First Sign of Spring!

It's fitting that the first sign of spring appeared just two days before the first day of spring. Thursday I heard the wonderful chorus of spring peepers from down in our meadow. That is one of the happiest sounds to me -- it means that warmer weather is on its way!

This year the first day of spring fell on National Quilting Day, so to honor both occasions, I designed and made this quilt that I call "pseudacris crucifer," which is the Latin name for the spring peeper. The quilt is raw-edge applique using batiks. The frog itself is made of 14 separate pieces. I added shadows to the frog with Prismacolor pencils, and I spatter painted him using acrylic paint. The glint in the eye is also acrylic paint. I added a piano key border and did free-motion quilting.

At right is a close-up of the frog. 

Below is a close-up of the center section. You can see words on the background fabric. I ironed a piece of batik to freezer paper and ran it through the printer. I printed "pseudacris crucifer" and "peep" onto the fabric, making just the perfect background. 

The quilt measures 14 x 16 inches.