Dust Off A Book Blog Hop – Blue Birds

Joining in quilt blog hops is always fun, and this one, Dust Off a Quilt Book hosted by Beaquilter, is no exception. I have joined in prior years and it is always fun to look at my books and pick something to do. This year, I used some fabric that had been stashed for a similar project, and am going begin cutting more for that project, as I put away the fabrics, but first, let’s take a look at my new quilt, Blue Birds, and all the details about it.

The Book

I chose the book The Encylopedia of Classic Quilt Patterns*, which was published in 2001. I have made one of the quilts in it, the Mexican Star. It is a beloved quilt for our bed, which has seen better days.

Here is the back cover.

And here is the table of contents. I love this book as it has classic patterns but also some have a little variety or different twist to them.

For my quilt, I chose the Birds in the Air. Mary Ann Keathley added birds, I did not and I preferred a different orientation. Let’s see what I did.

Blue Birds

A long time ago, I collected some blue batiks and white batiks when I was working at the quilt store. I grabbed 2 yards of some of the whites, but the blues were mostly smalller pieces. Honestly, these fabrics have sat for a long time. My intention was to do half square triangles and play. Well this pattern would allow me to do that. I had to dig in the closet of horrors, where I have things that I moved from the apartment and have not yet made room in my sewing studio for them. I did find a few treasures, so there was a benefit to that exercise!

I cut my half square triangles on my Accuquilt. I love it for this as you don’t have to square up afterwards, which makes piecing so much simpler. I decided this would be a baby quilt and forged ahead. I did the cutting on Saturday, the sewing on Sunday, added borders and quilted on Monday. Phew!

For the quilting, I used a pantograph called Safari Clouds. I used a Superior So Fine, #473 in the upper thread and a Superior SuperBobs in Grey for the bottom. I had a Hobbs Thermore batting and doubled it…mostly because the back was a little dark and I didn’t want it to show through.

I was really pleased with the way the quilt turned out. Double layering gives it a little extra definition, but it isn’t too poofy (technical term) for me. I haven’t bound it yet, need to find a blue that I like, somewhere in the stash! But I am so pleased it is nearly ready.

It really is a fun little quilt. The backing is one I bought for just this kind of need; I envision this as a baby quilt and hope some young one really enjoys it.

Quilt Stats

Blue Birds 36″ x 48″
Pattern: Birds in the Air, The Encylopedia of Classic Quilts
Pantograph: Safari Clouds, by Anne Bright
Threads: Piecing: Aurifil 50 wt, Dove Gray
Quilting: Superior So Fine #473 Brooke
Superior SuperBobs Gray

The Other Bloggers

Be sure to check out what the other bloggers have done.

March 3
Karrin’s Crazy World
Textile Ranger

March 4
Alyciaquilts
KathleenMcMusing

March 5
MooseStashQuilting
WithStringsAttached
citymouse quilter

March 6
NettieSews
Beaquilter

Coming Up on the Blog

Baby Girl Alphabet Panel
Baby quilts (2 to make)
Design a Boat block for a neighbor
Kaleidoscope Block Finished (3/10)
SAHRR 2025 – Quilted top (3/24)

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