What’s the Difference Between Owls & a Hedgehog?

I allowed only March for the Owl panel in Kathy McNeil’s Audubon’s Christmas quilt.  I have to say this panel was the most fun so far.

Kathy’s pattern suggested padding the fence posts, but didn’t give directions.  I padded both the fence posts and the snow using Quilters Dream Request white batting.  I traced the shapes of each piece from the right side of the pattern onto paper-backed fusible web.  Fused this to the batting and cut on the lines.  I then fused the batting pieces to the wrong side of the applique fabric.  I just needle turned the applique pieces to the edge of the batting.

The “barbed wire” is yarn couched over the fence posts.  I used two different yarns twisted together to have both a little metallic and hair where animals had rubbed up against the fence.  After couching the yarn I determined the silver fibers were too long for the scale of the block, so I gave them a haircut.

Back to the question in my title.  What is the difference between owls and a hedgehog?

Hedgehog from my All God’s Critters quilt.

In this case it is only where the heads of the owls and the hedgehog body were cut from the same piece of fabric.

I only purchased 1/4 yard of this fabric when I was making my “All God’s Critters” quilt.  When people in my class started coveting that fabric after they saw my owls, I wished I bought more.

I had originally intended to applique the pupils in the eyes, but after grabbing the wrong template plastic and melting it all over the black fabric, I came up with a better plan.  I used the circle template (that drafting kit from college still comes in handy) to mark the size pupils I wanted.

Then I filled in those circles using a black Fabrico pen.

I didn’t have the polka dot fabric I wanted for the feet.  So I used a dark brown batik and added dots with white Tsukineko ink with the tip of my paint brush handle.  That was a little stark, so I painted over the whole thing with brown Neocolor II crayons.

Some of my class was a little peeved with me because everything except for the bellies came out of my stash, so they couldn’t get their hands on the same things.  I’m sorry, but that is why I have a stash.