Ready for Spring

Curvilinear perspective--that was the end-of-February challenge from the online Fast Friday Fabric Challenge group that I belong to.  The examples were intimidating, as usual--quiet lakes with a curved focal point or lovely layers of converging curves.  So I continued on with my day,  mulling possibilities in the back of my mind and rejecting most of them outright, until I found myself at the window at one point, watching the birds happily foraging at our bird feeder as snow fell yet again. The goldfinches who were just beginning to show a tinge of yellow in their gray winter feathers were particularly active, and then I knew I had the idea.  I had abstracted chickadees into a quilt and I could abstract a goldfinch but this time using curves and capturing its glorious late spring colors of gold, black and white.  It would be great to think beyond this cold, snowy winter anyway.

Observations on a Chickadee
25" x 25"

I tried my hand at machine reverse applique on this.  I could have used fusing but I didn't think I would like the raw-edge look for this piece and I am not sure I would have liked the look of satin stitching around the edges either.  The gray stitching around each curve just about disappears so I think it worked out all right.  

I quilted the background heavily, but I am now thinking I may take some out to make some islands of nonquilting.  I have been facing a lot of my most recent quilts but this one seemed to need a binding.

For a while I thought I like this orientation better:

but then went back to my original orientation with the "bird" "flying" toward the upper right corner.

This quilt is dedicated to Carol Schwartz, who loved the birds of these north central Pennsylvania hills, and to all those living through nature-made and human-made devastation. 

And, if you are still reading, thanks for the company. No green in this quilt but Happy St. Patrick's Day anyway!