Spoonbill Progress

I’ve been putting this one off since… February?? Mainly because it’s so big and I didn’t enjoy making the last giant one (loved it once it was done tho!)

There are only 2 birds remaining… and I really want to work on other projects… 

Knobby knees

and I was concerned about running out of big pieces of background fabric if I did the smaller owl first… 

 This is 4! separate pieces taped together. Awkward!

It’s not quite done - 6 multi-sheet pattern pieces remain to sew - but it’s getting there. I really love her face and knobby knees. 

 First time Coco has ‘helped’ me sew. That look says ‘pet me now’

Hoping to finish tomorrow if we survive taking after we take Jac to the zoo. 

One, Two, Three

One…

Two…

Three!

21.75 x 21.75”

Except for yesterday’s fabric chicken drama, this Red-Shouldered Hawk went together surprisingly easily. I really like the ‘chaos’ of the feathers, especially since it meant there were very few seams that needed to match up. 

The patterns for the last two birds are cut, folded, color-coded and ready to sew. We’re almost done!

Fabric Chicken

Fabric Chicken: will a piece of fabric (it’s from the stash, there is no more…) cover all the pattern pieces or will it run out with inches to go. 

The upside of adding stash fabrics to Birdwatcher patterns is more texture and interest - the kit’s solid colors are pretty but kinda flat. The downside? When it’s gone you sure better have a Plan B! 

We’ll call this one a draw win since there were enough tiny scraps to sew together to make it work. 

 That’s all, folks!

But it was so, so close!

Red-Shouldered Hawk wing

One of my air plants flowered! 

I’ve never seen one bloom before. I wonder if the flowers open one at a time or if multiple can open at once. 

There's lots of buds so hopefully I’ll find out soon. 

Whose Eye?

Only 4 pieces left to make on the 3rd from last Birdwatchers bird. Can you tell which one it is?

They all pretty much look alike at this ⬆️ point. Hoping to attach fabric to the last four pattern pieces tonight and sew (or at least start sewing) it together tomorrow. 

Back to the Birds

I was hoping to get this Red-Shouldered Hawk done before the last bird pattern comes out tomorrow 

but with all the (really great) distractions from Cyrus and Leia staying with us, then planning for Leo and Jac* to visit, quilting has been on the back burner. 

At least I got it started?? 

All the color changes have made this slow going - I finished 6 (of 22) pieces in just over 4 hours. The feathers are almost done, hoping the body pieces are easier faster.

* Leo is staying 2 days but Jac will be here for FIVE WEEKS. So excited. 

Steller’s Jay

Look at me, finishing the Birdwatchers Project pattern in the same month it was released. Haven’t done that since … October? 

This Steller’s Jay was less intricate than some (most?) of the bird patterns we’ve done. It was a fairly easy finish, with no major oopsies on my part. 

This is block #11 of 14, with only May’s Red-Shouldered Hawk and June’s Great Horned Owl - along with the Roseate Spoonbill I skipped over - left to do. So excited to be this close to done!

Double Up #2

March’s second Birdwatchers pattern, a Cerulean Warbler, is done. There’s a slight oopsie but I decided it “adds to the character” so I’m leaving it. (Can you spot it?) Still two birds behind but April’s pattern is cut, color-coded and ready to sew. 

10.5 x 10.5”

Also finished Wildflowers #15. Only one more to go before it’s time to trim the blocks and start on the sashing. 

10.5 x 10

Very happy with the progress. 

Double Up

The next Birdwatchers Project pattern comes out Thursday, so I was motivated to get one finished so I’d be (almost) caught up.

This is the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, one of 2 patterns released in March. Fast, easy pattern except for that tiny black bill. I sewed and ripped and sewed again at least 8 times trying to get the edges to align. Finally accepted that this was as close as I was going to get before the fabric frayed apart. The second March pattern - Cerulean Warbler - is cut, folded, color-coded and ready to sew, hopefully tomorrow.

Also finished Wildflower #14 tonight. TV marathons are really good for getting projects done. 

