Rainbow Lorikeets - Quilt block Mania March 2022

One of the really fun things of living in Australia is the bird life. When talking to a friend overseas, she asked if we kept birds. I did a double take and said “No, I’ve just gone outside”. The birds she could hear were just carrying on their lives, doing their thing, and having a good chat about it all. We hear duets from the kookaburras in the morning, claiming their territory in no uncertain terms. The whip bird lets us know when rain is coming. A mess of birds making a commotion is worth investigating because it is often a snake. Then there are the bird wars where the smaller birds gang up and chase off the bigger birds. The fuss they all made when a channel billed cuckoo came to visit. He or she was NOT welcome. (No cuckoos in the nest round here). The magpies go on patrol across the lawn just like a police line searching for evidence. Flocks of yellow tailed black cockatoos swoop in like a busload of tourists. The king parrots and lorikeets flit through the bushes. Then there are the doves enjoying the bird bath or a little family of rails walking in Indian file.

Rainbow lorikeets at NSW art gallery cafe, Sydney. I know they shouldn’t eat cake.

Yellow tailed black cockatoo

Brush turkey - much happier in the bush

My bird for the Quilt Block Mania block of the month for March is the rainbow lorikeet. This particular lorikeet, I met while at the Art Gallery cafe in Sydney. I like this cafe because it has a big outdoor terrace area overlooking parkland which is very pleasant, however, the Ibises and lorikeets think it’s their cafe. Now, you are not supposed to encourage the birds by feeding them. Sugar is bad for them. However, they do take liberties. I have a feeling that providing extra (healthy) seed would simply result in larger flocks of birds so maybe we just have to enjoy them and finish all our cake.

Ibis convinced he can fit easily under the umbrellas and on the tables

Ibises have absolutely no sense of their own size or wingspan and think they can safely fly under shade umbrellas and land on tables. The net result is diners scrambling for cover. The lorikeets are much smaller and slightly more polite. They basically surround you and wait. Any inattention results in some opportunistic cake stealing, and yes, they do like a latte. The waitstaff need to be extremely vigilant but even so, the birds seem to make an easy living.

This lorikeet is made with raw edge fusible applique and I’m planning on thread painting him. I hope you enjoy all the bird patterns and have a lot of fun making them.

12 inch applique block - rainbow lorikeet - duck creek mountain quilting

Here are the links to the other designers.

12 inch blocks, applique, bird blocksSusan Griffiths12 inch block, bird block, lorikeet, quilt block mania1 Comment