Double the Chickadees, Double the Love!

If you've fallen in love with Jackie Robinson's two recent chickadee themed collections, we've got two quilts for your to-do list! Both of these quilts use the red, green, and cream colorway of Jackie's collections, but they look completely different! We asked Jackie to tell us the story behind each quilt design. 

"Catch a Chickadee" is featured in the December 2016 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting magazine. This large lap quilt features a distinctive red background, fussy-cut chickadees in stars, and Jackie's popular border stripe. 

"Catch a Chickadee" by Jackie Robinson and quilted by Aimee Mahan;
featured in American Patchwork & Quilting December 2016
©2016 Meredith Corporation. All rights reserved. 

Why the red background?
The cut-able chickadees are on the cream background, and I liked the idea of a light-colored star surrounding them. That meant I needed a darker background. The red is the same as in the border stripe, so it flowed nicely. 

Tell us about the Christmas-y palette. 
The newer collection, My Little Chickadee, has more red and green prints, where Chickadees & Berries also had a lot of blue. The blues have a more wintry feel, and these reds and greens have a more Christmas feel. 

What do you like best about this quilt?
I like the half-rectangle star points. I like how they appear to curve, even when they don't actually do so. It creates an illusion. I like using tools, like the Tri Recs templates to create these. 

Click here to see the December 2016 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting.

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"Chickadee Baskets" is featured in the November/December 2016 issue of Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting magazine. This lap-size quilt features log cabin blocks combined with nine-patch blocks in a unique on-point setting, and of course, fussy-cut chickadees! 

"Chickadee Baskets" by Jackie Robinson and machine quilted by Little Comfort Quilting;
featured in Love of Quilting November/December 2016
photo: Fons & Porter

Tell us about your design.
This quilt came into being as I was looking for ways to use the cut-able chickadees. The log cabin blocks create the basket and the handle, and there's a chickadee in each basket. 

You have talked before about the need for a variety of shades in your fabric. 
There are four different reds that I used in the log cabin blocks. I definitely like the variety.  

How does the on-point setting create such a distinctive look for this quilt?
The on-point log cabins create the baskets, and the alternating blocks creates the gridded look.. I really like the holly print--it's my favorite of the greens--and I used it in the alternate blocks. 

 What do you like best about this quilt? 
The chickadees in the baskets...as if they'd stay there...they'd be gone! 

Click here to see the November/December 2016 issue of Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting.

Click here to see the Chickadees & Berries collection and here to see the My Little Chickadee collection. 
Click here to visit Jackie's website and see more quilts featuring her Chickadee collections. 
Click here to see our original interview with Jackie about her chickadee fabrics. 

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Looking for more Christmas fun? 

Join us and our friends at American Patchwork & Quilting for 25 days of Quiltmas! Starting today, check in each day leading up to Christmas for a new holiday quilting video featuring great gift ideas, décor items, tips and tricks, and more! The first video is available here: allpeoplequilt.com/quiltmas