Today was a gorgeous, warm, spring day with the birds twittering in the trees and new growth in my garden. At least I hope spring is finally here as we woke up to an inch or so of snow on the ground yesterday. However, by lunch time it was all gone.
We have had more snow this year than the previous three winters since moving to Nova Scotia in 2017. The up side (if you can call it that), there was no wind to speak of. Of course, coming from St. John's, NL, that is no joke. According to a CBC report a number of years ago, St. John's takes 3rd place for having the most wind on the planet. In fact, I bought my first jacket without a hood when I moved here.
Anyway, I'm a bit off topic but such is life! In February, I needed a spring like project and settled on Birds of a Feather from Kim Schaefer's book, Cool Cotton & Whimsical Wool Quilts. This book has 12 contemporary folk-art projects using colourful whimsical characters. The largest wall quilt in the book is only 20 1/2 x 20 1/2 inches, so very doable. Unless, of course, you decide to do your own thing! Which I did.
I don't have my Birds of a Feather finished yet and the next photos show why. I decided to use this piece as an embroidery sampler. In other words, I'm hand stitching every leaf and critter with a different set of stitches. Instead of using felt for the branches, I embroidered them with pearl cotton. I still have a fair amount left to do but I'm pleased with the results so far. It keeps me out of trouble in the evenings.
This will eventually be quilted and hung on the wall for spring. However, at this time, I'm not sure which spring that will be. When it's completed, I'll post more about it.
Have a look at these links:
- Buzzworthy is a cute free pattern using wool felt applique
- Lots more ideas from Pinterest HERE
- Check out the felting HERE.
- Hungry anyone!
Enjoy!