Here’s the first 13 blocks, in no particular order. I’ll square these up before adding a slightly different blue for sashing. Getting close to done!

Back to the Birds

I didn’t really want to work on the Birdwatchers Project today but once I got started, December’s Northern Flicker turned out to be fun. 

I only made one big mistake - 

sewing the completed bottom section sideways onto the top sections. Oops! At least it was easy to fix. (Funny enough, it fit perfectly…)

That one circled area bugs me. I double-triple checked and it is done correctly. But it looks so wrong, like a piece is missing or the wrong fabric was used, and keeps catching my eye… 😩

This makes 8 birds complete, out of 14 total. I’m still 3 birds behind so tonight I started block #9, 

choosing the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, a small bird that I thought would be easy. Not so much.

The first piece is about 5.5” long by 1.75” at the widest point. The head section is .5” tall by 1.5” wide… and uses ELEVEN different pieces to shape the eye and beak. 

Yeah, small definitely doesn’t mean easy. 

Purple Whatsit Done!

Purple Gallinule. Can not remember the name but it’s done all the same. 

I would have rather read a book tonight (it’s cold and damp, with rain supposed to start around midnight) but I powered through and look how cute this guy is!

Broke out the specialty pins to make sure things lined up correctly.

I love seeing the backside of projects - this one’s a big, colorful, organized mess. 

I’m leaving the papers in until everything is done. It’ll be a chore pulling them out but hopefully will make it easier to sew the blocks together. And it protects the unfinished edges from fraying and stretching. 

The Northern Flicker is up next, then the Roseate Spoonbill- the biggest block of all which is a bit intimidating. 

We still have a few months to go before finishing up in June. Should give me time to get this quilted and.. maybe enter it in the Guild’s quilt show in September? It would be a first for me…

A Purple Whatsit

The first half of November’s Purple Gallinule is done. Hooray! 

Top piece isn’t attached yet

Maybe the no-interest-in-quilting curse is broken? You know it’s bad when I choose to clean cabinets rather than sew… 

This guy is a ground-feeding omnivore, a species of swamphen. (More here) Those  huge feet look so awkward but they’re great for walking on lily pads. 

Hoping to get the second half done tomorrow. February’s pattern arrived last Thursday (and it’s a BIG one), so I’m once again 3 birds behind. Gotta catch up!

The Birds Are Back

The holidays threw me off track on the Birdwatchers Project

so Sunday I spent most of the afternoon making the head of January’s Atlantic Puffin (the most complicated part)

10 x 21”

and last night finishing up the rest. Isn’t he handsome?

Next up - either December’s Northern Flicker

or November’s Purple Gallinule. Hoping to have both done before February’s project is released. (And very glad they are small-ish projects, unlike the huge 21 x 33” Green Heron!! Here)

All Caught Up

Glad I went to bed the other night and didn’t try to finish this when I was tired.

 21¾" x 33"

Coming to it fresh today, it still took over 2 hours to get the 6 big sections stitched together into the final bird. 

But it’s done! So happy with the fish and that my seams all seam (ha!) to match up correctly. 

And this month’s palms (ferns?) are also done for a total of 19. Next bird pattern comes out Thursday!

Fixed It

The kingfisher is done - it took longer to rip out yesterday’s upside down piece than it did to resew that and finish the block. I only made one color mistake this month - the shrimp had 3 tails rather than 2 - so I’m getting better at that (or I just got lucky on this one… 😅)

The leg still looks wonky to me but it’s exactly like the design photo 🤷🏼‍♀️

Also finished three more fall palms, my monthly FPP project, for a total of 15 blocks. Which means I’m only one month behind on both Birdwatcher Project and palms! I thought the new bird pattern came out tomorrow but it happens on the second Thursday, so I have a whole week to do the giant heron from last month. I may get caught up after all!

Tomorrow is also pickup day for all the stuff we’ve cleaned out of upstairs and our closets.

I’m sad to see Jac’s makeup table go. She loved playing with it but decided she didn’t want to take it to Idaho. Hope it finds its way to another little girl who will love it.   

So nice to have all this gone. Now back to sewing.