Bird of Paradise Details

My first blog began with my project recreating the well-known Bird of Paradise "quilt". At that time there were a number of people who were making a version of that work from a commercial pattern, calling their versions the Civil War Bride Quilt. Since the famous version had never been finished, nothing made in modern times can be a completely faithful reproduction unless it is also left incomplete, but the modern versions added modern touches and changed the arrangement of blocks. I wanted mine to be more faithful.


I drew my own patterns from a photo taken when the Whitney Museum owned the quilt. Mine is slightly larger to fit a double bed--that Renaissance Revival bed that is in many of the photos on this blog (16 inch blocks versus 15 inch blocks). As I drew and made each block, I saw more and more details in the original that were not immediately apparent. The woman who made that top was interested in all the flora and fauna around her, both the domestic and the exotic. The leaves in each block fit whatever flower or fruit is shown in the block. So there are clearly oak leaves, and rose leaves, and cherry leaves, and chestnut leaves. The block arrangement follows a design that I do not know the name of but which can be seen frequently in European decorative painting and tile work. So there is a central area that is tied together even if the blocks vary, surrounded by more vertical block arrangements, followed by the border. The unknown woman also copied animals she knew of that achieved some fame including Hannible, the elephant, and the race horses that she named and put in her quilt. Although her top was never finished, it remains an iconic piece of American folk art. Making this quilt entirely by hand was both a challenge and a joy.

When I made this quilt I changed very little in the blocks basic components but I did use my own fabric choices for the elements that had been made completely of one small print cotton. Since these didn't fit the rest of the quilt, I chose to make them in fabrics that fit the pieces and that blended with the other fabrics in the original.

 

In the original top, these vultures are all one color, a yellowed tan with a small reddish pattern. I made my vultures more exotic even though I didn't change her basic pattern for the birds--those clunky legs. 

These fabrics are as close as I could get to the original. I fussy cut the fabric for the birds' head feathers as the original person did as well. These birds were sitting in an oak tree.

These redwing  blackbirds were sitting in a chestnut tree. If you look closely you can see that the eggs are about to hatch--maybe that's why the birds are singing.

One of my favorite blocks is one of the most memorable in the quilt. The elephant's name is known from other historical references about life in upstate New York prior to the Civil War. The incredible details in the quilt include three dimensional elements as in the trainer's rope, along with inked and painted elements such as the nameplates for the horses and the man's face. The mystery includes why the trainer has a heart embroidered on his uniform.

 There are horses all over the quilt. Some of the horse in the border are ridden by odd little men in odd little poses. Because the original maker did not finish the quilt, it was my choice as to how to quilt and bind this.I chose to quilt diagonal lines one half inch apart across the background and to outline and detail quilt the various elements. I made red piping and then a double French bias binding. I still have my hand drawn patterns if anyone wants a big challenge--it took me 19 months.

Short Instructional Videos for Freezer Paper Applique and Reverse Applique with Freezer Paper

Some of you may have already seen these short videos that my husband shot in 2009 with his old camera. The first focuses on making sharp points on leaves and other elements in applique quilts. You will also see and hear my cat Barney in this video.

 

The second video shows how to sew reverse applique in an easy way with clean sharp edges. I use reverse applique frequently on big and small shapes. It adds depth to various elements. My husband has a new camera that he can't wait to try so if anyone wants to see more videos, leave some suggestions for what quilting or sewing technique you want to see. I will try to accommodate the suggestions. Who knows, perhaps Max, the Maine coon cat whose kitty picture appears next to my bio, will come investigate. He is endlessly curious and much bigger now.

Clipper Ship

My husband found it hard to photograph the white on white sections of the Mariner's Compass Rose but this is the center block. It is from an Ellie Sienkiewicz book but I left out some of the details since they were unnecessary when working in one color. So I quilted the stripes rather than using multiple colors. I had never made yo-yos before and I am not crazy about the end result. =I also changed the  roses into single Cherokee rose type that I made dimensional with some gathering and some fluff inserted after the bock was complete. The sails were stuffed the same way.

