baby bird ella....

(hey, did you notice baby ella got a make-over? thanks lorraine, just love the new background!)!)
i was shopping on amazon a bit ago and found this darling book little birds. the tiny chick on the cover was enough to make me order the book on the spot....i just had to make one of these little wool chicks by margaret oomen.


baby bird ella is the first little wool birdie i have sewn from the book. something weird is up with the pattern in the book i think. the first body i sewed from the pattern was really too small. i had to enlarge the body and beak, to look like the photo. i made the tail a bit bigger and scalloped the end and added little glass bead eyes with embroidered eyelashes... i used these vintage pipe cleaners that stephanie sent me for the legs instead of wrapping wire with torn fabric. its so fun to shape the little feet so they look like they are ready to take a tiny step. this little bird really was so much fun to sew, and used such a tiny piece of wool! a great take along project to hand sew while you are waiting somewhere.

i found a great pink jacket at the thrift store that i felted for the body. **felting note** if you are machine felting a piece of old wool clothing be sure to remove the iron on interfacing. i did an experiment this time to see what would happen if i left a piece on the wool and it felted right to the fabric. might be useful, might be nasty.
i used a sweet little girls cotton shirt for the wings and tail. i decided to stitch around the wings and then stuff them with a bit of stuffing and then stitch through it all for some definition on the wing.

there are some other great projects in the book i can't wait to try:

the stork mobile by amy adams would be such a fun baby gift


this little birdhouse by abigail brown is such a wonderful idea. just browsing her website creature textiles was incredible.


and i love 'mildred and the baguette' by samantha cotterill.... her etsy shop mummysam is one of my favorites!


samantha has a new book out 'fanciful felties' that is on my new book wishlist after i have had some fun with this one first.


here's the back cover of little birds with more fun images to get you thinking about sewing again.


happy monday all, julie