Super excited to share my last quilt finish – the Hexie Hummingbird! This was a super fun project – especially trying to make-do with the fabric I have on hand. It’s a smaller quilt, finishing at 34″ wide x 39″ tall, perfect for a wall hanging.
When I last blogged about this project, I was trying to decide on a background fabric to appliqué the Hummingbird to… well, I think I found the best thing hidden in my stash. This is Petals in Violet by Alison Glass, and I think the hand-dyed nature of it makes the Hummingbird look magical. I also thought it was neat to use a hand-dyed fabric for my hand stitching work!
I had a small piece of Tula Pink’s Free Fall backing fabric that just barely covered the back of this piece. It was very dreamy to hand quilt. I only hand-quilted the Hummingbird itself – the background was free-motion-quilted with my Juki. I really loved how the hand quilting made a neat pattern on the back.
Consideration
The hummingbird idea came to me while I was having cranial sacral work done, and I feel it has a deeper meaning than just an idea for a quilt. I know it’s a sacred totem for certain native tribes, but I do not know what exactly it symbolizes to them. For me, right now, I’m just seeing it as a good sign that I’m on the right path forward – where ever that may lead me.
I was able to finish up the binding at our PMQG monthly All-Day-Sew yesterday, which was really fun! I got to meet up with a quilter-friend from Minneapolis who is here visiting. We have many mutual friends, so it was really sweet to catch up. It also felt a little like worlds colliding, talking about people and experiences from years ago, all while happily quilting the day away. It was really grounding for me, and that is a good thing.
Lately, I’ve also been thinking and dreaming of making a yellow quilt. I recently worked up with a new design. At first, I wanted to try to make it monochromatic. But I decided it needed a little grey, white, and cream to make the yellow pop. The design is done and ready to go, but my yellow fabric supply is looking orange. Funny how yellow is… and then isn’t. I think it’s one of the hardest colors to work with, but I’m plugging forward. More about this quilt to come!
I love the background fabric you chose, I think it compliments the hummingbird very nicely. Last year on the walk to school every day with my kids we would look at the hummingbird nest which was lots of fun when the eggs hatched!
And I nominated you for a lovely blog award since I really enjoy reading yours! You can accept or not but the info is in this post:
https://handwroughtquilts.wordpress.com/2016/09/09/one-lovely-blog-award/
Oh my… you are so sweet, thank you! I would love to play along 🙂 Watch for a new blog post soon!
Gail, just to let you know…my Navajo name is Little Hummingbird. They have the ability to change time. They are the only bird that can fly in all directions, including backwards, sideways & upside down. Therefore in Native Lore, they have the ability to stop time & change what is taking place. It is considered a sacred blessing to have this totem. Often, this is a gift of the Storyteller & the Healer. I hope this answers why she is a totem of the People.
That is beautiful! The hummingbird image came to me when I was deep in meditation while receiving Cranial Sacral therapy. I think most of my quilt work is an extension of my healing process. Thank you for sharing this information!