Ronda's Covid Bird Quilt

This is Ronda's Covid Bird Quilt. It is 65" wide x 90" tall. I'm going to share her words that describe it, then I'll be back at the end with my own thoughts. Sit down, get a cup of coffee. This is going to take a while. There is a LOT to see in this quilt, and I think you will agree this is SPECTACULAR! I have included the photos here at full size, so you can click them, and double click them again to enlarge them so you can see all the details Ronda included.

The text lines loosely follow the “theme” of the bird blocks (You may have to focus on the wing fabric to appreciate this… this is YOUR concept and a good one!) Since not all key Covid concepts lent themselves easily to bird blocks, I chose to add those key concepts into text. Text also loosely follows a time line of Covid developments as 2020 progressed, as the tragedies and challenges of the year rolled out.  One thing was for sure,  I definitely wanted to “end” the time line and story of the quilt on a positive note. (Of note,  I want to sincerely thank my good friend Karen for her genius with words in the development of the last line of text... she also inspired the Zoom call block and the “maskhole” comment.)

Line 1: 

• (Trump bird) “the risk is very low”
•  Cases skyrocket! 
• “Flatten the curve” 
• Plight of essential workers 
• Tragically inadequate mitigation
•   ICUs over capacity 
• > 500,000 dead
  

My career was in critical care nursing, and my heart hurt for what the nurses, doctors and respiratory therapists were ( and are) going through.

 

Line 2: 

• Good/bad/ugly coping 
•  Hoarding  
• Shortages  
• Dr Fauci  
• Crushing uncertainty 
• We stay home 
• Shutdown 
• Fear

Good/bad coping.

 

Dr Fauci

 Line 3: 

• Huge unemployment & recession
•  54 million with food insecurity 
• Food supply chain disruption
•  Covid becomes politicized

Line 4: 

• Home gardening surges
•  Sour dough craze 
• Quilters get busy 
• Online time hits new high
•  Hello Mother Nature

Hello Mother Nature

Schools are challenged

Line 5: 

• Resilience grows as we try new things
•  Streaming
•  How we work changes 
• Mental health issues soar
•  Schools are challenged

 

Resilience grows.

Line 6: 

• Reflecting on lives, time & freedom lost, we emerge hopeful, with newfound wisdom.
•  2021: The year we meet again. 

~ ~ ~

How I switched the concept of a goofy, fun bird quilt to a Covid themed quilt occurred gradually. I consider myself an adventurous advanced beginner/ beginning intermediate quilter. Part of that adventurous nature is I’m willing to try new things without formal instruction. Soon into the shutdown... it seemed I was looking at the graphic rendering of the Covid virus simply EVERYWHERE, and decided to give it a go and create a Covid virus block. Once that block was done, I  totally threw myself into the Covid Bird quilt concept and I was off and running. As I progressed,  I found myself wanting  to insert more personality into the birds. Besides selecting the perfect wing, beak or leg fabric, the birds had more to “say”. Of note, I needed to have a bird that reflected the anguish of the health care provider. (see above) So I started fiddling... trying to capture motion, personality and even emotions by manipulating the legs, beaks, heads, necks. It was kind of addicting. The addition of the text lines served as a way to further enhance the story told by the birds. 

One other thing to note is the group of birds in the food pantry row. I’m a veggie gardener and a Master Gardener Volunteer who supports a vegetable garden where 100% of the produce goes to our local food pantry. Food insecurity in our nation is an important issue to me, and thus I decided to donate an entire row of birds to the concept. So important! 

I’m not sure where this quilt will end up... with all the raw edge appliqué (another thing I tried for the first time) it’s certainly not a cuddly quilt... and it’s too big to be a wall hanging.  One thing is for sure... making the quilt has been so very very helpful to me personally, as it allowed me to translate my interpretation and emotions of my Covid experience and observations into a quilt. So I guess it’s been my therapy.  

One of my other shout outs is to Deb B., a member of my quilt guild, who suggested to me that I could put a giant bird as a creative quilt backing. Thanks Deb..., that was genius and I’m really happy with my 50 inch tall stitcher bird.

Lynne here. I asked Ronda to tell me a little about herself. Ronda is from southeastern Wisconsin...

I took Home Ec in high school, did some Frostline kits and a few Halloween costumes, but I really can’t say I sewed all that much. I had the basics, I guess...to the point where I made a couple of what I call really sad looking quilts back in the 80’s when everyone, simply everyone, was quilting! As time demands of my family and career began to build,  I tucked my machine away and years would go by before I would do even basic sewing. However  it’s important to know that I had quilting on my bucket list for post retirement and I stayed true to that promise to myself... after retirement, I started on a self-taught journey (thank God for YouTube), and even joined a quilt guild (Patched Lives in Wales, WI). My quilt guild really jump started my interest as I saw the creativity and expertise that the members demonstrated….. True talent and dedication to the art form! 

Lynne again. Well!! I hope you agree with me that Ronda has made a truly awesome quilt. I was particularly impressed at the way she broke all the bird rules, and yet made birds that have such personality! She's got birds singing, looking up, looking down, walking, riding and drinking and feeling wobbly. I'm proud as hell and thrilled I inspired her. Please leave a comment with your thoughts for Ronda. Too many of us work in a vacuum and I don't think Ronda totally understands that she has created a Masterpiece. 

Thanks!

Lynne's Liberated Bird Tutorial available here.