A Little Bird

My friend gave me a kit for making a bird ornament, I think it came with something free and did not appeal to her.  I am as previously noted the happy recipient of such largess.

I have not used the kit bits, rather I traced out the pieces and cut them from a piece of material I have.  The material is intended for a bigger project that requires the use of pastel dye. So I thought I would do a test piece.  I did not want to do nothing with the bit of material I would be testing so decided to make the bird using material coloured in with the pastel dye sticks.

A birds Eye view

The original pattern called for a ribbon to be attached to the bird so it would hang up.  I had already modified the design by quilting the breast feathers (which on stuffing the bird has not shown too well ) and the wings. 

Quilted wings

Just before I started sewing him up I decided he should have legs instead of a ribbon.

Bird on a wire (legs that is)

I made them from the wire from a used pad of A4 paper.  Three strands twisted together, with the feet at each end of a U shape to form the feet.  I am quite pleased with the way they sewed into the original body shape without me needing to add a gusset.

He looks rather friendly perched on my hand but not stable enough to stand on a display table at the local show, so I went for a walk and came home with some bits of wood left from the damage to local trees from the high winds. 

Nice and dry after all this sun.  Slapped on a coat of varnish (just the one so that the difference between the inner wood and the bark would show) and Little Bird has a permanent perch.

So he will be entered in the "animal any medium" class at the show.  They are not biologically picky with the definition of animal so a bird will be fine.