The last quilt top in the pile to go to Karen is "Pretty Birds", an Elizabeth Hartman design made in gorgeous Alison Glass fabrics - the colours in these fabrics are spectacular. I love them. Elizabeth's patterns are quite complex to cut out but have very detailed instructions and diagrams. Having a couple of sets of Alphabitties really helps. The quilt has eight sets of five birds. Cockatoos: Toucans: Cockatiels: Macaws: Lorikeets: I used the background fabric suggested in the pattern Manchester in Parchment colourway, but I wouldn't choose it again - the fabric is very loose weave and lightweight. I have enough left to make another small "Pretty Birds" quilt but that will be the last time I use it. I bought this fun backing fabric at Spotlight years ago when I made the small "Pretty Birds" - the person I was making it for thought it was too juvenile but I'm using it for this quilt and the next small "Pretty Birds", which I'll start when a few more fabrics arrive to replenish the Alison Glass stash. Looks like I'll be starting a few more Elizabeth Hartman quilts this year. At the Melbourne Quilt Show in April I bought some gorgeous Alison Glass/Figo/Pips fabrics from These Clever Hands. I'll be using them to make "Aviation Medallion". I finished this quilt during first Covid lockdown but want to make another with brighter colours and the purples will be used for the neutral sections of the pattern with silver for the background. Three or so years ago I bought a kit for "Robots" from The Next Stitch, thinking I would make it for Vinnie. Like every other 3 year old boy, Vinnie loves Dinosaurs, so the Robots fabrics will be used for Elizabeth Hartman's "Dinosaurs" quilt, with a few fabrics added from Hugo's "Dinosaurs" quilt and an order from The Next Stitch. Hugo's favourite time of year is Halloween (I don't understand why this has become such a big thing in Australia - maybe it's all the free lollies) and I noticed on Instagram that Elizabeth Hartman has a new quilt pattern to be released tomorrow. I have most of the fabric for "Halloween" in my stash and have ordered the rest from Sarah (Patchworks Plus). Hope to have the quilt ready for Halloween this year.
