For the Birds

Back at the end of May, some in our Non-Traditional group took the challenge of making a non-traditional block without the use of rulers.  This is what I came up with.

I planned from the start to add some birdies.  I'd add some embellishments, too, maybe some beads.  I had chosen a gold print fabric for the birds, but then decided to use wool felt.  I just got back to this little project yesterday.

First I machine quilted the background.  Stipple for most, up and down squiggles in the two light patches, and pebbles in the tree.  I have a new, open toe quilting foot and it made it a lot easier to see where I was going (except for the tree where my thread matched too closely).

I added a little foliage at the top of the tree, one big bird in the foreground and two little ones on the branch.  Big stitches with 3 strands of embroidery thread hold everything down.

Not quite finished, but I will probably bind it before I add the 3-D embellishments (eyes and more).  Look closely and you can see the chalk lines where I'll square it up.  Here is a close-up: