Birdsong Fabric by Pat Sloan!
We all know Pat Sloan is fabulous, and now we have another fabulous new fabric line from her - Bird Song! And you've brilliantly found one of the first stops on the blog tour!
When Pat asked me to play with her fabric and take part in the blog tour to show it off, I thought maybe she had forgotten that I am a scrappy designer who struggles to be contained with a finite number of fabrics, but when Pat asks, you say yes and ask questions later. It turns out, I think she just wanted me to stretch my creativity with a line of fabric, and I had such fun doing so!
I ended up making two projects focusing on the panels in the Bird Song line. Panels! I know! When have I ever used panels in my designs? Well, I'm telling you, there is a first time for everything, and I thoroughly enjoyed how they made these projects come together really quickly.
I created this table runner (or wall hanging, you decide what works for you) from three of the six smaller square panels and a variety of the coordinating fabrics. How pretty is the shade of blue that Pat chose to be the dominant blue in this colorway? So summery and joyous.
I used a simple "boxing in" of each panel with a couple of the coordinating fabrics, and then added some flair with...you guessed it...some half square triangles in the corners, which were of course created with my Accordion Sewn HSTs™ method.
If that photo looks weird to you, or you are saying "How in the WORLD would that make half square triangles? This chick is crazy," it just means you haven't had the pleasure of my life changing technique yet! I invite you to check out my YouTube videos and hopefully be inspired to try some of my books or patterns that use the technique!
As can happen when I get all excited about making accordions, I wasn't quite sure how I'd use them in this project until I got a few done. I ended up deciding they just needed to be random little pops in the corners of the panel blocks, kind of like a photo corner might look.
But then came my true moment of zen. I was feeling guilty about how much of the panel fabric I hadn't used in my project, when I looked at this piece in a whole new way, and decided that the blue/yellow flower border around the large panel would make a really awesome binding for this little project!
I mean, granted, once I cut the blue/yellow flower strips away from the rest of the panel to make them into a binding I discovered that I needed to ask for more panel fabric from Benartex because now I didn't have quite enough length of what I needed for the binding, thereby totally ruining my attempt to be efficient and use up fabric with little waste but THESE ARE JUST DETAILS. Whatever. One of my mantras: Fabric - they make more.
I mean, worth it, though. Even the having to join the ends by matching the prints; I admit I shocked myself with my skills.
Kind of a fun way to look at a panel, I think - breaking it down and seeing what elements can be used where. So why stop there? Now I had TWO pieces of the larger panel, and another moment of efficiency guilt and not wanting to waste them. So....
...enter a cute tote!
Since I'm not a three-dimensional designer as a rule, I used a few of the guidelines I found here, Sweet Quilted Tote {free sewing tutorial} - SewCanShe Free Sewing Patterns for Beginners and adapted a few of my own twists. The SewCanShe tutorial is great for helping those like me think about what goes where when creating a project that is not meant to be flat.
I made sure both panels were cut to the same size, then did some simple wavy crosshatch quilting just to dress things up and make it look like I put in a little effort. In all honesty, the quilting part took like 20 minutes tops.
Once again, I saw some of the panel in a new light and cut 2" strips with the floral-y print centered in the strip. I added some iron-on stablilizer to the reverse side, then sewed them into tubes and turned them right-side out. Straps! Cuteness!
Full disclosure - because I did not want to be crowned The Most Disorganized Pat Sloan Blog Tour Participant Ever, I ended up using a (very old) coordinating print that I had on hand for the lining of the tote rather than asking for even MORE fabric AGAIN. But imagine it in one of the Bird Song prints rather than this basic beige, which is probably from 2007. I show this photo mostly to show that I got the handles on correctly (ie the print in the direction I wanted and the handles on the correct side of the bag) the first try, which was a bit of a miracle, honestly.
Once I had the two sides of the tote together, I boxed the corners of both the lining and the quilted parts. It's a great way to strengthen the corners and also help the tote to stand upright on its own - helpful during photo sessions.
My final touch, after turning the whole bag right side out, was to put a little decorative stitching along the whole top opening, because why not. An added bonus is how it helps that bulky seam stay crisp.
One last photo because I haven't killed these flowers yet.
So, you've made it this far in my ramblings; that for sure deserves at least the possibility of a prize! Comment on this post with any kind of bird story from your life. Maybe you've traveled internationally with a bird watching group. Maybe every spring you get a nest in the same tree. Maybe as a child you were attacked by a seagull on the beach and it is burned in your memory. Maybe no matter how many times you are in charge of Thanksgiving you just can't seem to cook dinner without calling the Butterball hotline. We take all kinds of stories, good and bad, and the winning comment will be chosen at random, but must involve a bird.
