Felted Parrot

A felted parrot. In theory, the felted parrot might have wire feet, but in reality we know this is a kitten toy and wire doesn't play well with kittens.

Pieced Parrot

It's a pieced parrot. This version doesn't have the full ring because I was just trying to work out the parrot. I do like the beak, but it's a bit messy to sew. This is a large block and its sewn using a .5 inch grid...that is, the eye is made from a one inch square to finish at half inch.

Parrot Pattern

Here's the first version of a pieced parrot pattern. I do see a second version in the future, however, because the feet are not working. I was trying to avoid excess fussy piecing, but it looks like the parrot has a peg leg, and that's for a pirate, not the parrot. And in theory, the extra lines you see are more "circles" that will have their own parrots in a half-drop style layout that will have the long tail descending between rings.

And excuse me for not wishing everyone a happy cat criminal day yesterday. I didn't know there was a special day either until Buddy snarled two of my skeins of embroidery thread. I covered the embroidery thread parrot, but apparently that made the crime more exciting. And then this morning, there was a ripped up plastic bag, and four new fur balls laid out in a row next to the bed. I assume Molly was the crimey cat who pulled the toys and the bag out of the hiding place in the closet.

Embroidery Thread Parrot

Here is a parrot made from embroidery thread...but not embroidered. What did I learn from this? First, Buddy thinks embroidery thread is a wonderful cat toy. Molly agrees with Buddy. Second, embroidery thread parrots are very difficult to make due to marauding kittens.

Second, I learned that the reason you often see parrots with shortened tails is because of marauding kittens.

We'll call this a closeup of the parrot, but the truth is that it no longer has a tail...

Thread parrot

Today I made a sketch of a blue macaw. This is when I learned that Macaw tails are long. Very long. You would definitely have a modern quilt with a lot of empty space if you tried to capture the full length of the parrot. The tail is longer than the bird itself.

I traced the drawing to muslin with a vanishing blue marker. I squiggled in some lines to indicate feathers. I outlined the design with thread on the muslin and some scrap batting. Next I need to dampen the design to see if the vanishing marker vanishes. I am showing you the "before" picture so I don't have to show you a soggy parrot. Also, this means I may be able to show you "blue smeary parrot" for tomorrow.

Perler Cockatoo

Here's a Perler cockatoo. This daily challenge was my first time trying perler beads and I do enjoy them a lot. Molly likes them a lot too but in a different way. I put the beads on the spikes and Molly likes to wack them and make them fly off the spikes.

IKEA parrot

Meet IKEA parrot. Okay, he's not actually from IKEA, but conceptually its the same thing. A bit of instruction, quite a bit of doing, undoing, redoing and then a sense of relief when you don't find any extraneous bits left over.

Heading into parrot month, I realize I need to get a couple of iconic resemblances of a parrot figured out that I can then use to feed into pixelated and sculptured versions. Some things I am working out in my head...what to do about the head. Well, with a Macaw-type parrot, you are better off with a side view of the head, not straight on. And the side view for the body is good, but then the perching part is a bit odd. Having the parrot perch in a circle will definitely look better than a suspended stick.

And then Molly wanted lap time...so I reached for this parrot puzzle that I thought I could use on a stressed out day when I was running out of time...but is it really a good start for day one?

Meanwhile, Buddy is taking the name "Frolic" quite literally and has spread pieces of the quilt all the way out into the kitchen. I don't know if this reflects artistic differences with Bonnie Hunter or just that Buddy was hungry. In any case, I am going to encase the quilt parts in a plastic box and rename it "Agree to Disagree, Let's Snack" and move on.