Saturday, December 15, 2018

Cloud Club Ready for Take-Off!

It is so hard to believe another year is ending, 
and we are so happy to have a set of thirteen birds to show for it!

It is with great pride that we look over the past year and see how we went from this, 

to this,


to this! 


That is quite a flock and we know from your emails that quite a few of you kept up and have this same stack as we do!

We briefly enjoy the sensation of being "finished"--
however, we are quick to remember that there is some fill in to do-- and some finishing instructions!! Yes-- the joy of the "on point" setting-- we have some triangle fillers to design!

We have put A LOT of thinking and sketching into it... and it was very difficult to find something perfectly stunning for these birds. 

We started with the idea of quilted "feathers" ... what else for a bird quilt, right? We quickly moved on from stuffy old feather sketches and started moving into REAL feathers. After months of thought and sketching, this is what we have finally decided on:


We are pretty excited and hope you love it as much as we do! We've already started to digitize it-- we're not sure if the feathers will be full color embroidery or maybe just a quilting design. 
Thanks to Photoshop, we've been able to do a little "imagining" of what a truly finished piece might look like.

This is an "artist's rendering" of the in-the-hoop birds as they would look stitched together and with setting triangles added.



For a more formal setting,  you could add a fabric border in a color like the one above. Isn't that the perfect finish?!

Some of us will get there, but the beauty of designing just two sizes of these setting triangles is that you can then make a project of as many birds as you wish. Whatever you have finished NOW, is perfectly fine! (More on that later!)


  One... 


Three... etc. etc.

Then there is the Quilt-As-You-Go version, which is more like a real quilt, and we have planned a full setting of both the triangles and sashing blocks.



Are you WOWed yet?! Remember, these aren't finished pieces,  and we're still in the early stages of planning... here are some fabric swatches we snipped from Fat Quarter Shop. More grunge so far, and we are leaning toward the purples, but no final decisions have been made. What do YOU think?






It's so exciting for us to finally have a chance to render up what a finished Cloud Club quilt might be... and we can't thank you enough for all of the LOVE you've shown for our bird series. There are so many more birds we'd like to draw in thread! So....

We're making a committment to do five more during the course of next year which would extend the layout as follows:


Or...with twelve more you could do this... but we have to admit, another bird every month next year seems a bit daunting! Let's see what happens...


So that's where we are... expect the setting triangles and sewing instructions for both methods early next year.. then it's up to you to finish or to keep on! We are so grateful for the large following we had this past year, and hope you'll be able to turn your bird blocks of any number from UFOs into a finished project that really takes wing!! We'd love to hear your comments on all of this below.

xox
Carol


31 comments:

  1. I'm "sew" excited. The finished project will be AWESOME! Merry Christmas!!

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  2. I hope you go on to create another 12 blocks. it's a beautiful project and loved by all my grandchildren. Merry Christmas to you all!

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  3. Thank you sew much! 12 are definitely in consideration...

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  4. I would love to see 12 more birds.

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  5. Every bird is like "Wow"........and you still manage to keep doing beauties...........I don't know how you do it...........but I love it.

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  6. I just love the idea of more of these beautiful birds! It will be fun to have so many choices to make matching items. Thank you. Merry Christmas!

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  7. I just this minute purchased the beautiful cardinal, so excited to start stitching. The feathers are amazing.

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  8. Darn! If I'd known there would be twelve more birds coming, I'd have bought more background fabric...must change gears.

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    1. Plenty of Lustra at Fat Quartershop-- or just come up with a checkerboard look!

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  9. I just love all of these beautiful birds - and I am looking forward to seeing more of them. Thanks for sharing your talent with us

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  10. Do it all. It is absolutely gorgeous. You should be in the Digitizer Hall of Fame. Love your designs. Been collecting them for years.

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  11. It’s so beautiful! I just love the birds! I would love to see a house finch, grosbeak, titmouse, nuthatch and a few more. But if you don’t, I’m satisfied with what you’ve done so far!

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  12. Is it possible to find out the yardage for a queen size quilt. Thanks

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    Replies
    1. It's not that large, Betti! It's more of a wallhanging--

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  13. I just discovered this blog spot to make comments. I love all the ideas you have to finish this quilt. but I am disappointed. I planned to make this quilt for family members for their christmas present in 2018 (8 people). with the finishing triangles not available until January, this puts me in a crunch and difficult place for christmas presents this year. I wish I would have known the delay in the finishing triangles prior to purchasing all the supplies (and now I'll need more) for the christmas present quilts.… with just 8 shopping days left.....I'm unsettled......but looking forward to finishing next year. I doubt if I'll ever do one of these year long quilts again -- especially counting on them for a christmas present. Had I known that it wouldn't finish until January, I would have gotten people something else and attended christmas events rather than staying home trying to sew the birds out before christmas. I am disappointed in that regard. but pleased with the quilt design.

