew some lines on the pattern to help center it on the border fabric.

I put the quilt on my light box and placed the pattern just under the top layer. I used the lines on the pattern to make sure everything was nicely centered.

Next, I drew the lines with a Frixion marker.

Then, using the stencil I continued drawing the border, until I reached the oval.

I flipped the stencil over and continued on my merry way. Easy peasy!

In the meantime, I have been working away on the next Civil War Bride block. This block consists of a lot of layering. For instance…first the leaves, then the stem and then the feet!

This is the block so far!

Til next time….

Kerry

5Aug2013

So Many Options!

Posted in Civil War Bride Quilt, Hand-Applique Techniques, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

I am very close to have all the blocks of Civil War Bride Quilt finished. Yipee!

This block went together pretty quickly. As I was working on it, I kept thinking that something was missing. Like stems, leaves and flowers. Not a single one in the entire block!

So I started with a bird and a rooster.

And I added a cat.

There was something that was nagging at me about the combination of fabrics I was using, so I moved onto the butterflies. I did a little bit of fussy-cutting for the butterfly wings. I made a few sets of wings so I could audition them.

These butterflies made the final cut.

These ones didn’t. Although very interesting, all I see is raccoon eyes!

And cat eyes!

So you can see from the finished block, the red calico cat is now black, and the blue bird is red. It is always good to keep your options open!

Speaking of options, the brochure from The Elly Sienkiewicz Applique Academy is now online! So many great teachers and awesome classes! Time to start checking out all the options!

Til next time,

Kerry

30Jul2013

Turning a Corner

Posted in Bouquet For a New Day, Hand-Applique Techniques, Hand-Quilting Tools, Sue Garman Pattern, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

Finally! I have finished hand-quilting all 12 blocks of Sue Garman’s “Bouquet For A New Day”.

Now I can start the border! I had my stencil picked out for the outer border and I was raring to go. I must admit, the half-square triangles had me a bit stumped. I know I could just quilt in the ditch, but I know myself well enough to know that boredom would quickly set in! So I decided on circles. Lots of circles!

The stencil I chose for the outer border did not fit the border exactly so here is what I did to make it fit. The stencil does have a nicely turned corner so I didn’t have to figure that out! First, I drew a line at the centre point of the border.

Next, I started tracing the stencil at the corner, and continued until I reached the centre mark.

Then, I flipped the stencil over and continued tracing.

And this is the nifty little design I ended up with at the centre of the border! Spiffy!

And guess what? When I got to the next corner, it fit perfectly!!

Til next time…

Kerry

17Jul2013

Inspiration is Everywhere!

Posted in Civil War Bride Quilt, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

Everywhere I look, I see a quilt, or a block or a border! Our summer vacation has officially started and we are flying to Nova Scotia to visit friends and family. We arrived in Toronto early so we could spend some time at the Royal York Hotel for breakfast….and some stitching!

In the lobby alone, I found more quilt designs than I could imagine. This carpet has everything in it that I love, a centre medallion, applique blocks set on point, and an amazing border. Oh, the possibilities!

These blocks are actually on the ceiling! A quilter must have had a hand in designing this!

And this floor tile reminds me that I would love to make a quilt based on round blocks rather than square blocks!

Til next time…

Kerry

12Jul2013

Lazy Days of Summer

Posted in Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

I would love to be getting more quilting done. But, we wait all winter for this hot, hazy weather! So the idea is to be outside as much as possible, because before we know it, the snow will be flying! (sorry to remind you!)

So here is what I have accomplished…I have finished hand-quilting another block from Sue Garman’s “Bouquets For a New Day’.

And I am well on my way to having all 12 blocks finished!

I can’t wait to start the border. I am not going to lie, I can hardly wait to have the whole quilt done so I can start “Ladies of the Sea”. That is the carrot I am dangling in front of myself…you know…. can’t anything new til I finish something!!

I am almost finished the next block of Civil War Bride. I just need to finish stitching everything in place. I previewed a few bird fabrics. This was my first version. (Didn’t do too much for me!)

And this was my second (and final) choice!!

Til next time…

Kerr

7Jul2013

My Kind of Garden!

Posted in Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

It is raining today so I am doing a little indoor gardening. Watch how my roses bloom!

First I added the stem, the tiny green leaves and an outer rose petal…

Next came the inner petals…

..and here are the outer petals….

…and finally, a couple of roses in full bloom!

When it comes to blocks that have lots of leaves and vines, I really struggle with greens. There are so many different greens…there are lush greens, there are yellow greens, there are blue greens and there are a lot of “muddy” greens, that, to the untrained eye (!), might be mistaken as gray. I like my greens to be “green”. I like all of my greens to “go together”. But, that can be a little boring. So, I did a little research. (Actually, I just went in the backyard.) And here are my findings. Mother Nature doesn’t seem to really care which greens “go together”. So if it’s good enough for Mother Nature, it’s good enough for me!

Here are some leaves that aren’t even green! Who knew??

Finally, the other ostrich. When I look at these ostriches, I get the feeling that they are stepping out for a night on the town!

Til next time,

Kerry

1Jul2013

An Intriguing Ostrich!

Posted in Civil War Bride Quilt, Hand-Applique Techniques, Hand-Quilting Tools, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

Even in this heat, I am still managing to get some hand-quilting done! Here is another block from Sue Garman’s “Bouquets for a New Day”.

With only 2 blocks left to quilt, I am starting to give some thought to the borders. The half-square triangle inner border has me a little stumped. Not sure how I will quilt all those triangles! The good news is, I found a stencil that I love for the outer border. Not only do I love the cable design, it fits the border perfectly!

Now that I (0nly!) have 5 blocks left of Civil War Bride, I am getting really antsy to finish it! I love this next block! I must say I really don’t know too much about ostriches. But I find them intriguing, just the same! First I started with the stems and some leaves.

Next, I added some pretty pink flowers.

I used Ultra-Suede for the legs and beak.

Next came the fun part! I found this fabric in my stash (of all places)! It is one of those landscape fabrics that looks like tall grass. It has stripes of different colours and shapes of grass, which I think is brilliant.