This month’s Quilt Block Mania theme is birds. Someone had already signed up to do flamingos (drat!) so I had to settle for a chicken. Now. . . I think this Chubby Chicken is cute but my husband (who is normally very supportive of my quilting) thinks she looks kinda dumb. Too fat, no legs, blah, blah, blah! But I didn’t change a thing about her!
My students at Stitched With Obsession in Merrill, WI got to preview Chubs and they thought she was cute! Clearly, she is sitting down, which is why you can’t see her legs!
This is a regular patchwork pattern that makes a 12.5″ unfinished (12″ finished) quilt block. You need about a fat eighth of the main bird and background fabric and scraps of the other colors. All the cutting and construction directions are clearly stated in the pattern which is FREE until April 30, 2022. If you are looking for the pattern after that date it will be in the Shoppe here on my website or in my Etsy Shop.
I added some 3″ x 6″ flying geese blocks to the right of the chicken and then added a 2.5″ border to make this cute mini quilt. I used free designs from ProStitcher when I quilted the wing and the flying geese but the rest of the quilting is my own free-motion quilting with my Handi Quilter Forte. I used a basic black button for her eye and sewed it on with some popping pink thread!
One kind of neat detail I added was the stitches on the binding. I used my Babylock Sashiko sewing machine to sew long stitches onto the edge of the binding BEFORE I attached it to the back of the quilt. I topstitched the binding down with Superior Thread’s MonoPoly clear thread. I like the effect. Since I had two layers of batting in the mini, I used a 2.5″ binding.
Several other quilt designers have put together bird blocks for you this month, so check them all out. The links are below that will take you to their pages, but before you leave, make sure you download YOUR Chubby Chicken Pattern! The link is waaaaay down at the bottom!
This pattern is now available for $3.99.
Birds on a Wire by Carolina Moore
Signs of Spring by Inquiring Quilter
Cute Bird by Powered By Quilting
Flamboyance by Becca Fenstermaker
Migration by Patti’s Patchwork
Peacock Quilt Block by Appliques Quilts and More
Blue Bird by by Mom and Me Quilting Co.
Chubby Chicken Block by Kaye Collins
Hummingbird Quilt Block by Julia of Inflorescence
Flying in Formation by QuiltFabrication
Birds Circling by Nancy Myers
Lorikeets by Sue Griffiths
Fly Away Home by Scrapdash
Puffin Head by Penny Spool Quilts
Birds in the Air by Perkins Dry Goods
There is always one
Budgie on a Branch by Blue Bear Quilts
this is so cute especially with the flying geese you made part of a barn yard smile