Earlier in the week, I told you about a group of 3 pieces I rushed to finish to enter in the Multi Media Mini Show at my local Art association. They are all based off a spectacular piece of my hand dyed fabric (if I do say so myself, I’m so sorry I didn’t take a picture of it before I started whacking it apart) and focus on the idea of a bird’s home. I’m happy to report that all 3 pieces were juried into the show, and I’ve been told that my tree is in the window of the gallery – woohoo!

Here’s my 3rd piece, that I just BARELY had time to finish:

I was so crazed getting this done, my hubby  joked that this was the art version of the foodtv show “Chopped”! There will be more bird houses in my future.

Here are all 3 of the pieces together. Part of me hopes that they all come home so I can work on better photos – the other part of me hopes they SELL at the show!

Thanks Amy!

Yesterday I posted about a group of 3 new pieces I made for a juried art show at the Redlands Art Association (the only criteria, 14.5″ or less in every dimension). After making the tree, I decided to continue the same color scheme and explore my theme in different dimensions. I love my Branch & Bird series, and wanted to work a bit bigger (8″ x 10″ instead of 5″ square) and more substantial (the folks at these shows are pretty picky about hanging criteria, so wanted to have a hanging devise they’re used to – so I decided to wrap the quilt to the back of a frame and staple it, then add hanging wire). Birds build nests in the trees, and I really loved this wee nest from the Branch & Bird series:

So I grabbed some scraps from making the tree and built a nest in a bigger tree branch:

Again, apologies for the quality of the picture (ah – those moire patterns – I can’t figure out why they happen sometimes and not others, and the fix in photoshop is way long fidgety and not perfect…usually I just re-shoot, but did NOT have that option).

And don’t forget the Blog Baby Shower for Lindy Turner! Lindy of Crafted By Lindy is having baby #2!! To celebrate, we (me, alamodestuff and Smidge Box) are having 3 days of giveaways!!

I’ve got a tutorial and give-away scheduled for Thursday, but today, alamodestuff is having a giveaway hosted by Tracy at Sea Find Designs! This gorgeous necklace can be yours!!

Genuine sea glass… RARE lavender /amethyst from Newport, RI. Cut heart…. Eco Love…. Amethyst swarovski crystal. Sterling plated teenie ball chain!

How to enter:

1) Visit BOTH shops, Crafted by Lindy and Sea Find Designs.

2) Choose 1 favorite item from each shop and come back here and comment (must comment on 1 item from each shop).

3) Be sure to leave contact info!

Additional entries (4 possible entries in all):

• 2 additional entries: you can enter this giveaway on all three sponsor’s sites! Enter once at alamodestuff, then comment here and at Smidge Box for 2 more entries! [All three blogs are on different time zones. If their post isn't up yet, please visit them again later.]
• 1 additional entry: follow alamodestuff, tweet, or blog about this giveaway and receive 1 additional entry. For this one, comment back at  alamodestuff.

One winner will be chosen randomly (random.org) at midnight tonight (March 10) EST. The winner will be announced tomorrow morning (March 11).

Thanks Kim	Thanks Amy

Well, I’ve really had fun with this little series, and I hope it shows! I’ve had some great comments from y’all this week, so if you’d like to buy one or more of these little gems, make sure to read through to the end of the post, where there are details on how my blog readers get 1st dibs! (Look away then if a commercial offends you!)

I truly am a quilter at heart – I LOVE taking smaller units and composing them into larger pieces, over & over again. I also enjoy figuring out ways to mount my little art quilts to make them easy to display…what I did with these was quilt the details through the top, a layer of batting, and then a layer of peltex, something they use to stiffen baseball cap brims. The peltex adds a a bit more definition to the quilting, and makes the quilts stiff enough to stand propped up everywhere, and hang nice and flat. After the quilting is done, a layer of fabric on the back covers it up, then stitch on a hanging loop and fuse on a label:

I then had fun playing with them, coming up with all sorts of fun combinations…it was very hard to STOP!

All over the internet, people have little clotheslines with small bits of inspiration pinned to them. This is how I’ve been envisioning my little birds…and my friends, the vision in my head matches what I see!

While I was trying in vain to come up with an idea of how to show them off in a room setting, lovely Linda of a La Mode Stuff commented on how nice the would look over a headboard! Shazaam, perfect idea – thanks Linda!

So, if you need to see more birdies, I’ve had some fun putting together a gallery with Adobe Bridge. 

OK, commercial time, feel free to look away. A couple of folk have asked if they are going up in my Etsy shop. I’ve got a couple of big shows coming up, so no, they won’t be in my Etsy shop for awhile, BUT if you need to have one, or more…email me with your choices: Candy(at)CandiedFabrics(dot)com and we’ll arrange payment and shipping.

They’re $20 each, with 10% off the total purchase when you buy 3 or more. Shipping will be $4.75, and if you’d like I can throw in some hemp cord & mini clothespins for a couple of bucks too. I’d love for my faithful blog readers to have 1st pick!

Bird & Branch Gallery

Finally – here are the navy! I’ve been having great fun with photographing all the birds in all sorts of configurations…tune in tomorrow to see them!

Here they are, the penultimate set of birdies!