Fall Fabric Birds

The past couple of weeks I have been working on some fall decor items and everything fall in my sewing and stamping rooms.  

I had some cute fall fabrics out so I thought I would make some cute little fall birds with it.  

The pattern for these birds is an old Sizzix die cut.  I cut out the shape in cardboard and then trace it onto fabric to sew the birds.  I sew on the line and leave a small hole near the tail for turning and stuffing the birds.

Then I add some sort of embellishment for the wings and a gold cord hoop for hanging them.  You can put them in a bowl or hang them on a tree or cabinet knob, etc.

I love making them in different fabrics. It  allows the birds to be used for any season or to match different decor colors.  

Here they are in rust and in a pretty yellow leaf fabric.

I had in mind to make some black crows but then I found this pretty black fabric with fall flowers on it.  They're not exactly crows, but I love how they turned out.  :)

How many birds have I made in total?  I don't know, maybe hundreds.  I love these little fellas.  They're fast, fun and easy to make.

Where would you put one?

 

The Tilda Collection

For the past couple of weeks I have been playing around using some of my Tilda fabrics.  I wanted to make a gift for one of my sewing friends for her birthday because I know that she loves fabric from the Tilda lines.  

I started out making some needlepoint cases and fussy cutting the ladies from one of my fabric pieces for the front of the case.  The back is patchwork and inside is some wool felt with embellishments on it.  I made four of them and love how they came out!  I saw the idea for these online.

Next I made some patchwork pincushions to match.  I had to order some purple buttons to complete all of the projects.  I like how they add to the cuteness factor.

After finishing them, I sewed some small zippered bags in the beautiful Tilda fabrics.  I added a small charm to the zipper pull and a little tab on them.  

Of course, I couldn't leave out the little birdies!  My friend has a whole collection of them and I knew that she would like one in the Tilda fabrics.  :)

I found a flower pattern on the internet and made some mug rugs to go with the collection.  You can drink your tea and while sewing and there's room for a cookie, too!  Or you can just dress up a table or shelf with them.

After the flowers, I put together some key fobs.  These are great for keys or anything that you can put on a ring.  I have some applique circles that I added to mine so that I don't lose them.  

Lastly, I made a couple of cards to match the set.  I gave one set to my friend Carol and raffled off a second set at my quilt guild.  The ladies there loved them, too!  

What do you think of my Tilda collection for sewing?  

 

More Patchwork and Embrodiery

Before Christmas I decided to do some more patchwork for some gifts.  I love the book by Gail Pan called Patchwork Loves Embroidery.  

It's a book that I've had for a while but I love to transfer the patterns to embroider.  She also has several nice projects to make in her book.  Each time that I take it out, I want to make more of her items.  

After I made the bag which has a nice enclosure at the top, I stitched up some more birds to match the bag.  I made some bitsy yo-yo's for embellishments along with some buttons.

Then I decided that I wanted to put another piece with embroidery on it with this gift, I stitched up the sweet little heart and made it into a pin cushion.  You can also use it for decorating, putting on a shelf or in a basket.  

I had fun putting this all together.  I gave it to my friend for her gift but now I want to make more of these!  The fabrics come together and coordinate so nicely.  How can I even stop?

 

Vintage Market in My House?

My friends and I love to go to the Vintage Market Fairs in our area.  There are two coming up soon and we're busy making plans to go!  Recently a couple of my friends and I decided that we wanted to get some booths at one of them and start doing some craft fairs.  We talked about what we wanted to sell and decided that we needed to start making some things if we are going to make it happen.  

So I moved a couple of wire rack shelves into my dining room/crafting room to start setting things up so I would know what I need to make and use for displaying my items.  I am having fun at second hand shops picking up some picnic baskets and old things to use.  There's a little shop not too far away called Captain's Treasures and we have been stopping in for our "treasures."

This week I started by making some pretty little flower shaped bowls.  I am using Folktale fabrics by Lella Boutique and love how they are turning out.  I bought the pattern from Etsy and spent a few days working on them.  Of course, I want to make a lot more, but this is a good start.  I've made about ten so far.  Don't you love the pretty muted colors and the flowers in the fabric?  I want to think of some more items to make using these pretty fabrics.  

I love using little birds in my decor around the house.  This week I made some little fabric birds to put into my display.  I chose some colors from nature to make the birds from.  They are fun and easy to make.  Although, you can set them into a bowl or in a display, I added a hanging string on them.  They can be hung from a cupboard or a doorknob.  Or even from a display tree.

When I put the little birds into the tree, I thought they looked great for spring!  I will definitely be making more of these cuties.  

I am having fun setting up my displays.  Of course, I need to make a lot more items to fill it with.  I'll be keeping you posted.  :)

 

Birds on a Wire Wall Hanging

Last week I was looking through some of my Debbie Mumm quilting books for inspiration and I came across the pattern for this cute wall hanging.  I remembered that I had wanted to make him for my home.  It certainly looked easy enough and quick to finish, so I started working on it.

I chose some greens and browns that match my decor and added bits of turquoise and yellow for some extra color.  I wanted to make one of the birds in a floral or patterned fabric and love how he came out.  Then I added just a pop of orange for one of the beaks and tail feathers to finish it up.

I did some simple background quilting in two of the panels with straight and diagonal lines.  It's hard to see in the photos, but I think it has just the right amount of quilting. 








Here you can see some of the lines in the bottom panel.  I edged the "wires" and the borders with some topstitching close to the seams. 

When it was done I added black buttons for the eyes and some vintage buttons to embellish the wings.  I gave the center bird two eyes to give the wall hanging a bit of a quirky feel.  What do you think?






Finally, here's a photo of the birdies hanging in my sitting area off of the kitchen.

 I can almost hear them singing.