Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Tree Bird Hop

 Apologies...this was scheduled to post and didn't....anyone having troubles with Blogger?

 

Just in time for spring comes this great blog hop..... Tree Bird Hop!  I can tell you that the birds are actually returning to Indiana in full swing with temps in the 40's and 50's.  The snow is melting and will be soon be gone ... my shovel will be retired to the garage and the mower will come out to take its place.

This is another hop from dear Madame Samm.  She continues to keep us "hoppin!"  And I also have Lana to thank for being our hostess.  There are lots of participants in this hop and it has to take a lot of checking and rechecking to keep us all under control.  A HUGE thanks to Madame Samm and Lana!!

This hop was all about the birds.  We were asked to make something bird related.  It was suggested.. only suggested.... that we might want to use some fabric from Elizabeth's Studio called Beautiful Birds.  It was designed by Tracy Lizotte.  Well, I loved the fabric so much that I really wanted to use it in my wall hanging.  I started with this panel of several birds nested in their colorful houses. If you are interested in this fabric line, there are many different bird fabrics, all colorful and delightful. 

 

And then, Pat, my sweet blogging friend, sent me this panel.... an empty tree, just waiting for some colorful birds.  Thank you so much Pat for sending this to me and making the vision that I had in my mind come true.



And lastly, a picture of Oliver that was printed on fabric.  I had intended to thread paint this, but it just didn't work out.  I'll have to give it a try on a future project.


 

Here's the finished hanging.  Although Oliver is no longer with me, I have tons of memories of him sitting by the window and "chatting/cackling" at the birds in the backyard.  I took a few of the birds from the bird panel and combined them with some "blank" tree sections from the tree panel.  I had intended the tree to kind of extend as one into the window sections.  Somehow, when I added the borders and the seam allowances, they were far from lining up.  Oh well... the eye really doesn't pay much attention to the fact that the tree doesn't exactly flow from pane to pane.




A closer look at Oliver.  I added a layer of fusible fleece under him to make him look like he was in the room and give him a bit of a 3D dimension.



These shots are trying to show that I actually did quilt this wall hanging.  Even in person, the quilting lines kind of disappear.  I didn't do heavy quilting, but quilted all of the trees and the window sections.  I think it would have turned out better if I had used a thicker batting.



 

This is a little template that I made to do the window sections.  It was the first time that I had done a version of Attic Windows and was concerned about messing up the Y seams.  With this little template, I just marked the intersections and stopped sewing at the marks.  I machine stitched the whole thing and they went together perfectly, without a glitch.  I was a happy camper!


 

Thanks for stopping by today and checking out my Tree Bird project.  There are other talented bloggers joining me today and here are the links to visit their blogs.  Please fly over to each one and let them know how much you enjoyed your visit!

Tuesday, March 17
Gracie Oliver Arts-You are here!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

55 comments:

  1. what a lovely hanging, filled with inspiration and heart and look a guard too lol

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  2. What a delightful quiltie and a great memory of your beloved friend!

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  3. I love this! This would be a perfect way to bring about what I wanted to do in the first place. hmmmm... Now you have inspired me!

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  4. What a clever idea and a beautiful result!

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  5. Such a cute quilt. You did a great job and now, Oliver will always be with you.

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  6. What a sweet tribute to Oliver ! When I first looked I really thought your cat was sitting there looking at the quilt !

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  7. I love the way you stitched the wall hanging and especially the warching cat. What a sweet memory to have and glance at when you are stitching. Nice work.

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  8. Oh wow, what a lovely quilt. You did a beautiful job. I really like your kitty sitting there, looking out the window. Great job!

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  9. I love your quilt with your sweet Oliver there to " chirp" at the birds! What a great way to remember him! ( My Sugarplum loves to sit at the window and do t be same thing! )

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  10. Your wall hanging is so beautiful!!!

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  11. Jeanie this is just adorable - and what a sweet memory! blessings, marlene

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  12. Wonderful idea. It turned out perfectly. Great memory quilt of Oliver.

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  13. What a unique idea and very creative and nice project.. It's especially a very nice and loving tribute to Oliver. Thanks for such kind words of my projects too, they were appreciated. Jane

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  14. So cute, especially your dear kitty.
    Thanks for sharing.

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  15. I remember my kitties chattering at birds...so entertaining when they do that! Sweet Oliver looks pretty content with his place on your adorable bird quilt and that last pic shows off the stitching in the trees. Lovely creation!

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  16. So wonderful! I'd thought of doing attic windows blocks but decided not too cause it'd be too "birdy" but I just love the way you combined the plain tree fabric. That wasgenius and your kitty longingly watching the birds out the window is a great addition. Stellar project for the hop!

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  17. What a precious wall hanging with Oliver in it Jeanie! Beautiful work and thanks for sharing!

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  18. That is so cute. I love the windows and Oliver sitting there is wonderful.

