A Tree for the Birds

A beautiful dusting of snow appeared over Friday night. Yesterday was delightfully gray... a perfect studio day. After a foggy evening we awoke to bright blue sky and a sparkling coat of frost over everything. It is never boring here!

This week I worked on the new book and did a little holiday shopping, very little. I like to keep the holiday simple, especially after such a busy year. Handmade holidays are always best. Greg found a nice tree, as always, with room for ornaments to dangle. It looked like the perfect tree for birds to nest in. So I went to work making nests.

I went through my scraps and cut random squares of brightly colored fabrics. Then I piled them in loose stacks and free-motion quilted a big spiral in the middle of each one. After that I slashed them all around the edges and popped them into the washing machine.

Next I sent them through the drier twice to fray and tangle the flaps until a grand bouquet of nests emerged.

Melissa Peda made us a bunch of sassy birds for our Early Birds booth at Houston Market, so of course, they will warm all the new nests. After the birds are all settled in we will add the next layer of ornaments.

It's starting to feel like Christmas. Remember to take some time to stitch this week... and bake and wrap...