And So It Begins...

First Two Borders For Wall Hanging

I spent the day in the studio assembling the first part of my bluebird wall hanging yesterday. If you've been following along, you may notice that many of my fabric choices changed. I decided to stick with more subtle colors. The batik I showed you will still be used as the outside border and back, but I'm only showing the borders and fabric choices (along the right side) for the half square triangles which will be the next border. I may add a few other appropriate fabrics as I assemble them.

There's a little tension in the fabric where I stitched the fencing, which is a bit disappointing. I tried very hard to keep my fabric taut in the hoop, and not pull too much when I was stitching, but alas, I still have to fine tune my technique. It should disappear when I do the quilting in this area, so I'm not too concerned at this point.

I placed the feathers that will be in the half square triangle bands on the corners of the main block to show you where I've yet to stitch them directly onto the fabric. The feathers on the main block will be larger than the ones you see here, but not significantly bigger. I kept this block the same size as my other two wall hangings (the robins and the cardinals) so their sizes will be consistent. The next one with the goldfinches will be the same, too. I'll stitch in those feathers after the next border is sewn to what's already done.

I got this much finished so far, and today I'll begin making all the half square triangles for the next section. The golden brown border you see here will be the same width as the darker border (1/2") after the next border is added. 

I work tonight, so I'm not sure whether or not I'll get the next border attached today. I'll surely try. Otherwise, I'll get to it asap. I'm sure you can tell now that I'd love to race to the finish line. I just want to make sure I get it right, and that it turns out the way I want it too. 

Oh, just a note. It was a conscious decision to avoid a lot of blues. I really don't want to take anything away from the needlework. What do you think so far? You like the colors I've chosen? Let me know.