Somewhere in every neighborhood there is a pair of pink plastic flamingos stuck in a flower bed, standing on one leg and doing absolutely nothing. We quilters respect the look. We simply think a flamingo that pretty ought to have a hobby. Stitching Pretty is our flock of flamingos who found theirs, nearly all of them with a hairdo that says Quilt Hair Don't Care, and every one with a quilting habit to match.
The glamour girls
Featherina Stitché makes an entrance. Her crest is a great fluffy cloud of hot pink feathers, her eyes are wide open, and she stands beside a little sewing machine and a glass of red like a woman who has finished her blocks and intends to enjoy the evening. Flamingle Fawcett, named for a certain famous feathered hairdo, perches on a leafy branch beside a tidy stack of pink fabric, looking a bit startled that anyone noticed her, but not at all sorry about the hair.
The color lovers
Some flamingos refuse to stay pink. Starla Flamingle wears a crest in every color of the rainbow under a string of bunting that spells out Quilt Hair Don't Care, a pieced block tucked in her wing and a whole pile of finished blocks at her feet. Flossie Flaminglam shares the rainbow crest and adds a patchwork scarf knotted around her long neck, proof that a quilter never lets a good scrap go to waste, not even in her wardrobe. Put the two of them side by side and it looks like a fat quarter bundle learned to walk.
The one dressed for chilly weather
Every flock has a practical member. The Starry-Eyed Flamingo Quilter skips the wild hair entirely. She is bundled up in a chunky green knit scarf and a pair of sturdy lace-up boots, holding a blue and white star block out in front of her like she just finished it on the drive home. She has clearly flown somewhere colder than Florida and has no regrets about it.
The friend who deserves a flock of her own
You surely know the quilter who wears pink without apology, the one whose hair gets a little wilder with every hour at the machine, or the friend who knits and quilts and dresses for the cold no matter the season. There is a flamingo here with her exact attitude, and you will know her the moment you see the feathers. Pick that one and send it her way. It will never replace the plastic pair on the neighbor's lawn. It will simply make them look like they need to get a hobby.
Written by Jenny. Thanks for reading.
