Tuesday, November 30, 2010

4 Calling Birds

To continue the 12 days of Christmas (not in any specific order, mind you), I am going to present the 4 Calling Birds. (I actually should have made 2 Turtle Doves, I know....but I am having a heck of a time drawing turtles....sorry! I'll keep working on it....promise!!)

If you've been visiting my flickr stream you might have noticed that his mini started off like this:

4 Calling Birds - A rough sketch

That was quickly scribbled on a 6x9 sheet of my spiral notebook that I use for grocery lists....(now you know what's more important! LOL) I could hardly make something out of that though, so after being posted on my refrigerator for a few days, I transferred the idea onto something workable:

At this point I really considered doing applique, but after a while decided that the whole 12 days should be the same and since I did "peacock" and "three hens" in crayon, I should continue with that medium. Besides, that goes lots faster for me now. With applique, it seems I have to audition tons of fabrics to get them just right. With crayons, it's just a matter of testing colors on a separate piece of fabric.

As I've explained before, I transferred the image to fabric (cut a bit bigger than my pattern), backed it with freezer paper for stability and colored away:

If you try this process yourself, please don't get discouraged at the image right after you're done coloring. It really doesn't look like much at this stage, but it does get better after it continues, so be patient.

Here, you can see it after quilting, where I was doing the eyes. Nothing like a good poke in the eye, I say! LOL Note that the normal colonial knots were not on yet. (Yes, folks.....no french knots for this girl, although I might refer to them as french knots on occasion. Colonial knots are soooo much easier!!! And they never unknot!)

So here is the finished quilt. It ended up at 15 x 10 inches. I'm thinking a whole quilt made from these images would really be cute. Now, if I would only have time to finish the other 9 days!!

4 Calling Birds

4 Calling Birds

Just wait until you see "5 Golden Rings".......it will be a real hoot! I'm cracking myself up thinking of all these, believe me! I hope you chuckle as much as I do........until next time.....thanks for visiting!!!!

23 comments:

Michele said...

Your birds always make me smile! I'd love to try your coloring/quilting technique.

Ursula said...

That's hilarious! What an imagination. I love it!

West Michigan Quilter said...

I have just read all your posts. You are a true artists. I love what you do! You inspire me.

Sparky said...

OH MY>...4 calling birds...love this x 4 lol.. chuckling maybe not..smiling oh yes...U R such a blessing.

Linda said...

LOve it!! Keep them coming..

Vickie said...

Carol, I'm not gonna lie...you are just too much fun!!

mamadevlin said...

You really should try to sell these as a kit, they are just too adorable. I'd be the first in line to get it!! Happy Sewing!

Kathy H said...

I am enjoying all your pictures. I love the colors.

Poppyprint said...

Carol, they are hysterical. I love the lilac one with her beak wide open and her tongue in the middle. I can only imagine who they are squawking at!

Dianne said...

TOOOOO Adorable for words!! I am smiling :0)

Dolly said...

Really wonderful.......you're right, I would have given up at the finished-coloring point !

CJ said...

So so cute!
Exactly what is a Colonial Knot?? I have made French Knots, way back in the day but never even heard of Colonial Knots.

Susan said...

I love it! I sure wish that I had your imagination!

Lisa said...

Too cute! Love it.

Robin (RsIslandCrafts) said...

I just found your blog and I love your mug rugs! They are so fun and colorful.

You have such a fun sense of humor. I love the way you are interpreting the 12 Days of Christmas. Are you using regular crayons or the special fabric ones? DO you have a tutorial on your blog about this technique? I am very slow with applique and I have always loved coloring so this sounds like a win win for me.

Thank you for any help.

Made it myself said...

I love your designs and technique. I was telling my students people just don't color enough anymor tee-hee :-). Do you have a tutorial? I would love to try this myself. Do you use pre-washed fabric like for dying fabric and are there any special crayons?
Thanks and keep up the great designs!
Jan

Becky said...

Love it, love it, love it. Can't wait to see the Golden Rings.

Brita said...

These are just too stinkin' cute!!! Thanks for sharing, I'm eager to see what's next :-)

Wendy said...

These panels you are making are stunning! Can you clear something up for me though? What is a colonnial knot?

Piper said...

Your creativity never ceases to amaze me. Your drawings are so fun and cute that they always bring a smile to my face. I love it and there is no end to what that crazy brain of yours can come up with!

elliesue said...

Words fail me, this is great, you are so very talented. Thank you for the inspiration, even if I never make one, just seeing this is enough.

Miss Hillbilly said...

Just found your blog via stash manicure. I really think that I'm going to like it here!!!

Mama Spark said...

So now you need to show us how to make a colonial knot. I love this series. You should make your drawings into patterns so we can all make them. I am especially fond of the peacock!