A Very Birdy Post

Last Friday I started a new quilt!  This is the center and is 30 inches square.  The background is a piece of muslin that I tea dyed.
Here it is pinned to my design wall.

This will be the center of a medallion style quilt with various styles and techniques.  All the pieces are leftovers except the pot.  The tiny berries are 20 years old!

Working Titles include but are not limited to:
No Berry Left Behind
Cast offs and Rejects
Also Rans
This and That

Mr. Fun and I pulled the piece off the design wall without losing a single pin.  I've decided to machine baste the pieces for needle turn applique'.

I tried several things, but a long straight stitch for the stems and a wide zigzag for the leaves seems to be working the best.

It will be such a pleasure to have everything basted so I can sit and stitch.  The super skinny (thanks Susan) stems required slow stitching.

OMG look at the disaster of my sewing room!

There wasn't a clean surface anywhere!  I did, however, hang my lollipop garden quilt this week for spring.

 Goodness!  Designing a quilt is messy messy messy.

One bright spot - I organized the lights and shirtings.  Now about half of my fabric has been reviewed and restacked.

I'm excited to plant morning glories this year.  It has been a few years without them.   They get a better start if you soak the seeds  first.

Big News on the Bird front.    I think the Bluebirds have a family!
Here is the hard working mom loading up her beak before flying off.

They are working together to break up the mealworms to carry away.  Here is the proud Dad.

I'm a little bummed because I don't know where they are nesting.  They fly around the house to the woods.  With the cold snap they are feeding A LOT.   I ordered the food on Amazon.  It looks like this and I put them in a cereal shaker.  I actually think they have a nice earthy odor - not bad at all.

Here is a photo of a pretty Goldfinch.   The boys are really showing off their bright yellow color for the ladies.  He has a lovely song too.

And here is a female Red Bellied Woodpecker.

Mr. Cardinal would not cooperate with me.  He kept hiding on the wrong side of the feeder the little stinker.

I just love Pansies.  They are my favorite spring flower.  

 Here is 'you know who' to see what I'm doing outside in my PJs.

I'm going to the Northern Star Quilt Show on Sunday.  I'll share some photos next week.
Well that's all folks.
xo

Well Begun is Half Done & Humming Right Along

Easy for Mary Poppins to say......

On Sunday I remarked my whole quilt.  I didn't want to take any chances with the second half.  A stitch in time, saves nine and all that.

The Crayola markers were the best.  They even showed on the darker browns.

I laid the quilt on my table, smoothed the backing and pulled back the top to expose where I had cut the batting.  I slid my travel pressing surface underneath.

I matched the batting exactly where I had cut it away.

This is my favorite way to join the two pieces of batting.   (look at my marked up hand from the markers!!)

Plain soap and water and like magic it's gone!

I worked my way across the quilt pressing the bonding tape.

Thank goodness Coco was there to support me~ doesn't she look guilty?

I secure the finished side to my table, then smooth the backing.

I clip the backing down keeping is nice and square, being careful not to pull it out of shape.

The measuring tape is showing where the battings have been joined.  I picked a spot mid-block so it will be good and quilted.

After a gajillion pins I was back in business and back to machine quilting the second half.

I felt there a little too much un-quilted space at the outer edges of the cable.  I filled it in by marking a point then quilting in the ditch and then hitting that mark.  I sort of makes an outer cable echo.

I marked it here to show you the line, but usually I eyeball it and just hit the dot I've made.  I think it is a good solution.

The craziest thing happened last week while I was quilting.   A hummingbird flew in the front door and up and into my sewing room!

The poor thing!  I took the screens out and finally caught her in my hand and released her.  A few minutes later I saw her at the feeder.  I'm sure she need a drink after that ordeal! here she is just taking off.  It is so hard to photograph them as they move soooo fast.

This is the second time I've had a hummer in my house, you can see the other time here.

The next post will have the finished King George Quilt!