Follow up to "The Flock"
01-03-2024, 08:01 AM
#1
Super Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 1,866
Follow up to "The Flock"
I recently remembered an interesting discussion, from a few years ago, about a subscription where one could get a bird block kit each month. It was very appealing, but a bit pricey. I wanted to know how it played out, and went digging. (The original thread is here.)
It was called, "The Flock", and there ended up being 64 bird blocks, and they are all shown here. (There are two pages.)
I believe the subscription cost about $35/month. It ran from October 2017 to December 2022.
At some point, "The FLOCK Lite" subscription was created, where one could get a PDF file containing the pattern, templates and instructions - one a month for $14.95/month. (This ended in late 2023.)
At some later point, "The AfterFLOCK" subscription was created, and once a month, one could choose any one of the bird patterns, and get that kit sent to them, for $32.95/month + $4.50 shipping = $37.45 total.
The AfterFLOCK also has an option to get all the bird kits in one big shipment, for $1497. (They say this is a $2100 value.)
So, yes, pricey indeed.
I find interesting to see that that the first few blocks definitely look a bit crude compared with the later blocks, The robin, in particular, has lines that look more like a staircase rather than smooth animal lines. The designer(s) clearly improved as they went on.
All the kits shipped with laser cut fabric and were traditionally pieced, rather than paper pieced. (Small amounts of applique was called for for things like beaks, eyes and feet.) I think the blocks end up looking very similar to paper pieced blocks. Personally, I think that I was going to do a project like this, I would be happier paper piecing the birds, rather than trying to keep everything just-so while piecing some rather small bits of fabric. I'm guessing that "The Flock" was most appealing to people who strongly dislike the paper piecing process, but really like the look of paper piecing birds.
I did a bit of searching for bird paper pieced patterns, and discovered there are a huge number of them out there! From simple, to quite sophisticated. I was particularly impressed with Silver Linings Originals, which has many patterns for $5.95 (PDF download) and fabric kits for $8 plus shipping and handling ($2.50 for one kit; I didn't check rate for multiple kits). Another seller with a large number of attractive patterns is PaperPiecingByErin, with many patterns for around $5.50 (PDF download). (I don't have any affiliation with either of these sellers; I'm just impressed with what they are offering. I think browsing through their patterns is fun, even if you're not thinking of making any bird blocks at all.)
I'm not sure I'll ever do a bird block project, but I save some images in my ideas files. It's on my maybe-some-day list.
It was called, "The Flock", and there ended up being 64 bird blocks, and they are all shown here. (There are two pages.)
I believe the subscription cost about $35/month. It ran from October 2017 to December 2022.
At some point, "The FLOCK Lite" subscription was created, where one could get a PDF file containing the pattern, templates and instructions - one a month for $14.95/month. (This ended in late 2023.)
At some later point, "The AfterFLOCK" subscription was created, and once a month, one could choose any one of the bird patterns, and get that kit sent to them, for $32.95/month + $4.50 shipping = $37.45 total.
The AfterFLOCK also has an option to get all the bird kits in one big shipment, for $1497. (They say this is a $2100 value.)
So, yes, pricey indeed.
I find interesting to see that that the first few blocks definitely look a bit crude compared with the later blocks, The robin, in particular, has lines that look more like a staircase rather than smooth animal lines. The designer(s) clearly improved as they went on.
All the kits shipped with laser cut fabric and were traditionally pieced, rather than paper pieced. (Small amounts of applique was called for for things like beaks, eyes and feet.) I think the blocks end up looking very similar to paper pieced blocks. Personally, I think that I was going to do a project like this, I would be happier paper piecing the birds, rather than trying to keep everything just-so while piecing some rather small bits of fabric. I'm guessing that "The Flock" was most appealing to people who strongly dislike the paper piecing process, but really like the look of paper piecing birds.
I did a bit of searching for bird paper pieced patterns, and discovered there are a huge number of them out there! From simple, to quite sophisticated. I was particularly impressed with Silver Linings Originals, which has many patterns for $5.95 (PDF download) and fabric kits for $8 plus shipping and handling ($2.50 for one kit; I didn't check rate for multiple kits). Another seller with a large number of attractive patterns is PaperPiecingByErin, with many patterns for around $5.50 (PDF download). (I don't have any affiliation with either of these sellers; I'm just impressed with what they are offering. I think browsing through their patterns is fun, even if you're not thinking of making any bird blocks at all.)
I'm not sure I'll ever do a bird block project, but I save some images in my ideas files. It's on my maybe-some-day list.
01-04-2024, 04:05 AM
#3
Super Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Davenport, Iowa
Posts: 3,785
Love the PaperPiecingby Erin birds! Although not a paper piecer, I am a bird lover, and can see me adding (or trying to) make a couple of these for a quilt or maybe just a throw pillow or two. Thankyou for posting these links....something else to add to a bucket list.
