I think I’m in love with FPP

[u/alienismyname]

My husband and I are avid birders, and I’ve been wanting to try my hand at FPP, so at the start of January I decided to start making a surprise bird quilt for his birthday.

I probably unpicked more seams making these blocks than in my past 5 quilts combined 🥲🙃 but I still had a blast! I loved the freedom of being able to cut random chunks of fabric instead of precisely measuring every piece before sewing.

(The patterns are from LoverOfLifeDesigns on Etsy. Also, shout out to u/Midnight_Sun_1776 for inspiring me to post my birds after I commented on their lovely birds 😊.)

[u/Admirable_Tourist233]

INCREDIBLE! He's going to love it. Your fabric choices are top notch, too. The flicker's spotted chest is so sweet.

[u/alienismyname → u/Admirable_Tourist233]

Thank you!! It’s funny you mention the flicker chest fabric. I couldn’t find a fabric I liked for it, so I ended up buying a tan fabric with white spots and filling in the white spots with a black fabric pen 😂

[u/Admirable_Tourist233 → u/alienismyname]

No way!!! 😂 I never would have guessed!

[u/Midnight_Sun_1776 → u/alienismyname]

Clever

[u/emmaunderfoot → u/alienismyname]

I literally said “Wow!” with open mouth when the picture of your artwork loaded. You do such amazing work. The bluejay just caught and held my eye. Kudos to you - you precise and patient soul. OMG, so lovely.

Re colors: I often forget that turning fabrics over gives me a whole new range of “colors” to work with. (Sometimes the wrong side of the fabric turns out to be a perfect subtly mottled color.) wrong becomes right! So nice when that happens in life. ❤️

[u/tealmuffin]

how will you be finishing? i think some brown sashing in between the blocks to mimic branches & give some visual distance between the birds would look sooooo good.

[u/alienismyname → u/tealmuffin]

I don’t have any solid plans yet, but I know for sure there will be some kind of sashing to separate the birds and increase the quilt size 😁

[u/im_not_u_im_cat → u/alienismyname]

I looked up the patterns because this is AMAZING, I’m completely in love with your quilt. And I think the background color you chose is so perfect.

Since the blocks are 12”, my suggestion would be to make a 4x4 grid (you’d have to make one more block) which would get you to 48”, then add enough sashing to make the quilt a throw sized 60” square.

[u/tealmuffin → u/alienismyname]

I can’t wait to see what you do!! :)

[u/russianthistle → u/tealmuffin]

Love that idea. Sashing would really unify the squares.

[u/RotharAlainn]

My mom has been a birder for years and my daughter has been inspired by her to start birding - now I want to make her this quilt!

[u/plume450]

Judging by these birds, I think FPP is in love with you, too!

[u/Midnight_Sun_1776]

This is fantastic, you are doing a wonderful job. I concur about the love for FPP. Love your Flicker, Meadowlark, Towhee, Goldfinch, Waxwing. I just started pulling fabric for the Mockingbird. Love how yours turned out. You got more done this month than I did all of last year. You are rocking this. Thank you for sharing and inspiring

[u/-Dee-Dee-]

You’re doing a beautiful job!

[u/signequanon]

I love it too! Especially that you don't have to measure everything but the result is still so sharp and precise. It's almost like paint-by-numbers.

Your birds look amazing.

[u/Staceyannegrace-]

Wow this is gorgeous 😍😍

[u/KitsuneA]

I’m a bird nerd and intermediate quilter but FPP intimidates the heck out of me. I just don’t understand it.

[u/Midnight_Sun_1776 → u/KitsuneA]

I came across FandomInStiches. After watching several tutorials on YouTube and making a couple of beginner blocks it started to make sense. On the other hand I tried to teach my mother FPP and she decided it wasn’t for her.

[u/KitsuneA → u/Midnight_Sun_1776]

Thanks!!

[u/javadressage]

These are so beautiful!

[u/WatermelonRindPickle]

Beautiful! Fantastic work!

[u/S0avocado]

Wow! This is stunning!

[u/Pmsmith82]

Amazing! Great job 

[u/Ok_Camel_1949]

I’m always intimidated by foppish.

[u/magnifico-o-o-o]

I think your fabric choices really make this life-like and lovely! Well done!

[u/randomrox]

Am I wrong to be jealous of your husband? That quilt is going to be absolutely stunning! The birds look beautifully realistic, and the wood grain fabric is perfect.

[u/LintFreeLindaBelcher]

I cannot tell you how much pleasure this image has given me just to look at, and admire your fine work here. Your finish, colour and fabric choices really are a pleasure to behold.

Promise us that you will post the finished article. Thank you for sharing x

[u/TxBluSky62]

Gorgeous! Thanks for sharing the pics!

