Thank you Mme Samm and Lana from It Seams to be Sew for organizing the Tree Bird blog hop. When I saw the blog button for this hop I knew that I had to participate–and the fabric, designed by Tracy Lizotte for Elizabeth Studio did not disappoint me. It is wonderful and the birds look so beautiful.
I couldn’t limit myself to one project and I had multiple ideas for a blog post, including a bloopers edition (since put aside–things that are funny in the middle of the night, tend not to be funny during the day, lol). I’ll share some tips on using panels with you and show you how I used these panels. First I made a quilt featuring panels from the Beautiful Bird line, including a tree panel, which mysteriously looks like it could have been drawn from my back yard.
I thought that the tree looked like it needed some feathered friends so I liberally added birdhouses and birds using raw edge, fusible applique. Fussy cutting and applique are wonderful ways to use fabric panels. Small panels also look wonderful as the focal point or center in a pieced block. For accuracy cut the panels with a ruler rather than relying on the printed marks on the fabric.
I designed the quilt specifically for the bird panels so each block featured a different panel. Once I started quilting I knew that this would be a great place to practice some of my quilting skills, including stitching in the ditch and fills. Panels are wonderful places to practice your quilting skills–let loose and let your creativity flow!
The quilting gives the birds dimension and life. Of course, one can’t have birds without feathers, so I quilted a feather border and some cardinals in the alternating blocks. Quilting designs should reference fabric and piecing/applique designs.
We love watching the birds while sitting at the table, so placing them in a table runner was a logical choice. I wanted to practice a binding with non-90 degree angles so I drafted a hexagon, and placed a bird panel into each side. In order to place a panel into a larger pattern piece, border it with additional fabric, then cut the ‘made’ fabric using the pattern. Using projects made with panels to practice new techniques and skills saves time–and looks great!
In addition to the table runner, I took an ‘orphan’ block of machine embroidery and bordered it with birds to make a bread warmer. The feather-y embroidery design by Sew Swell Designs compliments the birds. You can use orphan blocks, machine embroidery, or even large fabric motifs like a fabric panel.
The bread warmer rests on the branches of our wonderful cherry tree, which gives us at least one pie full of cherries each year as long as we pick them before the birds! Yes, that is snow. Although I can’t boast of 8 foot snow banks in my drive like fellow blog hopper, Teatime Creations , snow falling and winter weather advisories still aren’t great news for the first weekend of Spring. Someone saw a robin, the first harbinger of Wisconsin spring, this week (hopefully it wasn’t a rumor). Working with this beautiful line has certainly made me long for warmer temperatures, gardens and outdoor activities. Please be sure to visit these wonderful blogs for more of the blog hop:
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Lovelli Quilts 
Beautiful projects! Thank you for sharing.
Elli, your creations are sew beautiful. The quilt is a perfect display of the fabrics. The hexagon table topper is inspired. I love the way the bird panels connect to the center and radiate outward. Lovely use of the fabrics. Thank you for sharing in the hop … 🙂 Pat
Well that sure is a pretty quilt. Love the red and blue. It is a really striking color combo with this fabric line.
The quilt it just beautiful. I love the quilting that you did on it. The feathers and the birds, just Gorgeous!
Beautiful projects! Thanks for sharing.
Lovely and beautiful quilts. Thank you for sharing your creativity and being part of this hop.
Wow! Your quilt is stunning. Love the the blue just makes everything in the quilt pop! Thanks for sharing.
Your projects are all wonderful, and they all use the bird fabric in such clever ways!
a lovely reminder of our seasons, your quilts was put together with tweet thoughts I am sure
What beautiful projects. You did a lovely job.
Love the detail in your version of the tree panel. Your other projects are also wonderful as is your quilting.
very nice work with the birds….I especially love your feathers
Your quilts are sweet as ever. Love how you added the birdhouses to the tree panel.
I love the use of the beautiful blues! blessings, marlene
Such sweet projects and a gorgeous quilt! I love how you used blue to go along with that beautiful bird fabric!
Your bird projects are all so sweet. The quilt is beautiful and I like how you filled the tree.
This is STUNNING!!!! The colors, the blocks…the fact that you went out in the SNOW to get these lovely photos!!!! BRAVO! BRAVO!!!
Gorgeous! And that quilting…it’s just over the top perfect! You really have my interest peaked… I am dying to know just what the blooper version was! LOL!!
It looks awfully cold…says one living in sw Ozarks. Love blue…I couldn’t get away from greens, though I tried. Great projects.
You did a great job on all of your creations for this hop. I like your creativeness on all. Using the tree panel and doing the raw edge fapplique is so nice.
Love your projects, as usual, and this blue coordinating fabric is A DREAM!! Your table runner is so nice, the shape is great!
hi
I like that each of your projects is beautiful in it’s own way for it’s own purpose. I especially liked the hexagon tabletopper that you made.
What lovely projects and the quilting on the first one was amazing. Thank you so much for the tips and sharing your projects with us.
I don’t know how so many of you are surviving your horrific Winter and we are having none in California. Your quilt and bread warmer are Tree Bird Bliss. Thank you sew very much for Tree Bird Hopping and participating. Creative Bird Bliss…
These are some lovely projects! Your quilting lines really add dimension to them. Thanks so much!
Love your choice of the red/blue for your quilt and I love that tree panel. Wonderful! The best part of spring time is that the birds return and they are all singing their songs.
I have to say that your quilting really blew me away–both the projects as well as the machine-quilted designs!
Beautiful ways to use the panels. Wonderful projects all of them.
Oh, what beautiful projects you have. You are so right….those fabrics are so neat and with such detail. You showed them off, well!
Very impressive, everything you made! I enjoyed reading your advice about panels and will search more out to practice quilting. Your quilting is gorgeous and breathtaking! Thank you for sharing!
Amazing beautiful projects. Your quilting is adding a lot. I love it.
Your projects are all lovely. I do LOVE your quilt. The blue and red really showcase the birds. Beautiful work!
I am so impressed by your FMQ. The quilted Cardinals are stunning! Great projects. How does the bread warmer work? Looks beautiful.