Garden Bouquet Quilt- Month 2: Part 3

The Meek Bird

This little bird, so meek and mild, like its saucy partner is used on each one of the 20 urns which make up the finished Nancy Page Garden Bouquet Quilt.

Therefore it is wise to keep the original pattern.

Nancy advised her club members to paste it into the Nancy Page scrap book. Then it could be used for reference at any time needed. The procedure in making this bird is similar to that of any appliqué work. First, Nancy suggests that its outline be traced lightly on the white triangle in the spot it will occupy when it is appliquéd.

This placement is shown in the small insert pattern in the corner of the block. After the tracing is made on the cloth a second tracing is made on light-weight cardboard. This is cut out and used as a pattern by which to cut the material. In cutting allow one-quarter inch on all sides for turning in the raw edges. Be sure to use color fast material.

Suggestions were made last week as to the best way to work out the color schemes. She suggested, you remember, making all the birds alike all over the quilt. Or, making each pair alike, but different from the pair on a neighboring block. In this case the coloring of birds should fit in with coloring used for the flowers.

Or, making a variation in the meek and the saucy bird. The meek one might have plain body and figured wing while its neighbor would reverse that- having a figured body and plain wing.

But in every case Nancy advised making legs, beak and eye plain. The legs should be darker than the beak. The eye may be of textile or embroidered in satin stitch with fast-colored embroidery cotton.

In appliquéing the pieces sew them with a fine, invisible slanting hemming stitch. Be sure that raw edges are basted and pressed down before starting appliquéing.

If the same color scheme is selected for all the birds, these may be made any time, for the patterns are the same on all the twenty urn blocks. Just so soon as the urn is pieced and joined to the triangle of white the block is ready to have birds appliquéd. It is only the flowers which change. Next week we have the cactus.


Follow the few simple steps for transferring your pattern to your material as described in Month 2 Part 1: The Tulip. I’ve chosen to make all my birds different but you can make them all look the same or any way that is pleasing to you.

Here’s my Meek Bird!

Quick Links to:

Month 1: Beginning Instructions, Urn, and Basket Instructions

Month 2, Part 1: The Tulip

Month 2, Part 2: The Saucy Bird

Hand Appliqué

Machine Appliqué

Alternate Method of Appliqué Tutorial

Biased Binding Tutorial