A fun little wall hanging

Back in November, I bought a book called "Motif" while Geff and I were in Grand Junction (see the November 8, 2010, entry if you want to know more about the book and the trip to Grand Junction).

I needed to create a wall hanging this weekend, and I wanted it to have an elk motif.  This book had the perfect pattern.  It was a quick, fun project. 

And the best part?  A project completed less than 48 hours after beginning it!

And, a close up of the center...

Another completed project

Yes, the penguin is now finished.  He's a cute little fellow, even if I do say so myself.

I ran into a slight problem last night.  The beak pattern called for gray fabric.  I hadn't noticed that before.  It was an excuse to go through my fabric stash, but the search turned up no suitable fabrics.  Either the gray was not a good shade or the print was too obnoxious for a penguin beak.  I was thinking that that was going to make a perfect excuse to go to JoAnn's today, but then I got creative.  I realized the the back of the black fabric would be perfect.

Today, I managed to stuff the beak and sew it on during the Packers versus Bears game.  After the game, I finished the wings and sewed them on.  Wrapping the feet in fabric actually turned out to be kind of fun.

I had torn off strips of the under-wing fabric before I cut out the penguin.  Wrapping the feet was actually pretty simple.

The eyes were a little tougher, but I think that was because I hadn't looked at what needle I had grabbed until I was almost finished--instead of using an embroidery needle I had used a counted cross stitch needle (which is more blunt and therefore harder to move through the fabric).

I think my only regret is that the wire I used in the feet really does need to be thicker:  his poor little legs aren't strong enough to hold him upright now that the beak is sewn on.

Next time, I'll use a stronger wire.

Penguin feet

Today I created the feet for my penguin.  I'm quickly realizing that the feet are going to be the toughest part of these birds.  I used 16 gauge wire, and I'm thinking that even though this is an acceptable gauge for these, it is a little soft.  It was easy to bend into shape, though. 

Inserting the wire was a bit challenging.  The wire needed to go into a giant upside down U and with the bendable wire, it was a challenge to get it in correctly.  Once in, though, I was able to form the little feet and get them wrapped up with floral tape.  I still need to wrap them with fabric, but I want to wait until the beak and wings are on.

I have the beak sewn together, but not stuffed, and not attached to the penguin.  I just finished sewing the wings together, and writing this entry has actually been a break before turning the wings rightside out.

I'm happy with the progress.  And, I'm happy with the feet (for the most part).  The best part?  Right now, he can stand on his own!

Fun with penguins

Several years ago (okay, maybe closer to 10 years ago now), I found a pattern on eBay for making penguins and polar bears.  About two years ago, I finally made a penguin...the guy shown here.  I liked him, but I haven't gotten around to making him any buddies.

I think there are several reasons why I haven't gotten around to making his buddies--and only part of it has been procrastination.  He really doesn't stand up well.  I can prop him up, but he doesn't stand on his own.  And, there was something that I just couldn't quite put my finger on.

Tonight, I figured out what that something is.  I really should have stuffed him better.

I'm currently stuffing the new penguin--the one from "the artful bird."  I like the way it is coming together, even as I am finding things that I would like to do differently next time.

This new penguin is probably half the size of the previous penguin, but I already have almost twice as much stuffing in it.

Up next:  making penguin feet!

The penguin is started...

I decided to start on the penguin even though I didn't finish the brown wren just yet.  I thought it would be easier because it is a little larger.  To some extent it is true:  the larger size meant that the head gusset was a little easier to put in.  But, there were some areas that I had to stop and figure out before I could continue.  The directions at one point boil down to:  finish sewing the outer side of the penguin.  This sounds simple enough.  Until I was left trying to figure out how to sew the legs and tail and leave a whole for turning--all without sewing anything shut that shouldn't be.  That part actually did turn out well.  The problem I ran into, though, was that somehow I managed to get some raw edges at the top of the white showing through once I'd turned it so that the right sides were outside.  I'm not quite sure how that happened.  However, I'm quite sure that somehow it will involve ripping a seam out...

One wren done...

Tonight I finally managed to finish the first of the birds.  I sewed on the remaining yellow top wings, stuffed the beak and sewed it on, and embroidered on the eyes. 

I need to sew on the wings for the brown wren, and then I can cut out the fabric for the first penguin.  And, of course I can't wait to start on the penguin. 

I also really need to get back to the charity quilt.

And, I have several other projects that have been rattling around my imagination.

Before I move on, here is one more angle of the wren.

Ouch!

It is definitely taking me longer to finish these birds than it should.  Today I worked on sewing on the wings.  I have five of the six wings on the yellow bird attached now.  Unfortunately, though, my fingers are really sore from pushing and pulling the needle.

I struggled for a while with a regular straight needle before deciding to try one of my curved quilting needles.  The curved needles definitely made it easier in some respects, but more difficult since the overall thickness of the needle was a bit thicker.

I suspect that I am going to need to hold off working on these for a day or two to let my fingers recover.  While I should get back to working on the charity quilt, I did stop at The Quilters Studio (a quilt shop in Longmont) yesterday.  I managed to find some black fabric as well as a gray fabric that would be perfect for making penguins.

Any bets as to what I'll work on while I'm waiting for my fingers to heal?  Charity Quilt?  Penguin?

Continuing work on the birds

Tonight I decided to relax and work on the birds some more.

Did I say relax? 

I'm working on the wings tonight.  And, I'm writing an entry because I need a break from doing the detail work.  It is fun, but my shoulders are tense.

Each of the little wrens have a total of six wings (three per side) and the tail.  Each wing needs to be stitched with the batting, turned inside out, hand sewn closed, and then quilted. 

Sounds easy, right?

The wings are small:

And, trying to turn small wings inside out was a bit more difficult than I had imagined.

I borrowed some tools from Geff that have quickly become my favorite tools for this task:

One of those "just can't resist" projects

Last Thursday, I met my friend Sue for some quilt store shopping and lunch.  I fully intended to just browse when we went to one of my favorite quilt stores in Denver--The Great American Quilt Factory.  Really, that was my intention.

Naturally, that meant that I had to fall in love with something.  Or, several things, as the case may have been.  There was a really delightful Christmas print:  old postcards and a black background.  Yes, that jumped into my hand, especially as it was on sale.  And, I'd already decided to buy a book:  "the artful bird" by Abigail Paner Glassenberg (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1596682388/1n9867a-20).  Cute little stuffed birds.  How could I not like it?

While I intended to finish the charity quilt before beginning to make the birds, the birds won out last night.  Using some scraps, I started making my first one.  The head didn't come quite right, but I decided to keep going.  I got it stuffed, and then got stuck.  The wire I had on hand was just not strong enough to support the roly poly little fellow.  So, I started a second one.

Today, I went out and got some wire, and some small pins for the head.  You can't really tell from the photo on the right, but I bought some pins that they sell for sequins.  Each pin is only about a half inch long, and really tough to pick up.  But, it did make putting in the head gusset much easier for me.

The two birds (the first is the brown, the second is the yellow) are still works in progress, but it is time for me to get ready for the work week after being on vacation for just over a week.  They are stuffed, the legs are finished (although, I learned an awful lot about what I'll do differently--including following the directions in the book more closely especially with respect to the length of the wire!!), and the wings are now in progress.

I have definitely learned that this is one of those projects that looks easier than it is.  But, if you are in the market for a new project:  I recommend this book.  The directions are easy to follow (ahem, when I remember to follow them), and there are plenty of types of birds to choose from.  I can't wait to finish these two and move on to the penguin!  And, I've already designed a couple of new ones in my head for once I've mastered these!