Birds in the Air

Date: 
13 June 2013 to 6 July 2013
Recipient: 
Pete and Thea's daughter
Pattern: 
New York Beauty
Level of completion: 
Completed and given away

It's unfortunate that this quilt didn't get chronicled at the time it was being written, because its construction deserved discussion. "Birds in the Air" was a milestone for me; it was my first lesson in drafting New York Beauty blocks (which Adobe Illustrator makes easy!) 

Finished size will be around 8'. Sketch #1, New York Beauty block

and translating them into reality:

This one has flaws, but they're easy to fix. The skinny curves have some bobbles. Fix those and I'll be pleased with this one.

Everyone's gotta learn somehow.Second attempt

As with much about quilting, I learned that it was more painstaking than difficult -- and that these blocks REALLY needed to be ironed before I photographed them.

My goal with this quilt was to do something simple and small that could be hung on the wall after the Pete and Thea's daughter got older. I would love to tell you about the process of putting them together, but I remember little of it. I have photos showing the steady march of construction:

Six blocks done. I'm slowly getting faster, but sheesh.The crazy, so far

Added another two blocks. I'm starting to get the sense of the finished piece, which is a relief!10 blocks in

but almost no notes. It went together quickly, in a time of massive emotional upheaval and physical illness. I had a hard deadline of my company's all-company meeting, and it would be my one shot to deliver the quilt. It didn't matter how many hours it took (a lot) or how sick I was (worst non-pneumonia case of bronchitis I've ever had) ... it was going to get done.

I kept the same limited color palette for all of the blocks, saving four blocks with dark backgrounds to be the corners:

All sewn together. I have a few safety pins in place indicating seams that need fixing, but other than that, it's ready to baste and quilt.

Good thing, too. It's Wednesday, and I have an 8am flight on Sunday.Finished top

echo quilted it, and finished cleaning up the bound edges and ragged threads the night before I boarded the plane. It bugs me a little that I don't have photos of the quilting, or the finished bound quilt, but not every quilt project lets you dictate the timeline. 

It ended up being the last quilt I finished in Alabama, and marked the end of an era.

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