Close ups of Paradise Lost Border with Details

Here is Paradise Lost again. I want to focus on some of the details of the quilt and give you a pattern of sorts to consider. When I made this quilt, about four years ago, I was trying desperately not to purchase any more fabric since I had so much that more seemed like a character flaw not a design opportunity. So all of the fabrics were already in my stash. I adapted the borders from Delectable Pathways, by Mary Sorensen & Cindy Blackberg.

This is one of the three birds on the quilt, this one sitting above midway on the left border. Although it is a little difficult to see, the black material for the wings, head,  and tail was chosen for its featherlike qualities.

This is the pattern for that bird. His mate on the right border is simply reversed. If you look carefully you can see the grid on which I draw out the patterns. One inch graph paper is readily available at office supply stores and comes in big pads with tearaway sheets.

 Most of the quilts I make have a dragonfly on them somewhere. This one has Dupioni silk wings with embroidered details added. The flower on the right has a reverse applique center, embroidered details, and circles cut out with a hole punch.

 This insect is one of my favorites. I call it a ladywing though I don't know the real name. I love the delicate look of it and the way it camouflages into the stem on which it sits.

The large flower was very bland until I added the embroider over the navy blue fabric.The moth with his feathery antennae and the small caterpillar are fun touches.

Baltimore Album

I saw this quilt displayed over a mantel in a townhouse in NYC in House Beautiful several years ago. I had made many Baltimore Albums by then and found this one particularly attractive because of the large wreath surrounding the center basket.  If you look closely, you will see that the outside nosegays indicate what flower is highlighted in each corner of the wreath. The original maker must have wearied of the task before her because typically what is here would have been surrounded by more blocks to make it a bed size quilt. The size makes it a handy quilt to display when a bed size quilt is just too big. The blocks are pretty standard for Baltimore Albums but the planning of the design was especially pleasing to me so I drew out my own patterns from the picture in the magazine and made the quilt. I have highlighted a couple of the blocks on this page to show how fabric choices can make a difference.

I chose to consider these two birds as male and female of the species, with the male being the more flamboyant on the left. This is the block on the center left of the quilt.

 These two birds are the center of  the upper right corner wreaths. I placed the freezer paper on the fabric in such a way to utilize the design elements on the fabric.

This bird is the center of the upper left corner wreath. The tail feathers were fussy cut individually and embroidery elements were added after all of the applique was complete.

Embroidery Enhances

Blogger's Note--Since this page has gotten so many hits, my husband and I will put up more pictures tomorrow, including the snake. Please see Embroidery Enhances Part 2 for more pictures from the right hand side of the quilt.

 Here is the William deMorgan tile set quilt again with some close ups as an incentive to quilters out there to add some embroidery to their applique. Keep in mind that it isn't necessary and sometimes not desirable to match the embroidery floss to the color of the piece. None of the flowers would stand out the way they do without embroidery but I think it made a big difference in the red lilies. A side note: This doesn't hang as poorly as it appears to in the photo. I am behind the quilt holding it over my head and probably swaying in the breeze as my husband looks through the view finder.

I outline stitched and emphasized petal details with navy blue floss and added pistils and stamens in tan. Bullion stitch gives them a dimensional quality as well. The solid colors of the hibiscus flowers are enhanced with lighter colors in simple straight stitching.

 

It's hard to imagine how flat and lifeless the red lily was before the black outline stitching was added and you can just see the blue outline on the white portions of the vase that keep it from fading into the background. There are even French knots on the pink lily to mimic the dotting that is often a feature of lilies.

 

So when you finish your applique give your piece a critical look. You will see areas that just need a little punch that simple embroidery adds.

Dresden Plate Quilt with Floral and Geometric Borders.

A few years ago Keepsake Quilting offered precut Dresden Plate wedges so I bought four sets, 80 total pieces. Saving a couple of each pattern for the applique, I added wedges I cut out of 30's reproduction fabrics I had and other bright pastel fabrics. This quilt is the end result. I was making this the summer my sister Pamela died so I call it Pamela's quilt. I sat in her hospital room working on the stippling in the border, adding and then camouflaging our names in the stipple stitches. Maybe 100 years from now some quilt historian will notice and wonder what the story is behind the names in the stippling. The third year anniversary of her death is fast approaching--RIP Pamela.

