Let's Go To The Birds With Jamie Fingal's New Fabric Line from Hoffman Fabrics!

I was delighted when my dear friend and "Dinner At Eight" partner-in-crime told me she was designing a fabric line with a "bird" theme.  I looked forward to see it and I am not disappointed!  I am a life-long "bird geek".  I grew up in a house where there were feeders outside each window & binoculars placed in strategic locations in the house for optimum viewing of birds.
I still have this habit.  Few things give me as much joy as observing birds and cultivating a habitat for them in my garden.

Jamie's new line of fabric from Hoffman is a delight for the senses.  The deep, rich colors suggest a bit of fall might be in the air, but it is not simply a fall-themed palette.  I love the addition of a few stripes, a bird journal, the bird houses, and her fun bunting in the mix.

For my project I decided to be quite free-wheeling:  I cut pieces of fabric "freehand" with my rotary cutter.  In other words, no measuring and straight edges from a ruler.  Why?  Just because!  I love the look of the more organic appearance that comes as a result of this method of cutting.

First, I cut squares from many of the fabrics, and then some strips.  The strips were pieced around the square(ish) shapes.

Using Mistyfuse I fused some small pieces, then cut bird and leaf shapes with my Sizzix  dies.  I like how they add some additional depth and movement to the blocks!

cutting the "squares"

Pre-fused fabric is run through the Sizzix Big Shot die-cutter.

the results:  two bird forms and several sizes of leaves.

The "branches" were free-cut with scissors

Since it is close to Valentine's Day I thought adding a heart was in order...

But I wanted it to look a bit like an apple...

I love the wonderful shapes and colors in the fabric.

I like that I can see the shapes of Jamie's sketch-doodles in the fabric!

It is such fun to free-motion quilt using the shapes as a guide.

I used the dual-feed feature on my Bernina 750 QE to do some of the straight quilting.

I like the wonky feel of these free-cut blocks!

I am using a double-layer of wool-blend felt from National Nonwovens as my batting.

It is great for wall-hangings because it holds a nice flat shape.

To finish the (somewhat uneven) edges I opted for a border of black and white ribbon trim.

It looks a bit like film negative edge, which seems perfect for this study in birds!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and please leave a comment here to become eligible for prizes.  We are going to do a give away for a bundle of the 'Autumn is for Birds' fabric.  Hoffman Fabrics has been very generous in providing the prize!  Don't forget to check out the other stops on this multi-day hop.  

Jamie shares a link to her Twisted Sister blog talking about how the 'Autumn is for Birds' fabric line was made:  http://www.jamiefingaldesigns.com/2015/01/autumn-is-for-birds.html

Hoffman Fabrics link http://www.hoffmanfabrics.com/

The giveaway is for a bundle of the 'Autumn is for Birds' fabric.   Hoffman Fabrics has been very generous in providing the fabrics!

Feb 16 - You. Are. Here.

Feb 17 - Lisa Chin

Feb 18 - Cheryl Sleboda

Feb 19 - Stacy Hurt

Feb 20 - Candy Glendening 

Feb 21 - Sue Bleiweiss

Feb 22 - Jamie Fingal

28 Drawings. It's February, After All...

Julie Fei-Fan Balzer threw out a challenge for the month:  create 28 drawings, one per day.
Well, why not?  I love to draw but often go long periods without actually doing it.  I wanted them to be black and white.  My friend, Jamie Fingal, found a great source for these large white sale tags at U-Line.  I now own a box of 1000.  That oughta hold me for a while.  I use tags as great little printing "warm-ups" so these will be put to use!  Here are my first 9 days of drawings....

Fiberart For A Cause: The 100.

I am both honored and excited to be contributing to this wonderful cause again!  Virginia Spiegel has championed this project annually since 2006.  Collectively, these events have raised $240,000.  This year 100 artists have created artwork for sale and we hope to raise at least $10,000 and push the total to $250,000.00.  And this is the best part:  100% of this money goes to the American Cancer Society.  No one contributing gets a "cut" of this money:  every single penny that is raised goes to the organization.   I hope the recipient "falls in love" with this piece.  I have been looking at the Pinterest board dedicated to this project and I am very excited about all the lovely artwork.

And, as much as I wish I didn't have to say it: this is personal.  I lost my niece to cancer almost a year ago to the day.  I have a good friend who is battling pancreatic cancer as I write.  My mother had breast cancer.   I have a friend who awaits test results right now.   Another close friend just fought this battle.  We all know too many people like that.  Some of you may have fought through this.

The auction opens at 10:00 CST on Wednesday, February 4th!  Here is the link.

I am offering this mixed media construction.

It is mounted on a 16x20 stenciled wrapped canvas so it will be very easy to hang.

The piece is made from a variety of cloth and paper which has been hand and machine stitched.

The collage is overlaid onto a piece of hand-made paper, then a piece of canvas.

I will pay the shipping cost for this piece.  All you have to do is be ready to purchase it!

detail 1

detail 2

detail 3

This is the back of the canvas.....

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you are able to support Fiberart For A Cause! xo Leslie