The Nest, Part 3

Construction of the nest for this challenge quilt was the most fun part! Again, some thought went into it beforehand: not only how I was going to shape it and construct it, but also "how on earth was I going to attach it to the quilt?" was my biggest "worry". Not knowing how heavy it would be, I didn't want it to "pull" on the quilt. I eventually came up with a plan which I thought would work.
I "copied" an idea from the Leaf Bowls we made for Quilt Ontario, using Timtex and darts for shaping. I fused a layer of "nest brown" fabric (suppose that's really a color?) on each side of my fusible stiffener - I used Flexi-Firm rather than Timtex, and used a cereal bowl (really high tech eh?) to cut out a half circle. I added two "flaps" of blue background fabric, backed with a fusible, to "anchor" the nest, once constructed, to the quilt (you can see one of these flaps sticking out on the left). I cut three v-shaped darts out of the semi-circle and stitched them up, giving the nest it's bowl-type shape.
Next I laid very narrow strips of matching brown fabric lengthwise over the nest, both on the inside and outside and stitched them at the edges to secure them, then wove a second set of strips loosely through this "base" at right angles. Then I collected a variety of threads and perle cottons in browns, greys, beige-golds, greens, etc., as well as some wool roving, some dryer lint and some textured yarns in similar colors. As I wove these through the "base" I imagined what Mama Robin would go through to gather her nest-building materials; my job was so much easier... I darkened the white Flexi-Firm which showed on the very edge of the nest with a brown marker, then covered it too with yarns and threads. I built up enough "nest" to entirely cover my fabric base but stopped before it was too thick or heavy.
I placed the nest where I wanted it on the branch, then using a Clover Mini-iron (you know the type that looks similar to a small spade on the end of a curling iron) I fused the two flaps to the background. This seemed to be enough to support the weight of the nest, but I then put a few stitches through the quilt and into the nest edge at both ends and in the middle at the bottom, just to be sure. After all, we wouldn't want the nest to fall out of the tree, now would we? I added a small bunch of Spanish moss (to "hide" the flaps) and nestled in my three little blue eggs.
Almost done... All that was left now was to add my backing, square it up and bind it. Ah yes.. how to square it up? Because of all the three dimensional additions, I couldn't lay my ruler on the quilt, so I used the markings on my cutting mat and did the best I could, shaving off a few narrow bits to bring the sides to equal dimensions. It measures 17"wide x 13.75" high. The binding was easy and it was finished a whole three and a half hours before it was "due" at our April Guild meeting!! Whewww!

Piece,
Linda

What Robin Told

How do robins build their nests?
Robin Redbreast told me-
First a wisp of yellow hay
In a pretty round they lay;
Then some shreds of downy floss,
Feathers too, and bits of moss,
Woven with a sweet sweet song,
This way, that way, and across,
That's what Robin told me.

Where do robins hide their nests?
Robin Redbreast told me-
Up among the leaves so deep,
Where the sunbeams rarely creep,
Long before the winds are cold,
Long before the leaves are gold,
Bright-eyed stars will peep and see
Baby robins - one, two, three;
That's what Robin told me.

~ George Cooper

The Nest, Part 2

The next steps (leaves and blossoms) for The Nest also received a good deal of thought - i.e. "just HOW am I going to do this"??? After a plea on my Blog for help/suggestions from readers for a fusible product which would allow me to shape and curl petals, my good friend Sandi Mac told me to try Heat and Bond Heavy. So, try it I did. And it worked!
I chose a mottled green which I thought was close to the proper color of apple tree leaves and fused two layers wrong sides together. I cut out leaves freehand and heating each one individually with a hot iron, curled the edges or shaped them so that they were not just flat. Once they cooled they held the shape! Yeah! That was easy. I freemotion stitched them on with dark green thread, just making a few lines to resemble veins in the leaves. Now on to the blossoms....
I knew that apple blossoms have five petals. I also knew that doing a five petal flower, and curling each petal one at a time, would not be easy. So I cut out two templates- one with three petals and one with two, which I would layer one on top of the other, to yield what I hoped would resemble an apple blossom. I cut out a prototype, curled the petals and it looked acceptable.
The next decision was fabric. Apple blossoms are white tinged with pink, and I didn't have anything in my sizeable stash which seemed to look right (hard to believe, I know! **wink) I finally decided on a tone-on-tone white which would work with the addition of some pink pencil crayon. I fused together two pieces of the white fabric, and drew around the template to squeeze as many blossoms onto the one piece as I could fit. After cutting out the first batch of 25 or so petal components and taking time to trim off all the dark pencil marks, I had an "aha!! moment" realizing it would be smarter to draw out the petals with the pink pencil crayon.. yes indeed, the lightbulb finally came on... I tinged each petal section with a bit of pink, some more than others and then working on one single petal at a time, heated it with the hot iron, curled the petal over a pencil and held it until it cooled. Yes, it took a while...
Then it was simply a matter of layering the two sections to create each blossom, and I sewed them on with small pale yellow seed beads to simulate the stamens. Not perfect... but acceptable. I have to tell you, pushing a (slim) beading needle through all those layers, particularly the stiff flower layers, was not easy.. my fingers grew sore. Guess that's why I gave up after 35+ blossoms.. my original plan was for around 50.
Next.. the nest!

