Nanday Parakeets – Part 1

These colorful parakeets are dear to me as they’re not really native to Florida, but live in large flocks after escaping from a pet shop. I watch them chattering in the palm trees outside my deck. They cannot seem to stay quiet and sound like they’re all talking at the same time. This piece is aptly entitled, “Liberated,” as they’ve happily escaped.


“Liberated,” was designed as part of my 2023 special exhibit at the International Quilt Festival in Houston, TX. You can find a few videos on my exhibit on youtube. The final art was professionally framed and measures 20” x 22”. At the time of this blog, it’s available to purchase in the US. 

I began by wet-felting the background onto a piece of white crafting felt. I cut extra inches all around so I could square it up later. There are plenty of free tutorials on wet-felting online, just do a search. I used various shades of lavenders and blue fibers such as merino wool and tussah silk. Wet-felting is a slow process and the fibers need to dry completely. I usually hang them on my deck to air dry and then wait until the next day to proceed.

Next, I traced the birds onto muslin with a fine line Faber Castell marker. I added a double-sided fusible stabilizer to the back of the muslin. Then, I carefully cut them out using very sharp 4” Karen Kay Buckley scissors. Having worked with many different brands, these definitely work best for this intricate work. Once it was cut out, I matched the marked centers and fused into place. 

Next, I added dyed silk petals pinning and stitching them with matching Aurifil 50 wt. threads. I used a Superior topstitch needle 90/14 with Aurifil 40 wt. threads in the bobbin. I’m stitching on a BERNINA 770 QE machine and the 29C (clear) foot. I prefer this over the open the horse shoe embroidery foot when working with silks and delicate fabrics. I allowed a few petals to cover the birds knowing I would be layering the fabric collage overtop.   

Next, I chose the fabrics. These parakeets are very striking and I wanted to recreate their brilliance by selecting vibrant colors. Learn more on how to choose fabrics in my step-by-step blog. Through experience I have found the better the fabrics the better the art. Cheap fabrics simply shred under the needle and I never use them. My stash mostly consists of quilter’s cottons I purchase through local fabric shops; I do NOT shop in big box stores. Thin fabrics work best when layering and I often use a Tana Lawn cotton by Liberty fabrics. I keep them in bins organized by color. Here are my browns and greens. 

I began creating the fabric collage by pinning the scraps into place. I use very sharp straight pins. If I come across any that are bent or dull, I toss them out immediately. Bent pins can not only damage the art, but also break needles. You can learn more by watching my fabric collage recorded demonstration.  Not everyone likes to use pins, my students often use a glue-stick.  

After I pinned the fabrics in place, I stitched them down with a loose meandering stitch using threads of matching colors. Once this was completed, I used my pattern to indicate the precise areas on the body. I always make extra copies of my pattern as they are not only used as reference, but cut apart to help when marking the anatomy. I marked the beak and began to use free-motion-embroidery. To note the stitching lines on dark fabrics I prefer to use a sharp white chalk pencil, and for all other fabrics I use a purple Friction fabric marker. 

The free-motion embroidery is done with a wooden hoop and a stabilizer to keep everything smooth and taught. To learn about choosing the correct stabilizers for this work, please read my “Let’s talk stabilizers”. You can learn more about the free-motion embroidery process by watching my recorded demonstration on thread painting. 

I used many different colors of Aurifil 50 wt. threads and kept them beside side me in drawers arranged by colors. The bobbin does not get switched out for every color. It’s always important to simply keep shades similar in the bobbin, as I don’t want a red thread to pop up into a yellow fabric on top. 

Continued in Part 2…

All of Lorraine’s work supports endangered animals worldwide.