Tweet Tweet Baby!! Tweet Tweet!!

(Pre-recording by a tired & panicky  author  on Monday Night as the posting time draws closer & closer so please excuse any spelling errors)

As I think about how I’m going to start out this posting, I find myself staring out the windows watching the little birds flit about.  This a.m. I have seen a pair of male Orioles vying for the attention of a female who is sitting in a tree on the opposite bank of the river.  I see a plethora of  Robins hopping about for the worms in the grass.  The Chickadees, Cardinals and Sparrows  gather  about the neighbors birdfeeder chattering at each other as they clamor for space.  The Blue Heron was here earlier fishing in pocket of deeper waters in the river behind the house for his breakfast.  As I was mixing a batch of honey wheat bread dough, I hear the Blue Jays squawking at each other in the apple tree that hangs over the neighbors fence.  Yes … it has been quite active this morning in our little vista.

Not much before the announcement of this blog hop,  I had been on a bird kick as spring fever had kicked in.  So I have been make birds for several different reasons and some are WIP’s.  So I made lots of bird themed items.  Some for the 1st time and a few that I had made before and had given away. I also took some pictures of bird themed items around the house to show you.   Some are inside while others are outside.   So let me take you on a tour of my flocks of many birds.

First off are the birds that I had to revisit and make again.  The 1st Pink Flamingo was made last year about this time of year for  a swap and I like it so much that I made it again.  I hand quilted it with the echo stitching.

 

Then when I made this one after a Wisconsin friend sent me the pink floral print and the bird print, I decide to make it in an Ohio Star pattern with my own feather/bird designs hand stitched around the star.  I had shown this one off and was shocked when someone wanted to buy it.  I sold it, started to make another  but it was put aside.  So when this hop came about, I pulled it back out and finished it.  I really wish I knew what that bird print was called… I so want more of it. LOL.  I  have seen it in blue also during then hop …. oh so pretty!!!  With it is one of the “Bird in the Air”  that I made for the FWS blocks that I’m working on.  I used Marcia Hohn’s  pattern @ quilterscache to be found here.  Again this one too was hand quilted even though it’s hard to tell from this picture. 

 

Here yet is another  block I did for my Homesteadingtoday.com quilt block lottery.  We had gotten this wonderful purple fabric as the focus fabric and it immediately spoke bird to me with it’s feathery print.  So for my block, I did a “Birds in the Air” using the quiltercache.com pattern; I worked with a quarter of the blocks and appliquéd 3 little bird silhouettes from a pattern that I found …. oh…. crud I misplaced the piece of paper with the info. on it … and added a single  feather  on the large triangle of the block.  These pieces are hand stitched using a tiny blanket stitch.  The background is actually 2 different WoW prints with swirls on them.  I called the block “Birds of a Feather”.  The little birds remind me of the purple martins & swallows that are around the house area.

   

 I still have “Sunflowers & Crows” in the floor hoop and this is also being hand quilted but this one is being done in a cross-hatch pattern.  A first for me but I’m up to averaging 11 or 12 tiny stitches on top within an inch.  But I am enjoying  the slower  pace as I work on it when I feel like it.  There is no rush or need for this one.  I like working  it on when I’m on the phone.  This is my great experiment as I mixed fabrics, stitch length, techniques.

 

This one is a little closer view of it above.

 

Another one going project that involves Hummingbirds is my Jack Dempsey Needle Art project using Pattern #293 Interlocking Hummingbirds.  The original pattern called for the use of pinks in the morning glories.  And me being me – well let’s just say the pinks had to go!!  So with thought and pondering  with some drooling over some “wishful thinking ” batiks of greens & purples; I changed up the color scheme.  I’m much happy with the changes since I have enough of these to make at least one very large King size quilt without the sashing & borders.  It’s my trade out project when I need to take a break from something. 

       

Now for the bird items about the house.  With spring here, I put out a new yard flag that I received as part of a secret pal  package from a Quilting Board. com Swap buddy.  It was a prefect thing to show off with the theme for this blog hop.  It has a pair of jaunty little Black Capped Chickadees.  We have these little fellers around the house all year around.  I  think it looks inviting as it sits down by the riverside.  It even has some beautiful  pink flowers on it. 

I have been watching the map for when the Hummingbirds should start migrating back into our area here in Mid-Michigan.  I pulled the feeder out and gave it a good scrubbing, before filling it and hanging out it as a ”birdie welcome mat". Last week I actually saw one of the Orioles visiting it.  And since today I was taken pictures with it, I did a refresh to give it that pretty bright red color  everyone seems to enjoy.  In this picture, The fabric “scrap” was given to me by a neighbor and fellow Wednesday morning quilter just this past week.  I love all the little birds on it. The selvage reads: CP21851 Packed Birds Bird Sanctuary copyright Wild Wings. 

Anyone that really knows me, knows there are many things I LOVE to collect.  Tea items, Thimbles and Hummingbirds.  When there are combined in any combination – even better. {Wink Wink} So here I can show you a couple of them as they relate to birds.  This is one of my tea sets and it has the nicest hummingbird print on them.  In the second picture is a better picture of the tiniest Hummingbird on a thimble.

