Tag Archives: tartankiwi

Bird, birds, birds + Winners

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I have been doing some pattern testing for Juliet @ Tartankiwi of late and decided to make a quilt of the tiles with some of the other patterns that she has made available.

Here are some of the two I have completed:

New Zealand Bird Blocks

The third block is the New Zealand Silver Eye (or Wax eye). The wax eye is a New Zealand native bird that is protected. It has a beautiful ring of white/silver around the eye and a head of bright yellow feathers.

800px-Silvereye_Jan_2010

Source: Wikipedia

The wax eye pattern by Juliet was a lot of fun to make. It had a great balance between joins of pieces and piecing. I might have gone a little too scrappy for this third block, but here is the finished test block at 10.5″.

WaxEye_Finshed_PaperPieced

One more picture with a more natural setting for the birds 😉WaxEye_Outside_PaperPieced

All three blocks together….New Zealand Bird Blocks

I am planning to also do Juliet’s:

Juliet’s patterns can be found on Craftsy. Linking up with Amanda Jean @ Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it up Friday and with Kristy @ Quiet Play for her paper piecing party.

Now, finally the winners for last week giveaway are below. I am sending each winner and email to get your postal addresses. Congratulations and thank you to all who participated.
Screen Shot 2013-09-14 at 11.04.59 AM
#68 is Carla G who wins Month of Sundays

Screen Shot 2013-09-14 at 11.05.41 AM
#25 is Making Mondays who wins Making an impression

Screen Shot 2013-09-14 at 11.06.03 AM
#14 is ShawnJ who wins the Curtis Stone cookbook.

Curiosity killed the…..Kea??

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The Kea is the second native New Zealand bird pattern that I have completed from Juliet @ Tartan Kiwi. Along with each pattern, I want to introduce you to the wonderful bird’s she has based her patterns on. So the kea….

…Is a mischievous kea, is the world’s only alpine parrot and can be found in the forest and alpine areas of the West coast of the South Island in New Zealand. It is considered an endangered species.  If you are sight-seeing around Milford track/tunnel, you are definitely likely to see the naturally curious and intelligent Kea;  an olive green bird with an amazing orange plumage under the wings.

Kea

"The Kea is a parrot species widely regarded as the most intelligent in the bird 
world" photographer: Ian Trafford (cited from: www.travelwithachallenge.com)

A warning though if you are driving a car – all I can say is I hope you have good insurance, they have been known to tug and pull on car aerials, and peel off rubber door seals and chew through wiper blades.

Due its curiosity and mischievous behaviors, the kea is not as loved as many of the other native birds, in fact, it has in the past been considered a pest/thread of sheep stock which lead to its endangered status. It is probably one of 4 most recognized New Zealand birds (Kiwi, Tui and Fantail being the other 3, in my opinion) and is one of the 87% of New Zealand birds that are endemic to New Zealand.

Now, that you have some background, onto the paper pieced block. Juliet asked for testers of her new block series on native birds….I jumped at the chance. Her new block was the kea. This block was a lot of fun and definitely has intricate piecing if you are looking to improve your technique it is one to try. I loved how the block turned out. It shows off the prancing of the kea perfectly!!

Kea Block with an outside shotKea_Outside

Inside Close-upKea_InsideView

Her other paper piecing patterns for New Zealand Birds are available on Craftsy and include:

  • Kiwi (free pattern)
  • Pukeko (free pattern)
  • Kea (soon to be available)
  • Fantail (soon to be available)

Linking up with Janice for Sew Cute Tuesday @ Better off thread.

Better Off Thread
and Kristy @ Quiet Play, Paper Piecing Party.
Paper Piecing Party

WiP Wednesday…Catch-up Wednesday

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I have so many projects that I have not got to recently, and I have been feeling so behind. Today, I feel like I have made some in roads to clearing that backlog. Yippee!!!

Project 1: Triple Zipper Pouch Swap
First off, I am part of the Triple Zipper Pouch Swap going on over on Flickr, here. Posting of the Triple Zipper Pocket is due on the August 17th and it has taken me forever to get started. I finally have all the pieces cut and ready for sewing.

Fabric Choices:

  • Lining: Straw hat blue, Cloud 9 (purchased from Joann)
  • Small pocket front: Flirty Flowers Tonal Dots in Pink, Robin Zingone, Robert Kaufman (purchased from Fresh Modern Fabric)
  • Small pocket front: Crosshatch in Plum, Architextures, Carolyn Friedlander, Robert Kaufman (purchased from Westwood Acres)
  • Back + large front pocket: Hexo in Kryptonite, Technicolor, Emily Herrick, Michael Miller (purchased from Fat Quarter Shop)
  • Zippers (purchased from Zipit)

TripleZipper_WiP_Swap

Project 2: Kiwi Cushion/Pillow
I have promised for at least the last two months one of my blogger friends a kiwi cushion in reds and browns. The kiwi (a NZ native bird) is a paper piecing pattern designed by Juliet @ Tartan Kiwi. Her free pattern is now on Craftsy. The pillow front will look similar to this one, except I am using these red and brown improv blocks. The red block for the body and the brown for the legs and beak.

Kiwi_RedScrappyBlock Kiwi_BrownScrappyBlock

Project 3: Tula City Sampler – Blocks 1, 2, 3
So, I have started the Tula City Sampler Blocks Quilt Along…well the first three are cut. Boy, I did not realize what 6 1/2 inch blocks would mean….the pieces are tiny.

Fabric Choices:

This fabric line spoke volumes to me when I saw it. Normally, I am not a flower kind of person but the colors and design are fabulous. Perfect, in my opinion, for the Tula City Sampler project.

Block 1:
TulaCitySampler_Block1_Pieces

Block 2:
TulaCitySampler_Block2_Pieces

Block 3:
TulaCitySampler_Block3_Pieces

They are my current WiP’s I am catching up on while on vacation. I am linking up with Lee @ Freshly Pieced for WiP Wednesday.