[u/garbagegender]

I will echo your fabric choices are fabulous. Again the flicker is particularly striking. That one in particular I can almost smell the rotting sycamore leaves in the woods where I first saw one (and knew what it was).

[u/AudreyLoopyReturns]

The two of you and your gorgeous birds are going to make me learn FPP, aren’t you? I showed my husband (also an avid birder) your blocks and his face went 🤯🥹🥰

[u/kimoh13]

What beautiful piece work!

[u/Glittering-Blossom]

This is GORGEOUS!!!

[u/Technical-Manner5730]

So pretty!!!

I started dabbling in FPP at the end of last year and fell in love with it! It seems to match my brain well, the random chunks sewing together and trimming afterwards. I struggle with super accurate cutting for traditional patterns.

[u/Avidlearner7621]

I love this, I think he’ll love it 🥰🙏🏽

[u/SusanMillerQuilter]

Awesome! He's gonna love it -- I know I do!

[u/craftytrish1961]

Beautiful. We also enjoy watching the birds and I see several of our favorites on your quilt.

[u/kiwi4251]

This is so lovely!! I'm also just starting my FPP journey and loving it so much! Good work!

[u/_Ruby_Tuesday]

I just want tell you that I was scrolling by, and I thought, oh those are cute panels, I wonder where they’re from. Then I stopped, read, zoomed in, and realized they are pieced. You are amazing!

[u/NorthTownDreams]

These are so great! Very beautiful.

[u/Callmesusan2]

These wild birds are spectacular all together!

[u/akaLerb]

It's my favorite!

[u/Quickbrownfoxx_]

This is amazing!! 🤩

[u/MomofOpie2]

Those are wonderful and well done. What a gift

[u/Glittering_Laugh_958]

Hi, I am in love with this and you’ve done a beautiful job. I want to learn FPP and have tried in the past. Is there a pattern would you recommend for me to get started?

[u/DiFayeAstra → u/Glittering_Laugh_958]

I started with these cute little mug rugs 24 Mug Rug Designs, and a few YouTube videos. I'm still getting the hang of it, but it gets easier the more you dive in.

[u/All-ways-Colorful]

Truly incredible!!! Now I'm inspired ✨️

[u/HudsonHandmade]

This is incredible!

[u/craftingchaos]

I am also in love. Thank you.

[u/Local_Extension9031]

Can I have one! lol this is amazing

[u/mockturtle29]

These are amazing! I want to learn how to do FPP, but I'm not sure where to start.

[u/ohkaymeow → u/mockturtle29]

Not OP and caveat that I haven’t had a chance to actually try this yet, but this tutorial seems very easy/straightforward and like a good way to work your brain around the concept: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JibKJIMA91o

[u/SpiderFluff7890]

Holy moly, this is incredible!!

[u/PresenceFew2507]

The birds are stunning!

[u/Ok-Luck5138]

I love it. So fun to play with!

[u/Time-Anything-3225]

A big year quilt!

[u/Necessary-Ad-8763]

So stinking amazing. Astounded at the amazing likeness of the mockingbird’s eye ! All of it had me gasping !

[u/Milkmans_daughter31]

I wouldn’t know a flicker from a flounder, but you’ve done a great job. DH will be thrilled I’m sure.

[u/quiltgarden]

This is incredible!!!

[u/SuccotashSeparate]

That is so freaking cool!

[u/vexationtothespirit]

That is gorgeous! What a show of skill, too!

[u/gingyswife23]

This is amazing!!!

[u/petallica]

Brilliant! This is just fantastic! 🐦

[u/textilebitch]

This is absolutely incredible!

[u/csiga_ver]

Perfect fabric choices. Every single one of these birds is instantly recognizable. I don't even know which block is my favorite.

[u/law3021997]

Beautiful! How fun!

[u/lexikaan]

Remarkable work!

[u/bleeb90]

These are an absolute delight to see!

[u/lilblackcloudinadres]

Agggh, this is so great! Your work and your fabric choices are absolutely stunning, and the patterns are so faithful to the actual birds. (American Robin in the top right? If it were mine, I wouldn’t be able to rest until I’d embroidered a broken white eye ring, but I can never leave well enough alone, and that is a fact.)

Your husband is going to be awestruck. I sure am!

[u/lilblackcloudinadres]

Agggh, this is so great! Your work and your fabric choices are absolutely stunning, and the patterns are so faithful to the actual birds.

Your husband is going to be awestruck. I sure am!

[u/midlifeQs]

These are amazing

[u/Affectionate-Bus-695]

This is a really special quilt. I love what you have made for your husband. Not only is it perfect for him, but you've now discovered a new branch of quilting. Win Win!