A Birdy Finish!

by Nicole

I’d like to introduce my Birds in the Air quilt!

Birds in the Air Quilt

Many of the birds were created in different parts of the country by my bee mates from That Stash Bee in January of last year. They flew home to North Carolina and sat around my sewing studio for more than a year waiting for a bit of stitching attention.

A couple of months ago, I picked up the blocks and turned them into a top. I had fun deciding on a layout for the quilt. You can read more about that here. In the end, I decided to go with what I am calling an interrupted zigzag layout.

For the quilting, I went with a small paisley design in the background and a back and forth in the triangles. The paisleys give the quilt movement and is the most dense quilting I’ve ever done. Even with all the quilting, the quilt still has a lovely drape. That may be because I prewashed the batting. More on that here.

Birds Quilt1

In my effort to use up my scraps, I went with a scrappy binding made from strips of different lengths.  I love the look and think it fits well with the other fabrics in the quilt.

Birds Quilt3

Some quilts bring more of a sense of relief when they are finished than others. This is certainly one of them. These birds have been a long time in the making! 

Birds Quilt2

If you are interested in making a quilt with the Birds in the Air block, check out the tutorial that I’ve written. If you do make a quilt or blocks from the tutorial, please feel free to post to the Mama Love Quilts Flickr group. I’d love to see what you stitch up!

If you are looking to practice quilting paisleys, check out this post on machine quilting paisleys.

Linking up with Finish It Up Friday!

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34 comments

Jasmine April 25, 2014 - 4:55 pm

This is a stunning quilt. I love everything about it from the layout to the quilting to the binding. 🙂

~Diana April 25, 2014 - 5:13 pm

Nicole, I just love everything that you do! Beautiful!!!

Snowcatcher April 25, 2014 - 7:07 pm

I love everything about this quilt. The colors, the triangles, the quilting, and oh, the broken zigzag! Wonderful!

Katy Cameron April 25, 2014 - 7:15 pm

They've flocked beautifully together :o)

charlotte April 25, 2014 - 7:19 pm

Absolutely love it. Great colors and what a wonderful design.

Margaret April 25, 2014 - 8:30 pm

This is just gorgeous! I'm drooling over the quilting!!

BillieBee (billiemick) April 25, 2014 - 8:53 pm

Lovely, lovely quilt!

DaisyLiz April 25, 2014 - 9:00 pm

YAY for the finish! It's gorgeous!

Kat April 25, 2014 - 9:27 pm

Love this! What a great quilt, and amazing quilting!

wish2stitch April 25, 2014 - 10:31 pm

I always enjoy looking at the quilting you do to complete your quilts. It complements the design so well.

April April 25, 2014 - 10:59 pm

Very Pretty! love the colors and the quilt is so dainty and lovely.

PeggyinNO April 25, 2014 - 11:24 pm

WoW, absolutely beautiful quilt! Love the quilting too!

Tina Craig April 25, 2014 - 11:45 pm

I love the way you set the blocks. The quilting works great with the pattern. And I love the colors!

CityHouseStudio April 26, 2014 - 12:25 am

So pretty! I love the layout you chose!
And your quilting is absolutely amazing . . . it must have taken countless hours!!!

carla April 26, 2014 - 12:44 am

Hi!!!! It is beautiful as usual!!!!! Love it all!!!! The binding is wonderful!!!!!!! I had missed your post of your little girls dresses!!!!! Adorable!!!! It looks like they love them too!!!!

Leanne April 26, 2014 - 3:05 am

It's lovely to see it all finished. The blocks are fun, I love the layout and the quilting is inspirational. A wonderful quilt.

Love Of Quilts April 26, 2014 - 4:47 am

So Pretty!

ipatchandquilt April 26, 2014 - 10:00 am

I am impressed how such a "relative simple" pattern has such a hug impact by just alternating the zigzags!!! well done!!!
Esther

Pennie April 26, 2014 - 10:51 am

I love this, and what an inspired layout! Really stunning – give great movement and reminds me of the huge flocks of starlings we get, wheeling through the evening twilight – it's called a murmuration

Suzanne April 26, 2014 - 12:09 pm

I'm really impressed by the changes in quilting textures on the triangles. I wonder when you do that, do you switch from the zigzag to the paisley or do you do zigzag and then jump down to another zigzag and then go back and fill in wth paisleys? (Does that make sense?)

Paige April 26, 2014 - 12:17 pm

Congratulations on a great finish. My Drunkard's Medallion that I just posted about was a year in the making. I should finish it up next week!

Denise Russell April 26, 2014 - 4:10 pm

Yes!!! It turned out soooooo beautiful, Nicole! The quilting is gorgeous, the colors are great, and it would absolutely look stunning in my house… 🙂 I know you are happy to have finally finished it. For me, it was worth the wait!

amidthismoment April 26, 2014 - 8:51 pm

It's gorgeous! I never would have thought to use that layout. I love everything about the quilt – the colors, the design, the quilting, the binding – it's all amazing! Congratulations on finishing.

-Bobbi
amid.this.moment (at) gmail (dot) com

Tamie April 27, 2014 - 12:00 am

Really love this quilt- the colors, the layout and the quilting. You did such a wonderful job. Congratulations on the finish.

Lisa Lisa April 27, 2014 - 1:49 am

Love this! And your quilting is amazing! How nice of you to share a tutorial with all of us 🙂

Carla April 27, 2014 - 2:37 am

Perhaps the birds went south for a bit. You did a lovely job and I like the setting. Beautiful dresses in the previous post too

Books_Bound April 27, 2014 - 4:56 am

This is gorgeous, Nicole! I really like the layout–I've not seen anything quite like that before, and it works so well. I like that the Vs kind of reference, well, birds in the air. And I know I've been drooling over this on IG, but your paisleys are really pretty. 🙂

Barb N April 27, 2014 - 2:43 pm

So glad to learn you have a tutorial, because I was trying to visual how to put this all together. Love it! Thanks.

pandchintz April 27, 2014 - 11:39 pm

It looks fabulous Nicole! Love the colours, love the setting and the quilting is amazing!

CitricSugar May 1, 2014 - 2:51 am

Just finished catching up! This is absolutely gorgeous – I love all those swirls. I must get better at free-motion – I keep seeing all these inspiring quilting designs…

Beth May 2, 2014 - 3:28 pm

Love this! Can't believe it's a bee quilt–it looks like the work of one person.

Michelle@factotum-of-arts.com May 5, 2014 - 3:42 am

I love everything about it Nicole. It turned out fantastic.

Deb@asimplelifequilts May 5, 2014 - 9:33 pm

This is just so wonderful! I love everything about it.

Sarah May 14, 2014 - 6:18 am

Beautiful quilt! What a great result from a bee.

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