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"Birdie-birdie, I love you!" Scrap Wall Quilt with Embroidery

For this light-hearted quilt, we used scrap fabric from our stash. The finished size is about 20" x 21". The designs used are Bengal Cat and Grey Parrot.

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You will need

embroidery thread (either polyester or rayon), as per the color cards of the designs,
medium-weight iron-on cut-away stabilizer,
about 1/4 yard of brick-red fabric for the corner squares and binding,
scraps of 11 fabrics in beige-brown tones,
a fat quarter of light-colored fabric for the embroidery,
fabric for the backing and batting,
paper, a pen/pencil and pins are optional but very helpful to mark the fabric pieces.

Cutting:

Out of the fabric for the background/embroidery, cut

2 rectangles measuring 6 1/2" x 8 1/2" and
2 strips measuring 1 1/2" x 5 1/2" (mark the strips as #10).

Out of the fabric for the corner squares and binding, cut

3 strips measuring 2 1/2" and the length of the width of the fabric for the binding,
10 squares measuring 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" (mark 2 of these as #1) and
4 squares measuring 2 1/2" x 2 1/2".

Out of scraps, cut

2 squares measuring 1 1/2" x 1 1/2", marked #2
4 strips measuring 1 1/2" x 2 1/2", marked #3
2 strips measuring 1 1/2" x 2 1/2", marked #4
2 strips measuring 1 1/2" x 3 1/2", marked #5
2 strips measuring 1 1/2" x 3 1/2", marked #6
2 strips measuring 1 1/2" x 4 1/2", marked #7
2 strips measuring 1 1/2" x 4 1/2", marked #8
2 strips measuring 1 1/2" x 5 1/2", marked #9
2 strips measuring 1 1/2" x 12 1/2" and 2 strips measuring 1 1/2" x 13 1/2" (note: these last 4 strips are for the first border. If you have enough fabric, you can cut them all out of the same fabric.)
2 strips measuring 1 1/2" x 14 1/2" and 2 strips measuring 1 1/2" x 15 1/2" (the second border)
2 strips measuring 2 1/2" x 16 1/2" and 2 strips measuring 2 1/2" x 17 1/2" (the third border).

Assembly of the Half Log Cabin Blocks:

Note: seam allowance is 1/4", press the seam immediately after you make it.

Sew the red-brick square #1 to square #2.

Sew strip #3 to the upper edge of the working piece. Square #1 should be on the right side, square #2 on the left side.

Sew strip #4 to the left edge of the working piece.

Sew strip #5 to the upper edge of the working piece.

Sew strip #6 to the left edge of the working piece.

Sew strip # 7 to the upper edge of the working piece.

Sew strip #8 to the left edge of the working piece.

Sew strip #9 to the upper edge of the working piece.

Sew strip #10 to the left edge of the working piece.

Make 2 such blocks.

Assembly of the Top:

Sew the 6 1/2" x 8 1/2" rectangles to the upper edges of both blocks.

Rotate one of the pieces 180 degrees. Sew them together.

Sew the 1 1/2" x 13 1/2" strips (first border), to the left and right edges of the working piece.

Sew the the red-brick 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" corner squares to the ends of the 1 1/2" x 12 1/2" strips.

Sew the new strips to the upper and lower edges of the working piece.

Sew the 1 1/2" x 15 1/2" strips (second border) to the left and right edges of the working piece.

Sew the the red-brick 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" corner squares to the ends of the 1 1/2" x 14 1/2" strips.

Sew the new strips to the upper and lower edges of the working piece.

Sew the 2 1/2" x 17 1/2" strips (third border) to the left and right edges of the working piece.

Sew the the red-brick 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" corner squares to the ends of the 1 1/2" x 16 1/2" strips.

Sew the new strips to the upper and lower edges of the working piece.

Embroidery:

One by one stabilize the light-colored spaces with iron-on cut-away stabilizer and do the embroidery - Bengal Cat in the bottom left corner and Grey Parrot in the top right corner.

Grey Parrot

Bengal Cat

Quilting and Finishing:

Now place the backing on a flat surface (table) face down. Cover with batting. Spread your working piece over it.

Pin all three layers together with 1" pins and start quilting. We quiltedin a free motion style all over the quilt: echo and meandering pattern around the embroidery feather pattern on the borders.

After the quilting is finished, press the work with heavy steam and square the work -- all corners should be 90 degrees and opposite sides should be of the same length.

Finish the raw edges with the binding.