Thursday, May 15, 2014

Nedra's Spring--Robin Red Breast is Here!



Ah spring.  How I longed for it to arrive when I lived in New England.    I used to dream of azaleas, clover, bridal wreath and tulips in March as in my memories of spring in Louisiana.  But alas, winter seemed to go on endlessly with brown lawns and leafless trees.  How I would rejoice when the first blades of green grass and tender buds would start to grow.  And then they would appear.  Robins – the quintessential harbinger of spring!!!!

I used  a collage-like technique to create the bird.  I drew a sketch of the robin on stabilizer and filled in the design with cut pieces of fabric which I fused and stitched into place.  I then did machine quilting to emphasize the beak, eye, and  feathers with shading.

Using craft foam, I made a stamp of bird’s feet and created a pattern on the background fabric and then stitched the robin into place.  The feet, worm, grass and spring were  fused.  A yo-yo and button dot the I.

It is machine quilted using a “spring” shaped design and the tracks of the feet were stitched for emphasis and contrast. 

10 comments:

  1. Oh, yes, the wonder harbinger of spring--the robin! That is true everywhere, I think. This charming quilt truly captures spring! The robin is delightful, and I love the little touch of the yo-yo and the button!

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  2. I don't know if we have Robin Red Breasts here, but our backyard is filled with lots and lots of birds that bring such Spring-type joy! We have a large 'bird-bath' and several Hummingbird feeders in our yard, and get hours of enjoyment watching the birds gather throughout the Spring and Summer. I loved that you used a "Spring" design for the bird feet tracks !

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  3. Your robin is so cute! Yes, spring around here is welcomed with tons of robins.

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  4. What a fun quilt! This has been such a hard winter. Robins were are treat to see this year.

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  5. Nedra, this made me smile! I love to see the robins arrive in the spring. The way you made the robin's tracks is oh so clever! Well done!

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  6. Gotta love Robins! As always you come up with amazing solutions to our challenges each month Nedra! This one is no exception, what nice movement, and composition this has. Perfect!

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  7. A perfect representation of Spring. I love the fabrics that you used in the robin, the tracks and the springy quilting!

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  8. This is adorable! I love it's whimsical feeling. When I read "spring" quilting I didn't understand. Looked at the close up and just had to chuckle!

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  9. This quilt makes me smile. I do remember the cheery robin red-breast announcing spring

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  10. Robins…of course always meant spring to me as a child. Perfect solution for the theme and so well executed. Love all of your very clever elements, including your use of the Kaffe fabric! The "spring" quilting is especially fun and clever.

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