Birds on the Barn

These birds are sewn to the barn block.

I've set the row of birds that go above the barn so I can check it out before I sew it together.

The quilt is wider than my design wall, so I have to lay it out on the floor.

 I take a lot of pictures so I can figure out what I want it to look like. I don't like the placement of the top three on the right. I don't like the way they look like they are directly above the ones on the row below.

I slid the row to the left, and liked the way it looked, so I sewed it down.

 So how do I get them all to look the way they do? I set the blocks next to a long straightedge.

 This helps me to see how much extra fabric I need to add to each block. The blue flower needs extra fabric sewn on all four sides, but the red bird only needs it added to the bottom.

The green bird on the left needs strips added to the top and bottom, the blue one on the end needs it just on the top.

Once I add the strips wherever it has to go, I straighten up the edges, then sew the blocks together. Then I get to check and double check the row is the same height from one end to the other. This is fussy, but definitely worth it. Once that's done, I can sew the row to the rest of the quilt.

And so on and so on and so on. Or maybe I should say, "and sew on, and sew on and sew on."

(you all know how much I love a good pun.)