Cock-a-Doodle-Doo!

For our August challenge, Island Batik asked the ambassadors to make a mini quilt.  I enjoy mini quilts as they are a great way to try out new techniques.  I decided to use this month's challenge to finish a project I already started.  Last fall, my quilt guild offered a class with Ann Shaw.  We had our choice of a few of her patterns for the class, and I picked Gallus Gallus, which is a rooster.  I'm thrilled to finally have finished it!

photo by Nichole Witushnsky

Materials used in this project were given to me by Island Batik, Schmetz, Hobbs, Aurifil, and Oliso.

People who know me will be surprised that Ann Shaw uses a paper pieced technique.  For me to knowingly paper piece when I don't have to is rare!  But I was really interested in her technique, which involves freezer paper and a lot of marking.  I signed up and attended both days of the 2-day virtual workshop.  She has you pick out and cut your pieces and build the piece on a foam board (I bought mine at the dollar store) so you can see it all together before sewing a single stitch.  I used Island Batik scraps, mostly in purples and turquoise.  I had the rooster on the board for months, sitting in my sewing room, watching me. 

One completed rooster leg!

My son asked me for months if I was ever going to finish the rooster!  I finally assured him that I was.  The only thing I had left to do was choose background fabric.  One of my build members broke up the background by choosing a "ground" fabric and a "sky" fabric.  I liked that look, so I did that for mine.  The ground is Wicker and the sky is Thistle.  I tried a blue for the sky but didn't like it; the super pale purple of Thistle looked a lot better.  I wasn't sure I wanted a border but my son told me I did need a border.  I used the blender Marble in Blackberry for both the border and the binding, and I now agree that the border sets off the rooster nicely.  

 

While I don't love paper piecing, this was an interesting take on it.  The pieces went together fairly easily.  The freezer paper was easy to use.  My Oliso iron kept my fabrics on the freezer paper really well, and it was still easy to feel off when it was all assembled.  Ann was really nice and offered great tips to those of us in the class.  She kept repeating, "when in doubt, add lime green."  I'm not a big lime green person, but I tried it when I was stuck on what to use for the beak and it worked!!

I used an older Island Batik fabric from the Nappa Valley collection for the back.  The design is Wheat Field.  I thought that wheat was appropriate for a rooster!  I layered Mr. Rooster with Hobbs fusible batting and the backing wheat fabric, and I quilted in a cross-hatch design using Aurifil thread #2562 Lilac.  All piecing and quilting was done with Schmetz needles.  I added triangles on the back to make it easy to hang.  My finished mini is 19" wide by 21" high, so perfect for the "anything under 24" square" parameters of the challenge.  

 

I've known for months what I wanted to do with my rooster.  In February, QuiltCon was in Raleigh.  Being so close, I was able to go.  My cousin Tim, who lives in Missouri, had the good fortune of marrying a quilter, Nichole, who I adore.  Nichole and her mother Sue traveled to QuiltCon.  I've spent a fair amount of time with Nichole in the 11+ years since she joined the family, but this was only the second time I met her mother, the other being Nichole & Tim's wedding.  Sue was particularly interested in some chicken-themed quilt patterns she saw at QuiltCon, and I remember that she has several chickens.  So I really felt like the rooster was destined for Sue.  I saw Nichole last month for a family vacation and asked if giving the rooster to Sue would be weird.  Nichole assured me her mom would love it.  I was so glad!  Sue has now received the rooster and does indeed love it.  It is displayed in her home, I believe where the chickens can see it! It's always great when the right recipient of a project becomes obvious.

photo by Nichole Witushynsky

Flutterfly for a baby girl

My friend and coworker Erin recently had her first child, a baby girl named Annie.  Erin and I have worked together for 8 or 9 years.  She's always been an admirer of my quilts and I know that handcrafts in general are meaningful to her; she appreciates the time, effort, and skill that goes into them.  I've made a baby quilt for every child born to a coworker since I started working there, so Erin knew that there would be a quilt for her baby girl.

I normally choose a baby quilt completely on my own, but since Erin knew I'd be making one and I knew it would be really meaningful for her, I asked for her input.  She told me they were going with a nature theme.  She gave me some inspiration images and told me they were focusing on pink, green, and cream.

It didn't take me long to settle on the pattern Flutterfly by Laura of Slice of Pi Quilts.  I've had my eye on this pattern for a while.  I've made Laura's Exploding Heart quilt before, and Flutterfly is similar in construction. I was worried it would be too big for a baby quilt, so I made it with smaller units.  Laura is open that Flutterfly (and Exploding Heart) can be cut with Accuquilt's quarter square triangle die.  Instead of using the size in the pattern, I used the die for units finishing an inch smaller. I planned to add in the borders at the top and the bottom, but ultimately left them off.  The pattern is well written and is great for chain piecing.

The fabrics in the top are all Island Batik.  I used as many different pink fabrics as I could find in my various Island Batik scrap bins.  I picked 2 green fabrics for the butterfly body, and the background is Milkshake, which has a nice creamy look to it.

I recently visited a fairly new local-ish quilt shop for the first time, SewEndipitous in Rock Hill, SC.  While there, I looked for a fabric to use as the back.  I picked a Lewis & Irene fabric with hummingbirds and hibiscus flowers.  I wanted something that wasn't directional and would go well with a bright pink binding.  I really like it, and it turns out that the dad-to-be's grandmother was a huge fan of hummingbirds.  When Erin got the quilt, she was thrilled to find "Nana Birds" on the back.  A serendipitous choice, for sure!

 

Erin absolutely loves the quilt, and I hope baby Annie gets years of fun and comfort from it.