Birdsong

Combining needleturn appliqué and machine piecing, this medallion-style quilt works out from a central wreath, surrounded by quarter-square triangles pieced into a zigzag strip and appliqué birds that are whimsical and naïve.

Adding even more to the charm is Michelle’s use of vintage buttons from her collection; not only are they embellishment, they have the practical job of holding the three layers together in lieu of quilting in those borders.

Many quilters have a stash of Kaffe Fassett fabrics, and if not, possibly soon will in order to reproduce Michelle’s gorgeous quilt. The shot cottons used in the background are Freespirit fabrics, but you may like to substitute these with Australian-manufactured Reece Scannell shot cotton.

Take note that the pink and black triangles in borders 1 and 3 have been cut as quarter-square triangles. That entails pinning and stitching the bias edges to join the triangles together in a zigzag fashion.

Sewing on the bias is normally avoided at all costs, but in this instance it is considered preferable to manage a series of shorter bias edges that will result in the long edge of the pieced border strips being on the straight of grain. Sewing the pieced borders together along a straight of grain is more likely to produce the best results.

Size: 173cm (68in) square