Can You Stand One More Bird? :)

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Well, two more. And one more pincushion. Now that March is here, I need to catch you up on what I made in February that I haven’t shown you.

Sorry, but I DO LOVE making these. So addicting.

AND I have some tips to share with you on making these birds, in case you plan to make a few.  And then I will get on with the other stuff you see in the photo.

Making Birds Tip 1: Reinforce the beak section with a patch of batting. When you turn the fabric inside out, you will only need to add a tiny bit of stuffing.

Making Birds Tip 2: This tip is from my husband. Use a thin pencil with an eraser on the end to push a tiny bit of stuffing into the beak. It worked well for me. He saw me struggling to fill the space. (Which is the real reason I decided to add a bit of batting first.)

Making Birds Tip 3: Don’t overstuff the neck area. Won’t topple over as much.

OK, I am done making birds. You can take up where I left off. Have fun making them.

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Now let me show you the rest of my “Bird and Pincushion” project.

I recycled this DVD box with zebra duct tape and made a carrying box for my two new birds.

Then I duct taped these quilting pins. Just to be different.

Here they are stuck in my new Cathedral Window pincushion which I also love making.

Sigh!! Got to move on. Can’t keep making the same old stuff. Can’t keep showing you the same old stuff, even though in different colors.

Time to move on to something else. Next!!

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Friday Linky Parties. Check them out!!

http://www.confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com/2012/03/can-i-get-whoop-whoop-busy-week.html

http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2012/03/finish-it-up-friday-week-17.html

Meet My New Birds: The Flappers

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It’s the middle of February… so that means Spring is only a few miles away, right?

Am I rushing things a bit? Yep, I am.

Snow season is winding down and I am so ready for the warmth of the sun. And the sounds of spring. In my head, I have skipped ahead and hear chirping. I guess you could say I have birds on the brain.

I recently saw this fabric bird pattern on the net and decided to try it.

http://www.spoolsewing.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/birdpattern1-1.pdf

This is the first one I made.

It came out smaller than I wanted so I played around with the sizing and enlarged it on my computer. Then made a practice one to make sure the pieces still lined up. Made several enlarged ones until I got the size I wanted.

Then I decided to do something different with the tail. I tried sticking a piece of cross-stitch plastic inside the tail to give it more weight. I wanted the nose raised a bit higher. Nope, would melt when pressed.

Next I tested adding buttons to the tail. One on top and one on the underside. That seemed to work. The nose lifted more. The flap idea was so the button didn’t stand out like a sore thumb.

I didn’t put any stuffing inside the tail. Just ironed in a piece of lightweight Pellon, pinked the tail edges and sewed on the flap and buttons.

I really like how these turned out and have other ideas for them. And I am going to work on a different design I have in my head.

Are YOU ready for Spring?

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Fabrics used:

• Michael Miller’s Clown Stripes and Citron Gray (Bird Swing and Quarter Dot)

• 3 different Henry Glass’ Party In Pink

• Gray polka dot, black polka dot and yellow print fabrics came from JoAnn’s