Tuesday 14 May 2013

Birds on a wire quilt

Have you checked out Le Challenge yet?  It is the brainchild of Lucy at Charm About You and Nat at Made in Home, and is a monthly challenge and link-up.  The challenge for May was "wings".

I had a lot of half-rectangle triangle scraps left over from making my Paper Petals quilt, and I used them to make up this little baby quilt top.  It was very simple - I sorted the triangles into warm/cold pairs, and then stitched them together before trimming the resulting rectangles to a uniform width (I think about 9").  I then laid the rectangles out in random order, stitched them into columns and sewed the columns together so that I had a quilt top about 27" by 30".

soft blue and orange quilt

The picture about isn't great anyway, but I think you will be able to tell why I thought it needed something extra before I added the appliqué.  One of my favourite prints in the Noteworthy collection by Sweetwater for Moda features birds on a wire. Appliqué wasn't really part of the original plan, but when the idea of little appliqué birds on a wire popped into my head, I knew I had to do it (and, it happened to fit perfectly with the theme for Le Challenge!).

baby quilt applique 

I couldn't get my sewing machine to co-operate when sewing on the birds (I was using polyester thread, and the tension needed to be different depending on how many layers I was sewing through), so I stitched the birds on by hand using blanket stitch.

baby quilt noteworthy sweetwater moda 

Simple serpentine quilting and a crisp grey backing (DS Quilts from Spotlight) finish it off.

blue orange baby quilt

This quilt is about 27" square, and I donated it to the neonatal unit at Wellington Hospital.  I think it will be perfect for a little baby boy or girl.

Linking up with:

Better Off Thread

Le Challenge


and finish it up friday at crazy mom quilts.

31 comments:

Marit said...

What a transformation! Those birds on a wire are so cute and make your little quilt just perfect. I love how the cool blue birds pop against that warm yellow!

crazyquilter said...

Amazing! I do believe we used a similar stitch for our quilts.

Love the birds on yours. Very effective.

Susan said...

What a beautiful interpretation of the 'wings' theme! And the quilt will be cherished by its lucky recipient, I'm sure!

Janine @ Rainbow Hare said...

This is beautiful! I love those colours and the quilting is perfect :)

Annabella said...

Perfect for Le Challenge!

Fran said...

Stunning quilt! Don't think I could have given it away!

Teje Karjalainen said...

That's so beautiful! I love raw edge applique and your birds are so cute!

Leanne M said...

This quilt is really gorgeous, the birds really do add something extra special to the overall design - well done!

Unknown said...

świetne te ptaszki!
Pozdrawiam!

Nat at Made in Home said...

Amazing le challenge entry! Thanks for linking up!

Jessica said...

This is adorable!! Great job :)

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

I love your birds!

Sewing Mom said...

It's really beautiful...I love the colors and the birds are just great!

DeborahGun said...

This is beautiful - the applique is so effective - I love it!

Ann @thequiltingcats said...

This quilt is just adorable! So creative of you to add the birds! I would never have thought of that!

AmandaK@whatthebobbin said...

This is sooooo adorable! Nice work.
Amandak@whatthebobbin

AmandaK@whatthebobbin said...

and I'm a huge fan of blue and orange :)

Erica said...

I love it! And how wonderful that you donated it, it will definitely help some people out.

Made by Mrs Jones x said...

I think the addition of the birds is a genius idea. A really lovely quilt.

Henry's Shed said...

Oh it's beautiful! And how very sweet of you to donate it :)

Kirsten said...

Beautiful quilt - the two blue birdies are so sweet!

Kristy @ Quiet Play said...

I love the addition of the birds! perfect!!

Renee said...

I love the idea of this and your execution! Really cute little quilt and birdies!

Mara said...

Simple Serpentine quilting, looks awesome, is this a stitch on your machine or do you do it yourself? Love the birds on a wire, so cute.

Chris Dodsley @made by ChrissieD said...

Fabulous, loving that blue and orange and a great cause :)

Sarah said...

Oh I love your take on the bird on a wire fabric. What a cute little neonatal gift.

mkonieczki said...

Great idea! Love the way the birds stand-out against the background.

Rachel said...

I like this quilt. The blue birds are very striking on the background.

Lucy | Charm About You said...

That is so beautiful!! lovely that you're donating it too :)

Karen @ Pieces of Contentment said...

Delightful in design and colours!

SewingSophia said...

Love it so much!! The birds on the wire are cutest thing I have ever seen! Just perfect for a coming baby!