Should my winner be in the US, they will receive this Birdsong layer cake courtesy of Pat Sloan and Benartex.
Should my winner be outside the US, they will receive this thread set courtesy of Pat Sloan and Aurifil. (Side note- it's my dream to create an Aurifil thread collection and I'm very jealous of this delicious one.)
Be sure to check out ALL of the blog posts this week - we all have prizes to give, so you'll up your chances of winning. But more importantly, SO MANY GREAT IDEAS for using the Bird Song fabric! Creative people are the best people!
Their IG handles and company names are here:
@abrightcorner (A Bright Corner)
@rosebudscottage (Rosebud's Cottage)
@carolasmussen (Carolina Asmussen Designs)
@pamkittymorning (PamKittyMorning)
@fatquartershop (Fat Quarter Shop)
@aurifilthread (Aurifil)
@ivory_spring (Ivory Spring)
@evapaigequilts (EvaPaige Quilt Designs)
@jacquelynnesteves (Jacqueline Steves)
@bluenickelstudios (Blue Nickel Studios)
@quiltjane (Want it, Need it, Quilt it)
@patternsbyannie (Patterns by Annie and ByAnnie.com)
@benartex_fabrics (Benartex)
@byhilaryjordan (By Hillary Jordan)
Enjoy!
Mary
bird story: years ago, I was walking down a city sidewalk with my 5 yr old daughter and a bird flew past us and bounced off a plate glass window then landed on the sidewalk in front of us. We were so sad, we thought it was dead. But it was just so beautiful, I reached down and picked it up and my daughter gently petted it. Just when I thought, “well, what am I going to do with it now?” the little birdie revived itself and flew away. Happy Ending!
Heidi Lehnig
I love putting out the hummingbird feeder and watching these little birds every day !
Christine Fellin
I have an empty of plant hanging pot on my back porch, and a mourning dove nested there last year. This year another mourning dove came and nested there. Caution, we then used just the front door, we are so kind. After 2 weeks of waiting two eggs hatched. They stayed another two weeks, then left. A day or so later, I noticed a bird flying away from a hanging basket of fake flowers on my front porch and told it “ nothings going on in there, it is a fake plant” . Imagine MY surprise when I peeked in and saw two tiny eggs in a tiny nest, on top of the styrofoam! So, now using the back door only. Unfortunately we had a wind storm and the front plant pot fell down and the eggs broke. But a day or two later, there was another mourning dove nesting in the back plant pot. So attentive and placid, waiting on their eggs to hatch. Two baby birds hatched, grew and now the pot is empty again. It was crazy exciting to see the nesting birds and their young. I hope they return next year!
Pauline Messier
At the beach last week, a pelican pooped on my 23 year old granddaughter what fun
Marla D Vranish
I was visiting my sister, Sheila, at her home near Houston, TX… where we grew up. Mind you, I live in El Paso, TX… 782 miles away. Our time is precious when we are together! We talk from the time I arrive and everywhere we happen to go, until the moment I leave, covering every topic available… all day and into the wee hours of the morning. On this particular day, we had decided to do some pour painting. You know, pouring several different colors of acrylic paint over a cup, which slides down and onto a canvas. The best part is when you pick up the canvas and tilt it this way and that to watch the paint colors meld into fluid shapes and designs. We were also doing what we do best; this time, talking about our mother and our upbringing; how she would make us vacuum in one area 7 times, only to tell us years later, “Girls! No one vacuums in one area 7 times!” She laughed with great glee! Or, when she would say, “A woman with no make-up (lipstick) is the sign of a lazy woman!” Then there was, “Now, girls, you just keep on doing these dishes. I think I had better go to the bathroom for a little minute.” Of course, the dishes would be done by the time she returned! In all our reverie and giggling, I happened to turn around and outside the kitchen window I happened to see (peering back at me) a beautiful female cardinal. You know, I have heard that, when you see a cardinal, it means an angel has come to visit you. “Sheila,” I screamed. “Look out the window! Right there on the carport roof! Mother has come to visit us!” “Oh, my GOSH! She’s heard EVERYTHING WE’VE SAID!” Oh, how we laughed! I have to say, what we decided then, and I still believe now – the angel that day – in the form of a cardinal, was nothing short of a BLESSING and a reminder that we will meet again in Heaven! What a PROMISE! And I know our mom will be there waiting with open arms! I just hope there are no vacuums or dishes when I arrive! I know Sheila feels the same way, too!