Piece,
Linda

"Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished." ~ Lao Tzu

The Nest, Part 1

From where I sit here at the keyboard, I can look out on my backyard full of apple trees in bloom. It's a glorious sight- too bad the blossoms only last a few days. They are already beginning to fall, littering the grass with white petals, a flurry of "snow" with each flutter of the breeze. It was these trees that were my inspiration for The Nest.
Our Guild does not do a Challenge each year, but with a Show this spring, the Committee decided a Challenge to our members was in order. Rather than dictate the fabrics to be used, as is often done, we wanted to encourage participation so just threw out the Challenge for their interpretation of our Show's theme "Thoughts of Spring". All work had to be done by the entrant, it had to be quilted and could not be over 96" in perimeter. Other than that, it was "anything goes".
Since I was on the Committee, I knew I had to participate. Now I have to tell you, this chickie is not usually a Challenge participant. I guess the idea of someone else dictating colors and fabrics just does not excite me, no - not even a little bit. But with the freedom to do whatever I wanted with my own fabric choices, I knew I did not have any excuse not to participate. I mulled around several ideas before I finally got the brainwave for The Nest - combining two of my favourite spring things - apple blossoms and a robin's nest.
I probably spent as much time planning and thinking it all out as I did actually doing it. Knowing that the branches would be roughly textured and the leaves, blossoms and nest would all be three dimensional, my first concern was how I would quilt it... It didn't take me long to decide I would have to quilt it first- before adding anything else to it- I know, just the complete opposite of what one usually does. I have to admit- this entire piece was somewhat of an experiment- as I had no idea if my "vision" would actually work... But I was quite sure that quilting the "base" first was my only option. So I layered the top and batting only, (I would add a "false back" later) and with my walking foot, put some gently curving lines across it, in hopes it would look like a spring breeze blowing. Of course I forgot to take a photo of this first step... so you'll just have to imagine it (pretend you're Anne Shirley with a great imagination...)
Next came the branches. Apple tree bark is quite rough and on my trees at least, there is quite a variety of color from browns and greys, depending on the light, to even rusty red in some areas, not to mention some velvety green moss. I planned to add texture with thread-painting and the addition of some textured yarns but I knew I would have a problem with trying to keep it all flat - I knew it would "pull in", even though the branches were narrow. So I sketched my branches on the Steam a Seam (a fusible product), fused it to my reddish brown fabric, then fused the branches not to my quilted background but to another piece of the same soft blue fabric. I pulled out every brown, beige, grey, gold and rusty red thread I owned, along with a variety of textured yarns and even some wool roving that I thought might work. First I did some stitching with just the threads, then began adding some yarns and stitched over them. One slubby yarn gave some nice effects. Once I was satisfied with the look of the "bark", I cut out the branches, being careful to cut as closely as I could to the edges, trying to leave little or none of the blue background fabric showing. Then I placed the branches where I wanted them on my already quilted background and stitched them in place with a darker brown thread. Voila - my textured branches were nice and flat - no puckering from the heavy stitching.
Next - the leaves, blossoms and the nest. Stay tuned!

Piece,
Linda

"There is always music amongst the trees in the garden, but our heart must be very quiet to hear it." ~ Minnie Aumonier

Do You Like a Challenge?

Our Guild does not do Challenges on a regular basis but the Show Committee decided this would be a good opportunity to do one, thinking it might create more interest in our Show. The rules were simple - the piece was to be the maker's interpretation of "Thoughts of Spring". All work had to be completed by the entrant, and the piece had to have 3 layers which were quilted. The only other guideline was that the total perimeter not exceed 96". After that - it was "anything goes". We were pleased to have 18 entries from our membership, and all were displayed at the Show. Members voted at our April meeting to choose the three Viewers' Choice winners. First place went to Barb Cross for "One in a Hole", a humourous look at the pothole. Gwenda Mattinson won second place with her "Getting Ready", a framed pieced done from a photograph of her elderly Father's winter work - birdhouses, that were just freshly painted. Valerie Moreland's piece "Primroses and Robins on the Patio" won the third place ribbon. Everyone loved her cheery robins- who doesn't love that most welcome harbinger of spring?! You can see a photo of the three winners with their pieces by clicking here.
We were so pleased with the variety of entries - it seems many of us are also gardeners as flowers were a common choice. Rubber boots, a robin's nest, cleanly swept parking lots, hostas, a new spring handbag, rhubarb, fiddleheads and hot cross buns were other interpretations. A big Thank You to all the participants, it was exciting to see the entries come in! For me, being a gardener and lover of "all things green", two of my favourites were definitely Trudy Corey's "Hosta" (at right) and Donna Young's "Spring Green" (below left).
My entry was "The Nest". I am not a "challenge do-er". It's a real stretch for me to do something totally original. I wracked my brain for weeks trying to come up with an idea, having convinced myself that I had to participate, since I was on the Committee. I finally came up with the nest idea (it was Plan "B" - Plan "A" just was not going to work...) I love the apple trees in my backyard which were planted by my Father and Grandfather, and there's no more true "sign of spring" for me than hearing and seeing the first robin hopping around the lawn. So - a nest on an apple tree branch it was to be ! I'll come back later and tell you a bit about the making of my piece.

Next - the big quilts in our Show....



Piece
Linda

"Spring would not be spring without bird songs."
~ Francis M. Chapman