Slow Sunday Stitching - A Bountiful Life, The Last Block

I completed the Robin with Nest block from the A Bountiful Life quilt a couple of weeks ago.  

I was very happy with the changes I made to the robin on my block.  And of course those light blue robin's eggs.  However, Tammy made a very good point that I had not considered.... the acorns would not be brown at the time of the robin's nesting.  Oh well, they are now! LOL

I am hoping my version of the robin is more realistic than the original in the pattern.

So on to the last block I am making for this quilt.  It is not in the A Bountiful Life quilt book, but from the original quilt design. You can see it here, taken from a photo of the original quilt top.

I needed to draft my own pattern based on this photo. I started with a rough drawing, actual size, and then laid out my stems.

Next I added some leaves and some flower buds.  I saved my freezer paper templates from all the blocks, so I have lots of leaves and buds to chose from!

This is where I am as of today.  It is going a little slower than following a ready made pattern, but so far I like the results.

So grab your thread and a cup of coffee and join me in some Slow Sunday Stitching.  Check out the other Sunday stitchers over at Kathy's Quilts for her Slow Sunday Stitching party.

Happy Stitching,

Deb

Slow Sunday Stitching - A Robin and Nest of Eggs

I have been working on the next block that I have chosen for my rendition of A Bountiful Life.  As mentioned in a previous post, I have decided not to make all 20 blocks in this reproduction applique quilt. 

So next up is the block called Robin and Nest of Eggs.  I have been looking forward to this block and actually should have thought about doing this block last Spring.  We have a lot of robins here in New Jersey and it is surely one of the first signs of Spring here.   As you can see from the photo of the book the block was done with the same green for the leaves.  Now.. any of you how know my quilting style, you know that is not going to work for me. :-)

I made a few adjustments to the pattern.  Most notable is the size of the robin's head.  To me it looked a little small and made the bird look more like a pigeon or a dove. 

As you can see, for anyone unfamiliar with robins, the head is larger than what is in the pattern.  No problem, that is an easy change.  I also would like to make the head black, as it the case with these birds. 

And of course robin eggs are always blue, not white. Another easy fix. 

Getting back to my block, once my pattern changes were made I could trace the pattern onto my background fabric with a water soluble pen. 

There were these curious green pieces appliqued to the branches.  At first I thought maybe they were smaller leaves.  But the more I looked at them, I decided they were acorns. 

Acorns were added to the block to go with the oak leaves.  Makes sense, right?

So I will spend some time this Sunday relaxing and doing some slow stitching.  Maybe I will go out on the deck to stitch... and see how many robins I can spot in the yard.  What about you?

I am linking up at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching.  Hope you enjoy your day!

Happy Stitching, 

Deb

Design Decisions on A Bountiful Life

I am working on finishing up the Peacock block for the A Bountiful Life quilt.  I am moving onto more bird feet.  I should be getting pretty good at this by now, right?  Again I have chosen to use a batik fabric so it will not fray as badly as a regular cotton.

I think this guy needs an eye when I am finished appliqueing his body.

The full quilt from the book A Bountiful Life by Karen Mowery

Before I move on the the next block I need to make a decision on what my finished layout may look like.  I finally did make a decision (pondered this for months)  not to make all the blocks in this beautiful quilt.  Here is my reasoning: With all 20 blocks and the border, it makes a quilt much larger than I am able to display in my home.  I would prefer to hang this quilt and enjoy it each day rather than folding it and putting it away.  So, one decision made... Now, which blocks do I eliminate?

Here is a photo of the original Bird of Paradise quilt, circa 1858 - 1863

You can see it differs slightly to Karen Mowery's adaptation above.

I decided to keep the number of blocks at 16, with a 4 x 4 setting.  My blocks are slightly smaller at 12" finished. 

 Since I am partial to birds, despite the feet, I decided to keep almost all of the bird blocks.  And although I find the barnyard, racehorse, and circus animal blocks interesting, they really aren't relevant to me. Another design decision made!



So to better help me make a decision on the remaining 3 blocks to include in my quilt, I laid the blocks out to take a look.

Sorry for the shadowy pictures.  My living room is a little dark in the morning light... especially on a rainy day!

I quickly decided I needed to make the Robin and Nest of Eggs block.  They are the first sign of spring here in the Northeast.

I also would like to include the Assorted Bouquet block with its vase of flowers. I was moving right along in this process!



I continued to move the blocks around, checking the layout and the balance of color.  I moved the row of birds down to the bottom... hmmm... does that work?



I moved the Red Wing Blackbirds up to the next row, knowing the Robin and Nest of Eggs would be on the opposite side of the quilt.  And that I would probably add a nest of eggs in the bottom border.

Does the Grapevine and Swooping Bird block look better in the third row with the other fruit blocks?

But there is still that nagging question of what to put next to the Bride block. 

Karen Mowery added a Groom block to her adaptation of the original quilt.  There is so much mystery around the missing groom.  Speculation is that he may have been killed in the Civil War and the marriage never took place.  Original templates exist of a male figure but he is not included in the quilt. You will see in the original quilt above there is a block filled with flowers instead.  And why did the quilter choose white flowers?  White flowers usually represent innocence and purity.

Would you add the groom or the flowers?

For now let me get back to my bird feet and completing the Peacock block.

I won't show you how my two quilting assistants decided to rearrange my blocks for me. :-)

Happy Stitching!

Deb