Recently, I've begun designing, collecting fabrics, and getting organized for a new project I plan to undertake next year: a crazy quilt for CQJP2014. The project's guidelines involve sharing embroidered and embellished blocks once a month.
The quilt I'm hoping to create will be based on the "Pretty Bird" embroidery series, which appeared in the Detroit Free Press in 1924. The embroidery patterns were offered under the name of Ruby Short McKim, a well-known quilt designer from the Depression era.
I've selected twelve of the twenty-four bird designs to include in my project, having chosen birds that live here in my area. Each of my monthly crazy-quilt blocks will feature an embroidered bird along with coordinating fabrics and embellishment. Additionally, I'm planning that my block themes will be seasonal -- robins nesting in springtime, etc.
I'm looking forward to the challenge of an ongoing large-scope handwork project. Watch for my first block, the Jay, sometime in January.
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