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  19. I. LOVE. IT.! BRAVO!!!!!!!! I thought about doing this, but could not for the life of me figure out how to do the window panes.... LOVE LOVE LOVE!

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  20. I. LOVE. IT.! BRAVO!!!!!!!! I thought about doing this, but could not for the life of me figure out how to do the window panes.... LOVE LOVE LOVE!

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  21. Your wall hanging turned out great! I love Oliver sitting in the corner watching the birds outside the window.

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  22. Jeanie, this is a beautiful memory quilt for Oliver. I have photos of all my lovely kitties who have crossed the rainbow bridge above my computer to keep me company and I know that this quilt will bring many warm fuzzies to you. I have always thought that the attic window setting looked tricky and you have de-mystified it with your home made template. I am happy to have played a small part in bringing your vision to fabric life. Thank you for sharing Oliver and his window with me today ... {{{hugs}}} ... <3 Pat

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  23. Lovely quilt and a wonderful memory of Oliver. Thank you for sharing.

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  24. I really like what you did with this. Oliver is perfect.

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    Replies
    1. Susan, I just wanted to thank you for your sweet words. You are a no-reply blogger and I was unable to reply via email. Thanks so very much for your kindness!

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  25. Jeanie, I absolutely love your window quilt! What a treasure with your sweet kitty looking out the window. It's my favorite project. :D

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  26. An inspired wallhanging and even more special with the memories!!

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  27. Jeanie you did a wonderful memorial piece by having Oliver looking out the window as he did when he was on this side of the rainbow bridge. It will allow Oliver to continuously be looking your window for a long time to come. Thank You for sharing it with us today.

    Toodles,
    Tricia

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  28. I love what you did with the panel. Adding your sweet kitty memorialized him in a very touching way. A++

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  29. Oh be still my heart!! Oliver would be proud! I think the tree is perfect! Love it!
    Gmama Jane

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  30. Beautiful wall hanging. I love everything about it. Thank you for sharing Oliver with us today.

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  31. Smile, what a great idea to put your cat "on" the quilt, love it!

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  32. Wonderful wall hanging. At first I thought your cat was posing so still and then did a double-take (I don't read all the words on blogs) - he was printed and stitched. Perfect!

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  33. What a great wall quilt! (I saved a panel of the birds to make an into a quilt later and it will be my first attempt at Attic Windows. Seeing yours has me all the more inspired!) The addition of Oliver looking out the window is incredibly sweet.

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  34. Wow, how creative your project is, and a sweet reminder of a loved one. I really love your wooden border, it looks amazing. Love your take on this fabric line, so glad Pat helped you out so we could see your inspired project.

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  35. As a cat lover and being owned by many cats since I was a child (you know what cats are like!), I can really appreciate the scene you have captured. It is so clever and so realistic. It's also a great way to remember a special friend/member of the family and keep him always close.

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  36. love the way you created you window pane quilt.

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  37. Your window pane quilt is fabulous, I love how your beloved kitty is bird watching, so very sweet. Love it!

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  38. Beautiful quilt and I love how you added Oliver to it. Very nice.

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  39. Oh so beautifully done. I like how you made Oliver stand out. He was a handsome cat and would be proud to be remembered this way.

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  40. Blessings to Oliver who looks "purr"fect sitting at the window watching all the Tree Birds. I love your creation! Thank you sew very much for Tree Bird hopping and participating. Creative Bird Bliss...

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  41. I love love love the wall hanging. I love how you use the wood fabric in the window, very ingenious and the darker wall, gives it a real feel to the window. Simply beautiful!!

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  42. How fabulous! You did a wonderful job on this, Jeanie. I had to look twice because Oliver looks so life like. Such a beautiful wall hanging and a wonderful way to remember some of the joy Oliver gave you with his bird watching. Truly a gorgeous finish!

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  43. The window quilt with Oliver was so inspired! I just loved it! Fantastic idea!

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  44. what fun! love your totally original and fun-inspired quilt!

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  45. What a great job. I love the tree, the birdhouses sitting in the branches in the attic windows, just perfect. But Oliver is the best (and I'm not even a cat lover). He looks so real!

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  46. Replies
    1. Thanks, Kathy! You are a no-reply blogger so I'm unable to email a response to you. Just wanted to say thank you for visiting and leaving a sweet comment!

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  47. Love it, Jeanie. This is an awesome tribute. Your cat looks so life like sitting there looking out your beautifully created window scene.

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  48. I think your wall hanging is simply sweet and a great tribute to your former companion.

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  49. Your panel is just wonderful! The dimension you created was done so well - not just with Oliver but with the window sections - they just popped out. The tree looked perfect to me. It's a winner!!

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  50. Oh wow! I love your kitty at the window. Your quilting looked beautiful and I think that adding a little extra to Oliver was a good choice.

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  51. Ahh, Jeanie, it turned out just puurrrfect. I love it. A sweet little tribute to your kitty.

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