Through my children attending kindergarden, I have naturally picked up on a few "standard" songs that everyone knows here in Germany... big and small alike. Even though "Vogelhochzeit" is perhaps my all time favorite German children's music, one particularly cute song that crosses the lips of just about every child almost as soon as they can form words is "Alle Vögel sind schon da" (translated, all the birds are already there... spring wants to march in!)
... and these sweet winged creatures were the inspiration for my latest projects as featured in the June issue of Anna Magazin. (Oz Verlag, Germany)
For me, there is nothing more delightful than to sit with my morning tea and marvel at my little feathered friends busily hopping, fluttering, and flying from place to place.
Occasionally a bushy-tailed, four-legged squirrel scampering around at the same busy, yet happy pace....
I was actually able to "borrow" a couple design elements from the fabric itself as the inspiration for my embellishments... simply free motion outlining on felt.
Patterns & Sewing Instructions: Allison Richter as featured in Anna Magazin (Germany)
Fabrics: Cori Dantini, Good Company for Blend Fabrics, "Alle Vögel sind schon da" fabric kits available in Germany here.
Some time back my oldest son started a special tradition with his Omama (grandmother), that each time they would drive somewhere together he would always get a bon-bon and she would play his favorite CD, Vogelhochzeit (Bird Wedding.) The Vogelhochzeit is a sweet musical tale by a well known German composer Rolf Zuckowski. Unlike some other children's music, the whole CD is full from start to finish with melodic surprises that are truly a delight to hear.
The tale starts out with a bird that wanted to have a wedding (Ein Vogel wollte Hochzeit machen)... "what does a bird do, who is alone? Do you all know what I mean? He looks for a spot in a tree, and sings his most beautiful song, and when he is lucky, soon a little female sits next to him."... and such delightful songs were the inspiration for my latest project's for Lena's Patchwork magazine (German):
The story progesses when the lonely bird greets his future mate and asks to sit next to her, they dance together, and later await the arrival of their baby. The mother-to-be bird dreams of one day flying again, but is happy to protect her little egg until the baby comes... and then later as expected "tick, tick, tick, what is knocking there in the egg"? (was klopft denn da im Ei?)
...the new little chick arrives and anxiously greets his parents "Hello Mama, Hello Papa, the time is up, and here I am. Hello Mama, Hello Papa, how are you, is everything OK?"
The little family soon finds out that a baby chick is never full, but when he grows up that he wants to fly to the clouds, and knows that "he must learn a lot... dreams about the golden stars... wants to stand on his own legs... and fly the world alone."
The story comes to an end as the grown baby sits in his own tree and sings his most beautiful song... a bird wanted to have a wedding.
Models including patterns and sewing instruction in the Febuary issue of Lena's Patchwork magazine. Fabrics: Cori Dantini "Good Company" for Blend Fabrics.