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    1. The flower basket triangles are compatible with the birds-- they would look superb, and you would be done on time. We're not sure how you expected to stitch up more than 100 setting triangles in a couple of weeks-- that's alot of missed events!
      http://www.sanfranciscostitchco.com/SeriesFourBorders.html

      As much as we hate to disappoint, these designs do not abide by the demands of the calendar-- we'd hope that just by looking at them, you'd see they are coming from the heart, not from a timetable-- there is no formula! Anyone who asked before beginning when the stitch a long would be completed, was encouraged to wait until all the designs were finished. So, as much as we're sorry to disappoint, for the sake of a month's extra wait, you will have 8 quilts that will be housed in a museum, years hence. Merry Christmas!

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    2. Yes, that is correct. that is why I decided to wait until those beautiful feathers are digitized. will there be a "color option" for the feathers??? Although I'm disappointed, I too am looking forward to January and finishing the 13 birds, and quite possibly adding a few table runners throughout the new year as well when the new birds become available. I hope one of them is the United States bird--the eagle! Love your designs, and yes, appreciate it very much that your designs come from the heart. that is very obvious! Merry Christmas will be delayed this year, but I'm sure all my family members will understand when they see the beautiful present they will be receiving. and yes, making 8 birds has been an overwhelming task of love from my heart--and I don't mind at all.

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  14. Love the mock-ups and can't wait for the finishing designs. I've had a full year and haven't kept up but with all those gorgeous bird designs in my Design Stash, their day will come. Season's Greetings to all the SFSC family.

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  15. Your designs are superb, and don't seem to go out of style. Although I've been doing the mug rugs since the beginning, I haven't kept up on the birds. I'm looking forward to catching up this year and making at least two (one for me and I have to make one to give..) they're definitely heirloom quality. Thank you for your attention to detail, and excellant written instructions. May the new year bring you joyous accomplishments and good health.

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  16. I would love to see another 12 blocks. My mother and grandmother were both very fond of birds and fed them religiously. I have been thinking of them with each block. More, please! And Merry Christmas to you.

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    1. I have the same memory of my mother and grandmother-- my grandmother had a "pet" crow that would fly down out of the trees and land on her head for a treat! And the earliest picture of my mom as a two year old-- well, she has her hands splashing in a bird bath!! Precious memories. Have a merry Christmas!

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  17. I just discovered your blog! (where have I been?!) I love these birds and your layouts are gorgeous. I think this is the best project yet and now I Know I have to go back and do all of these blocks!!! This blog is so inspiring. Thank you so much.

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  18. thank you so much for designing these birds! they are awesome. I love your design for the finishing and look forward to receiving it next year. i would love 12 more birds and i agree I would like one of them to be the eagle. Merry Christmas and I look forward to what you come up with next year.

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  19. This has been the most rewarding "block of the month" ever! The fantastic colors and superb digitizing have made the stitchouts a fun experience. I like the idea of digitized feathers but I don't want the setting triangles to distract from the beauty of the birds. They (the birds) should be the focal point of the project. I'm using grunge as my background fabric for each block and expect to use that same grunge for the triangles. I like all the ideas you've presented. However, I'd like the feathers in the triangles to appear "in the background" rather than being so busy that the eye is drawn to the feathers rather than the birds. Thank you for providing the fantastic embroidery opportunity!

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    1. Thanks for your comments Trish-- you make a very valid point. Have a merry Christmas!

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    2. I think the feathers are a compliment to the birds. if you think it is overpowering, I'd suggest matching your "feather thread" to your background material. that way it won't overpower the birds. I personally think colored feathers would look good too. maybe she will make both options available?

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  20. Count me in! Let’s keep this going, I don’t want it to end!

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  21. I do a lot of embroidery and your designs are wonderful. Have 7 of the birds done and after I finish hooking my current rug I will get back to them. Thanks for the designs and I like the cross stitch ones also.

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  22. On 2/15 I ordered seven designs, only 2 came through. I have tried to contact you via the address on your site, but it does not work. Please contact me, hookscarolyn@att.net and let me know how I can get them. Order #13579222685117. Carolyn Hooks

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  23. Cleaning towards more birds, but am excited to see whatever you do. You never disappoint.
    My only problem is trying to decide between inth or qayg when ordering blocks. Thank you for all that you do!

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