Everyone Deserves a Quilt: December Color Challenge

I can't believe it's December and we are sharing the last of our

2020 Monthly Color Challenge blocks.

This month's color is Red

and the bird is the Cardinal

For the pattern and block instructions,

head over to

Jen's Blog - Patterns by Jen

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I am thrilled that the featured bird this month is the Cardinal,

as that is the state bird of Ohio, my home state.

The picture above shows both the male (left) and female (right) cardinal.

As with many other birds we've learned about this year, it is the male who has the most vibrant colors.

The male cardinal is a brilliant all-over red, while the female is a pale brown with reddish tinges in the wings. Both the male and female have a reddish/orange bill that is surrounded by a black face. (My grandchildren say that these birds have a black mask.)

Both the male and female have a very thick bill and prominent crest. The thick bill and strong tongue allows the birds to extract seeds by crushing or cutting the shell. It's quite interesting to watch, and this video is awesome.

Cardinals can be found in backyards, parks, woodlots, and shrubby forest edges. They often visit bird feeders, but frequently perch a little bit away from them and swoop in inconspicuously to grab their food and go - a fun grab and go technique to watch.

We are very fortunate to have the right habitat for cardinals, and enjoy them frequently. I have to admit that winter is my favorite time to see them, as their bright red color contrasts beautiful against freshly fallen snow. I've been known to take a lot of bird pictures and love to share them here on the blog. Here are a few of my favorites.

This special cardinal spent the winter of 2017 with us. After sending off some pictures to Cornell Lab of Ornithology we were told that this is a partially leucistic female cardinal, or one lacking pigment in the crest feathers.

Every morning, as my husband and I drank our coffee in the back room, discussed our daily schedule and watched the birds, this one would eventually show up. She was quite skiddish and didn't dilly dally around too much. Before finding out the real story about her colors, Jack and I created some interesting ones of our own. My favorite is Jack's theory that she's just an old lady cardinal who, like him, is full of wisdom and mystery for the other birds to enjoy. :-)

Scientists have identified at least 16 different calls from the cardinal, but the one most often heard is a loud, metallic chirp. This call is made when warning other birds of their territory, when predators are near, when females approach their nests, or when both genders are approaching the nest with food for their nestlings.

Gee, do you think I am enthralled with cardinals?

I guess since I like cardinals so much, it's not surprising to know that I use a lot of red in my quilts.

This is one of my favorite red and white quilts. It's Prairie Star - a Judy Niemeyer pattern.