Turkeys and Ostriches, Oh My!

I found this cute turkey made from a leaf block (here).    I didn't have her pattern for the leaf, so I made my own.  I did use the templates for the turkey -- it's sized for a larger block (eight inches instead of the seven incher that I used.)

 Here is the whole table runner -- mine's a little smaller than the pattern because I sliced off a little bit on each end to make it fit the piece of fabric I wanted to use for the back.

I couldn't find the right fabric for the background, so I dyed my own.  First, I dyed a yard with diluted blue and brown.  Then, I stenciled the leaves with thickened purple and greyish-brown dyes.

I quilted it with stylized leaves.

And because Beth will ask, here is the backside.

I finished the ostrich block for the Civil War Bride quilt.

I used all my own hand-dyes for this except for the centers of the flowers.  The ostrich bodies are from a shibori-dye I did a while ago -- it's been marinating on my shelf -- waiting for just the right project!

The flower centers are made from my friend Chris Daly's wonderful hand-dyed silk/rayon velvet.  You can get your own here at her etsy shop.  I'm using the "flora collection."  I think I need to get some of the "brights" now too.  These were really easy to work with -- I cut a template of no-melt template plastic and did a running stitch around the seam allowance of the circle. Then I pulled it up tight and basted it with sizing.  Hit it with a warm (silk setting) iron and it was ready to go.  Easy-peasy!  I'm trying to decide where to use this stuff next!

And here is a shot of the next block.  I have a way to go...

To see other appliqué projects, click here to go to Angie's blog.