Spring Baskets

I made this quilt two years ago to take advantage of the nice gradations of blue in the fabric line. My attempt at making foxgloves is not that good but the other details and the nice feathered quilted section are nice.I found it interesting that the red batik fabric worked so well for the impatiens. I donated this quilt to a school auction in San Francisco. It only went for $125. What a bargain. I think I will just give money next time--it's easier.

Christmas in July

This quilt was designed by Janet Miller and the pattern used to be available though I do not know if it still is. She called it Sawtooth Cats but I made it entirely with Christmas themed fabrics, even the grays and blacks, so I call it Felix Navidad. I followed her pattern faithfully but I did give one cat blue eyes for my Siamese cat, Tom.

Recently Finished Quilts

A friend in California has been after me for several year to make a quilt for her. I finally relented and made this queen sized New York Beauty. My husband, the photographer and computer guy, always takes the bed quilt pictures on our bed so anyone looking at my blog will see the old Victorian often. Anyway, my friend is a reading specialist at the elementary school level and this quilt reflects her perky, happy personality.

Her daughter wanted a queen sized quilt as well but she has an enormous redbone coonhound. Since Finn sleeps on the bed I was reluctant to make her a quilt but she promised that she would cover it when she was out of the apartment. Even with that promise I didn't want to invest a great deal of time with too much applique or too much quilting so this Melon Slice is the result. This was also in Quilters Newsletter though I don't remember the issue. Lots of interesting blue fabrics from many different continents and decades.

Everyone should check out Quilter Blogs at www.quilterblogs.com. Lots of folks from all over with different perspectives and different focuses.

Layered and Quilting

First few stitches taken on the bowtie quilt. There are some actions or events or even smells that cause the memories to flicker in my brain and the first few stitches on a quilt do that for me. Another odd one is the musty locker chlorine smell of swimming pool dressing areas but that's from too many years and too much time spent in a pool. This quilt is double bed size--antique beds are usually smaller than modern ones--and won't have that much quilting on it. Maybe I will finish it before I go to France in October.

Still Stitching

A few years ago I had a blog that was very frustrating because on a daily basis my computer would be hacked or I would be hit with viruses. Clearly time to let someone else handle the security.

Since I last wrote I have made at least six quilts, two and a half queen size ones and the others of smaller sizes. Working almost entirely by hand that must mean that my life is too focused on quilts but I do get other work accomplished. My husband and I travel, mostly to western Europe, around twice a year. I continue to mentor high school students to help them achieve their college goals. There are the usual daily chores of household life and I have two dogs and three cats who all think I am the den mother. Their own pecking order is strange with the dogs interwoven in the middle. Barney, the big stray cat, is the sheriff of everything and everyone chases Tom, the lover cat.

I can't get used to "modern" quilts so I stick to recreating antique quilts or making new quilts based on antique themes and blocks. Last year I even dreamed about making a quilt, Mariner's Compass Rose, which is pretty much what it sounds like--four Mariner's Compass blocks and five appliqued blocks set in a square with four of the applique blocks being rose wreaths or bouquets and the center block being a full blown clipper ship. The Baltimore Album books of Ellie Sienkiewicz provided the patterns for the applique blocks and the clipper ship block, but as in my dream, all the applique is white on white with trapunto accents and white on white embroidery. Strictly speaking it is cream on cream but the only color in the center section is in the Mariner's compass blocks. The outside borders repeat some of those colors in an undulating wave pattern with froth on the waves provided by the quilting pattern. I never dreamed a quilt before, or since.

Right now I am layering a bowtie quilt with a floral border. It started off as a pattern put out by Quilters Newsletter magazine (March 2000 #320, designed by Kathy Munkelwitz) but I changed a couple of details on the pieced inner section including the size and designed my own floral border using morning glories and fuchsias that I adapted from a design called Garden Glories by Binky Brown Takahashi, along with other flowers and assorted flying or crawling insects. It is so bright and cheerful it will make any bedroom happy. The Hobbs silk batting is a dream to baste and having used it before I know it will be easy to quilt as well. The picture above is on my bed when I finished the applique but before I embroidered details or started layering. My fabric stash has more than 1200 fabrics and this top includes fabrics from the 1930's up to the 21st century, everything from calicoes to batiks. This one I am calling The Ties That Bind.