Show + Tell :: Hummingbird 1 + Hummingbird 2

April 17 2013,

After much drama with these two quilts, my Hummingbird quilts are finally done. This project was started approximately in June 2012, after a being inspired by a PBS show call Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air.

Title: Hummingbird 1
Dimensions: 82" x 62"
Materials: Batik cotton fabric
Blocks: 1,200 quarter-square triangles

Hummingbird 1

Back of Hummingbird 1

Detail of Hummingbird 1

Title: Hummingbird 2
Dimensions: 82" x 62"
Materials: Batik cotton fabric
Blocks: 1,200 quarter-square triangles

Hummingbird 2



Back of Hummingbird 2

Detail of Hummingbird 2

Note that if you put these two quilts side by side, it is a continuous picture.

This all started with an image from the PBS show. I looked through my fabric stash and found that I had most of the colors I wanted to use. I started making quarter square triangles. These blocks are 2 1/2 inch unfinished quarter square triangles (2 inches finished), and the seams are ironed open. After weeks of making these quarter square triangles, with no idea of how many I needed, I laid them out on my living room floor.

Quilt laid out on the floor before piecing

Once I was satisfied with the design, I would take each column and stack them up together.

I would then put rulers on top of them so that I did not mess up the order.

Next came, sewing the pieces together, being careful with the order.

After the front was done, the back had to be tackled. The backs consist of orphan squares from the front of the quilt and also leftover fabrics. I spend as much time on the back as I do on the front. The back is fun to do because there is no rhyme or reason. Usually I would pick up a random fabric and sew it to another random fabric.

Note that these two quilts will be on show in the Quilters' Connection show on May 31 - June 2, 2013, at the Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown, MA.

If you are in the area, make sure you stop by and see the show.

Quilt & Bitch