Saturday, April 14, 2012

This is What I'm Working On...

I began working on the Birds in the Air quilt about a month ago. After a couple practice trials with the "birds", and getting my Happy Camper material from Ebay sellers, I spent nearly a week cutting, and cutting, and more cutting! Whew! It gave me huge appreciation for the pre-cuts that I've been working with lately, and a longing to get back to them. I had about a dozen different fabrics to work with, all from the Happy Camper line from Moda. Besides coordinating colors and patterns, this fabric is so "folksy" and reminds me of the quilt that Graham's grandmother gave me. So this quilt, in a way, is an acknowledgment of her place in Graham's life. 



After all the "birds" were made, the next task was placement. I tried to mix them up so that no two of the same were touching, and also keeping the colors spread out on the quilt. Once that was done, the next step involved sewing the diagonal rows. This was quite different from the usual horizontal/vertical placement. And I tend to lose my place as I move from the bedroom down the hall to the sewing room! I got a lot of exercise in the process.


Now the birds are all sewn into place and the top has been trimmed and blocked. I have begun the process of adding borders. The first one is done and I have at least two to go. This is the part where I decide just how big the quilt is going to be. I'm taking my time since both my quilter and I will be out of town the last week in April. I'm seeing a trip to Kingsland in early May!

Once this one is done I'll turn my attention to another baby quilt. I should know in May whether it's to be "pink" or "blue"! I peeked in a box at my grandmother's quilt the other day and was surprised to see that it's a Dresden pattern. Now I'm anxious to learn how to master that one! Oh goodie!

3 comments:

Meredith said...

I hope you're keeping this one so I can borrow it;)

Kathy Malcolm said...

You must have patients of a saint! It is so beautiful.

Barbaranne said...

Auntie Dear this is gorgeous! I love the bright happy colors! It's like springtime, with brilliant colors popping out from the trees, shrubs, and flowers! Bravo! Bravo!