Blue tit (1).

I bought this birdy fabric in IKEA... 2008 is printed on it. Was it that long ago?
At the time I had all sorts of bright ideas of what I could do with it, but it got stuffed in a cupboard and forgotten about.
Well, my craft group holds its exhibition in May and, this year, our group project is to make a bird, bee or butterfly.
I got my fabric out of hiding.



I had an idea that I would paint two little blue tits, cut them out, sew them together, stuff it, add a bit of stitching - and that would be that. More or less.
No, I had to complicate things.
Instead, I decided to trace the blue tit, and all it's individual parts, from my piece of fabric.
As usual, I'm making it up as I go along.

I've traced the body shape on to a piece of cotton and I've made a little 'gusset' pattern for the top of his head.

Now I'm free - machining his tummy. My machine is acting up and the tension is giving me more of a whip stitch but it makes it look softer and feathery.

    I'm using some variegated threads. Does he looks a bit bright?

Then I thought he might need some wings to sit free from his body. I cut this leaf print from a piece of fabric and ironed it on to some painted Bondaweb - just to stiffen it. Then I cut  out the wing shape.

I'm stitching by hand - a 'stacked arrowhead' stitch as it has a feathery look,

                                             and the more I stitch , the more random it gets.

wings

                         Then sometimes the wrong side turns out to look better than the right side.
                                       Why do my bright ideas always turn into lots of work?!