Bird Song Quilt

In my Farewell to Zakka post,

I featured the set of nesting boxes I'd made

to coordinate with a quilt.

I thought it might be fun to share more about the quilt,

even though I made it a couple of years ago.

From the first time I saw the pattern design in progress

on the Fig Tree Quilts blog,

I knew that "Bird Song" was in my future.

Pattern from Fig Tree Quilts

I love the theme of "home" as much as the beautiful applique images, 
and the pops of black against the soft palette really work for me.

{The WORDS are my favorite detail!}

Dandelion Girl by Fig Tree Quilts for Moda

was released in the spring of 2008.

Image from Fat Quarter Shop

For a long time, I've been a member of the Birthday Club at Colonial Crafts.

During my birthday month, I get 20% off any regular-priced

purchases!

That year, I treated myself to the fat quarter bundle of Dandelion Girl.

{Happy Birthday to me!}

I needed a bit of yardage for the borders and binding, 

and I jazzed up the palette with a green polka dot that was a tad bit brighter.

There are also a few wee bits of felted wool for a few of the details...

like the flower buds and centers...

and the birdie beaks and eyes.

Those WORDS...they are still my favorite part!

I used an alphabet panel, and I didn't have enough of some letters

to duplicate the pattern, but I made my own substitutions.

{As I recall, it was quite an effort to get the spacing and positioning right, but I loved the end result!}

I stayed true to the pattern as much as possible and learned to do

the starch method of applique for this project.

For the most part, it was very enjoyable.

I really loved making those eggs!

{I did not have as much fun on the pointy parts of all those flowers, though!}

When it came time for the quilting,

I stitched on top of the appliques, which kinda took away from the impressiveness of all that hand applique, but...I think it's pretty.

I did a lot of stippling in the spaces between appliques,

but wherever there was a large enough area,

I added lots of freeform feathers!

{I used invisible thread on the top, and cream thread in the bobbin.}

For my feathers, I drew the design on Golden Threads quilting paper in pencil.

This kept me from being a nervous wreck...about THAT, anyway...

especially on the long borders.

After quilting, I just tore away the paper.

;)

{Ahem...I may have spent quite a long while picking out the bazillion tiny pieces 

with a set of tweezers...but I don't like marking my quilt tops, 

having had a bad experience or two in the past.}

For the backing, I just used a creamy solid cotton...

I think it was a Bella Solid, but I don't remember exactly.

I wish now that I had used yardage of one of the prints, or had even pieced part of the back with some of the leftover fabric.

{On the plus side, I can see the quilting really well on the back.}

So why did I use the solid back?

At the time, I had planned to use this quilt as a wall hanging,

and never as a quilt.

I'm not sure if I mentioned this, but I live in a little house with my husband and two teenage sons.  My husband is not really crazy about having quilts on the walls.  It kinda drives him nuts when I even drape them over the railings in our entryway, but I do that all the time to decorate for the seasons.

{At least our dog Ginger likes this quilt as much as I do.}

I used to put this quilt out only in the springtime.  

For some reason, this year it makes me feel like getting ready for fall

in these last few warm days of September.

I think I'll curl up with a cup of tea, my Bird Song quilt and a good book.

{Tea...more to follow about tea in upcoming posts!}