          

From there we have a collection of note cards with a variety of different birds on them.  Here’s a little hint – one of these chirpy little note cards will be included in my give away so stick around for more on that later.

 

While I was out taking pictures of all my little birdie offerings, I noticed this nest up in the neighbors apple tree.  I don’t know if there is a family in it yet but I’ll try to listen for one in the days to come.

 So I bet you would really like to know what new items besides the revisits I have been working on like a mad woman since the blog was announced and I was accepted as one of the 108 blogs in this hop?   Okay but I got to warn  ya I’ve been very busy even as I was couch ridden for a messed up back issues.  The first item I did was to make a pillow for my son.  I used one of three pillow covers that was sent to me in a box of scraps from a Quilt and Needle.com.  He likes these couch pillows better than the regular bed pillows.  So I am working on designing him a “Name That Song Title – Beatles Style”  quilt for Christmas if I’m lucky to get it done by then since he is a HUGE Beatles fan.  At 10, he can almost name that tune in 5 notes.  So yeah….. prefect gift.  Well there is a song that was written by Paul McCartney that goes by the name “Blackbird”.  So “Blackbird”  was created by using Lisa Debee Schiller’s “Delightfully Frightful” Raven Pillow that was found on page 90 in the BH&G American Patchwork & Quilting Oct. 2012 issue.  I made birds using Laura Wagner’s fabric for Marcus Brothers textiles.  I thought it had this feather –ish  look about it and I placed mine on a smaller square of 12” finished.

The next one I made I actually made two of them.  Both of these fine feathered babe’s are spoken for as gifts that was part of my Blogiversary give-away.  These little chicks are made from Susan Geddess’s pattern that had appeared in the Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks collector's edition Vol. 5 of Summer 2012 as block #432 on page 39.  I had used Pellon #805 fusible for the appliqué that I hand appliquéd with a tiny blanket stitch.  They was such bright little fellers.

     

But one of my favorite pieces I did for this hop was my “Blue Birds of Happiness” .  These little darlings remind me of the time I spent out in Pennsylvania and I use to spend lots of time out at one of the wild bird preservation parks.  There were many types of birds to see during our walks on the paths to the wetlands and around the fields.  There were bird houses on every couple fencepost and each spring the blue birds would use them.  They were so colorful I had to do something  with them,  So “Tweet Tweet Baby! Tweet Tweet” came about.  Now I know that they don’t have little head feathers but I took artist creativity with them.   Each of the four was hand drawn and hand embroidered.  Form there I went to little free thinking as I picked out the orange and blue fabric to surround them.  I didn’t have a satin stitch on my machine, but found a tiny blanket- stitch to use instead as I’m trying to finish these little darlings up in time to included them in the posting.  I didn’t measure for exactness but chose to eye ball it.  I mean how CUTE are they?  Right?

      

I have to say I had a LOT of fun making all of my projects for this blog hop as my theory was I couldn’t have enough birds to show off.  Although it could come down to something as simple as not being able to make up my mind.   But I have to Thank Madam Samm for all the time she puts into running one of these hop for us to enjoy.  And for Ms. Mary for being our Head Cheerleader this go-a-round.  And to our sponsor Cloth Works.  Be sure to visit the rest of the wonderful bloggers today to see what is happening.

Tuesday, May 14

http://www.intheboondocks.blogspot.com

http://mychellem.blogspot.com

www.thimblemouseandspouse.blogspot.com

www.quiltingandsewingarts.com

http://Sewgratefulquilts.wordpress.com

www.aquiltingsheep.com

http://tricia-ramblingsofaquilter.blogspot.com

http://sewmanyyarns.blogspot.com

www.moosestashquilting.blogspot.com

http://bethstrand.wordpress.com

http://quiltoo.blogspot.com

http://teatimecreations.blogspot.ca/

http://secretlystitching.blogspot.gr/

Bet I got to wonder if you are still with me…..?   Why you might ask….. Well it’s time to talk about the Give-Away!!!!  If you made it this far with me I know you should be reward with a chance to win ….. wait for it……………….ready……….FABRIC!!!  That’s right…. I’m give-away 1 yard of the bird print and 6 matching fat quarters!!!   The pictures doesn’t do the fabric justice in how bright they really are. 

Now to enter  for a chance to win this great prize….. you have to leave me a comment below.  We just had Mother’s Day on Sunday sooooo tell me what you did?  Was it a special day or just another “Plain Jane” day?  For a second chance I would love it if you became a follower or let me know that you been following me for awhile now.  I have several options on the side bar on the right.  I will draw a lucky winner and post on the up coming weekend post .  Please be sure that if YOU win I can reach you.  If you are a “no-reply blogger” …. please … please add your e-mail address in your comment.  If I get 100 followers – I will add another surprise drawing as an extra thank you gift.  

Soooo with blurry eyes, I sleepishly say on to you “Tweet Tweet Baby!! Tweet Tweet!! 

Toodles,

Tricia