Quilt Jam 3 - Red Tailed Hawk Sailing Down the Canyon ...

Red-Tailed Hawk, Revised

 

The first version.  

On the right-hand side of the beach, there is a form that from a distance looks kinda like a camper van, with the roman glass as wheels.  Not what I was going for, so I replaced it with something more beachy [See top picture].  The hawk remains the same. 

 For Quilt Jam #3, I wanted to create a landscape quilt with a red-tailed hawk flying up above ...  

 

Here's a detail of the hawk, done with a simple fusible applique and free-motion stitching over the top to hold it in place--with a few extensions of stitching for the wings.  I am very pleased with the way the bird came out!  I was dragging my feet on that because I didn't want to mess it up, but it worked out marvelously!

It's actually probably more accurately a silhouette of an osprey (aka fish eagle) with the proximity to the water.  But it still gets at the same meaning in the song.  ;-) 

There are a few songs this scene describes for me:

A) "Red-tailed hawk sailing down the canyon ..." from the song "Before I Go" by John Hiatt.   

Lyrics here.    Because it's another John Hiatt song, I can add it to the Stolen Moments Series, too!

This song always reminded me of my dear friend Sandy, a budding naturalist, who owned a canyon of her own at one time.  She died far too young.  This song came out shortly after she died unexpectedly, and it felt like this song was her talking to me from the great beyond ...  telling me she was ok, and not to worry.  Sigh! 

 

B)  Hawksong by Shawn Mullins.  Lyrics here.  An oldie but a goodie!

I used this tutorial to make the landscape background.   It is similar to the Pat Bishop workshop from last fall.

Quilt Jam #1: Thank You, Girl - Thread Sketching For the Love of a Good Dog

I've been wanting to get back to doing regular journal quilts, to test techniques and practice my art.  I've been seeing these line drawings on Pinterest -- I think they might be for tattoos?  And I thought they'd be good for thread sketching, too.

 

This one could be entered into the Quilt Jam Challenge for the Fly In Quilt Show later this summer.   This challenge is to make a quilt based on a song.  The song is John Hiatt's "Thank You Girl."  He wrote it for a girlfiend / wife, or maybe a car (?), but I always pictured it being about a K-9 friend instead.  ;-)   I've always loved this song, and I always thought it was about a dog -- Probably because I had my own wonderful Keba-Girl at the time I discovered John Hiatt, and yes, we were "rolling in clover" then!  

This could also be #4 of the Stolen Moments Series depicting John Hiatt songs.  

Here's a bit of the lyric:

Thank You, Girl by John Hiatt

You're a little on the thin side, but that's all right 
You stood by my me baby when I didn't think I'd ever see daylight ...
Now we're rolling in clover ...
We didn't see this in no tea leaves ...
My fate was sealed before I met you, Darlin'
Still you took the little love I saved
I wanna thank you, Girl

 John Hiatt's "Thank You Girl."

Some notes on the making of this quitlie:

I traced the line drawing to tracing paper, and then sewed through it.  

The words were trickier -- I had to bone up on that again.  I wound up doing some thread calligraphy / embroidery for the words.   Could use a little more practice, but it worked in the end.

I used some leftover Dream wool batting, because it puffs up so nice even without washing it.  

 

For this little quiltie, I decided to use a facing instead of a binding.  So here is a video from APQS about how to do that:

 Late edit: Turns out this little quiltie isn't big enough to qualify for the Fly In Quilt Challenge.  It needs to be 16 x 36 in.  It was still a good exercise, and I will definitely hang it up in my house!

Quilts Inspired by Songs and Music

The challenge for the 2026 Fly-In Quilt Show this summer is "Quilt Jam," where we're supposed to create a quilt based on a song.  It has to be a new one, not something we've already made.

Looking back, I'm a little surprised at all the quilts I've made that have been based on songs.  Songs / Music are wonderful inspiration for quilts!

Most notably, the John Hiatt Stolen Moments Series:

Mama Let You Lick the Spoon

Read more about the making of this quilt.

Based on John Hiatt's song, Angel.

 

Spark in the Back of my Mind

Read more about the making of this quilt.

Based on John Hiatt's song, Back of My Mind. 

 

 

 Northern Lights / Rivers of Light

Read more about the making of this quilt.  

Based on John Hiatt's song, Seven Little Indians.

There are a few more Hiatt-inspired quilts that are still in the works! 

But there are others ... 

 

Eddie Vedder' Tattoed Everything (Black)

For this challenge, I am mulling over the possibilities, collecting songs -- hearing and seeing songs in whole new ways in light of this challenge!   Stay tuned!