Love with a Twist: Omniscient Owl

Owl Love You Forever…..

Our all-knowing balloon owl for Love with a Twist is an observant old bird. And a bit of a snoop too. In fact, he knows too much about most people and loves us all anyway. Although this version of him looks a bit worried for some reason….. perhaps he knows something about me that he shouldn’t. I wonder what’s ruffled his feathers? haha.

This owl applique is already sewn onto my Twin size version of Love with a Twist. When I make a second owl for my Throw size quilt, perhaps I will take more care in positioning the eyes to get a more optimistic expression. I am sure you will take note of my owl and take more care with yours, unless you like his slightly startled-looking persona, of course. 😀 Then again, maybe it takes all types to make a quilt….. he certainly looks just fine in the context of my entire project so far. He might be worried about me, but the feeling is not really mutual. I like having a few characters around the place.

Omniscient Owl is our second option for Block 7 of the Love with a Twist quilt along. The wisest of followers will add him to their Love with a Twist collection asap. So, keep reading to download your pdf pattern and find out how to put him together.

About the Love with a Twist Balloon Owl Appliqué Block

Today’s Omniscient Owl balloon appliqué is the second option for Block 7 of the throw size versions of Love with a Twist. Of course, you will also need to collect our wise owl pattern if you are making the full twin-size quilt. Block 7B sits to the bottom right corner of the pig/2019 centre block on the Throw quilt, and directly below the flamingo on the right side of the Twin quilt.

Things to remember as you sew along with Love with a Twist

• There are two throw versions of this quilt, which can be re-mixed into a twin size quilt. The instructions to cut and construct the throw quilts can be found here and for the twin quilt, here.
• Today’s Omniscient Owl is Block 7B of Love with a Twist, and our eighteenth download to date. It can be interchanged with Block 7A, which is the monkey.
• We have also already had the Dippy Dog and Pretty Poodle blocks in January. The Lasting Love and Pretty Pig in February. The Kuddly Koala and Graceful Glider swan in March. The Toddling Turtle and Bonny Butterfly in April. The Responsible Rabbit bonus, the Rascally Rabbit and the Fabulous Fish blocks in May. The Qwazy Quacker duck and Jolly Jumper frog in June. And the Wonder Wader flamingo and two Nifty Neck giraffes in July.
• The appliqué templates provided are drawn in red lines and black lines. If you are doing raw-edge appliqué, ignore the line colours and simply work with the shapes supplied. If you want to do turned-edge appliqué, you will need to add a seam allowance to the black edges only. The red edges are where the shapes overlap and extra fabric allowance has already been added.

Download your Omniscient Owl balloon pdf pattern here

The slightly perplexed balloon owl appliqué pattern can be downloaded here. Clicking on the balloon owl appliqué picture directly below will download in a new tab. Using the red button will open the pdf right here under your nose.

**** It is really important that you print this pdf at 100%, otherwise your pattern pieces will be the wrong size for the quilt blocks. Turn off any “fit to page” options in your printer dialog and ensure that the printout size is set to 100%. There are check boxes supplied in the document. If your printout is successful, these will measure 1″ square. The document is designed to fit on US Letter and A4 paper. ****

What you will need to make the (raw-edge appliqué) Omniscient Owl block:

If you have not pre-constructed your quilt top, you will need background fabric for your appliqué:

• If you are making Block 7B for the throw size quit you will need a background fabric piece of 13″ x 20″. This measurement does not include any trimming allowance.
• To make Block 7B for the twin size quilt you will need a background fabric piece of 14″ x 17″. Again, this measurement does not include any trimming allowance.
• So, if you use a piece of fabric 15″ x 21″ or larger, you will keep your options open and have a small trimming allowance 🙂

You will also need:

• one main fabric for the owl’s body, approx. 10″ x 8″, and a second fabric for the wings, tail and head of 9″ x 9″. You will also need a third colour fabric for the beak and wings (4″ x 4″) and a fourth for the branch (6″ x 6″). My owl was made from Island Batik fabrics from the Ditty collection, given to me by Island Batik.
• scraps of white and black fabrics for the eyes
• fusible paper-backed fabric adhesive , approx. 20″ x 15″
• thin batting for trapunto or your favourite stabiliser for stitching (optional)
• general tools and notions: sewing machine, iron etc, teflon ironing sheet or non-stick paper, small sharp scissors, pencil, quilting pins, grease-proof/tracing paper, machine embroidery or sewing threads for appliqué and embroidery

How to put together the Owl Balloon Appliqué

Trace your appliqué shapes directly onto the backing paper of your fusible adhesive. Fuse the shapes to the back of your fabric, according to the instructions provided by the manufacturer. Then cut out each shape and remove the backing papers. They go together as follows:

Step 1

Assemble the 3-page layout diagram supplied and cover with an ironing sheet/non-stick paper. Position appliqué pieces O1, O2, O3, O4 and O5 in place and secure them temporarily by touching them briefly with the tip of a hot iron (or tack down with a small appliqué iron).

Step 2

Add branch pieces O8 and O9. Also place down the head pieces O10 and O11, as well as tail feathers O6.

Step 3

Next place body pieces O18 and O19.

Step 4

Fill in the last piece of the branch in between Owl’s feet with O27.

Step 5

Follow the pictures to place down all the Owl’s toes. The order of placement is: O12; then O13 and O14; then O15 and O16; and finish with O17.

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Step 6

Improve his body image with piece O22.

Step 7

Now add pieces O23 and O20.

Step 8

Add piece O21…. nearly done.

Step 9

Add the whites of the owl balloon’s eyes (O24 and O25).

Step 10

And complete your balloon owl with his beak (O26) and his pupils. Feel free to experiment with his eyes… he could be looking in any direction….. or even be cross-eyed!

Step 11

Give your appliqué a thorough pressing and transfer to your background fabric. Trim the branch ends to fit your block, if needs be. If you are making the Throw size quilt you will need to decrease the branch span by about an inch.

Stitch your appliqué owl down using your favourite method. The samples I have shown use free-motion straight stitching over a low-loft polyester batting. I layer my appliqué over the polyester batting and secure with quilting pins. Then I stitch around my shapes 5-6 times to secure them thoroughly. And finish by removing the excess batting with curved blade scissors/snips.

And try not to let him stare into your soul…..

Bahahaha! Don’t worry, he’s harmless, honest!

Have you started your Love with a Twist quilt yet?

Share your Love with a Twist blocks with me! You can fill the Chameleon and me with joy by sharing your Love with a Twist blocks via email, or on Instagram (mention @cleverchameleon or tag #lovewithatwistquilt). Or by posting on my Clever Chameleon Facebook page. Or by adding your beautiful work to the Chameleon’s Colour & Inspiration party right here on any Tuesday.

Hope to hear from you soon!

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The Chameleon turns rainbow with pleasure when he hears from you. I am more reserved, so I will respond in gratitude by email instead. Now that it’s your turn…. Scroll right to the end, leave me a comment and tell me, what do you think? Thanks for connecting!

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