It measures about 5" square and I'm not sure if I'll frame it or do some other finishing. I did end up making some changes to the piece. First off I stitched mine using 2 ply of floss over 2 threads. I like that denser coverage. However when it came time to do the decorative stitches I found that using 2 ply of floss was too clunky and using the called for 1 ply of floss made them too delicate. Sooooooo.... I ended up altering the shapes slightly and stitched everything in cross stitch using 2 ply.
I particularly like the birds in this piece...but it didn't hit me till last night that they are bald eagles...dun???
And since I finished one piece I was more than ready to dive into something new (let us put out of our minds at the moment the numerous UFO cross stitch pieces I could have returned to... like Scarlett, I'll think about that tomorrow, after all tomorrow is another day). This is Welcome, dear August from the Blackbird Design booklet In Friendship's Way which you can see here.
Isn't he a handsome fellow? I admired the Snooty Parrots sampler that several of my stitching friends did this year and you can see Lisa's here. I'm not up for another big project but this one is just the right size - about 75 stitches square - finished at about 4.75".
Now the August this piece refers to is a grandson named August, not the month... and since I have no grandchildren... yet... I'm not sure what to stitch in the spot where his name appears...I'm thinking it should be a word... Hope, Faith, Strength, Love? Any suggestions? You can see the piece on cover below...
also notice how much more vivid my piece is than the one pictured? I wonder if they softened the photo or if their flosses were that much more muted than mine... the dilemma of hand-dyed floss.
I'll be linking up two places - today to Kathy's Quilts Slow Stitching Sunday which you can see here... and tomorrow to Super Mom - No Cape's Vintage Embroidery Monday & Stitchery Link party which you can see here...lots of stuff to see!
happy stitching-
carol fun
How about the word "Soar"? I love your little patriotic piece. So fun.
ReplyDeleteYour stitching is beautiful! Love Blackbird Designs... So much stitching, not enough time!
ReplyDeleteI love your stitching. I like Hope or Strength for your pretty bird. I think the picture was softened to blend with the light blue title banner. Yours is very pretty though.
ReplyDeleteI thought I was finished stitching patriotic pieces , then I saw the wonderful one you just stitched. I think I will order it for next year-or just maybe? I like the idea of a word for the pretty bird design. I guess today I am in the mood for hope. I think the world is badly in need of hope. Of course, a little love might help too. I do love the colors on your design, much prettier than the photo.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful stitching!
ReplyDeleteLove your Free and Brave piece. I haven't done much cross stitch lately but miss it and hope to find time to get back to it. I also think Hope would be nice for your bird piece.
ReplyDeleteLove your patriotic piece. I'll have to see if I can find that BBD book. I love their stuff. Thanks too for the shout out! If nothing else this rainy week was good for stitching for sure. Here's to hoping for a drier one.
ReplyDeleteThe word "friend" came to mind, but it might be too long to fit in the space.
ReplyDeleteGreat job on your free and brave... love it!
These look lovely. I probably wouldn't have realized that was an eagle, either.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful work! Blackbird Designs create such beautiful patterns and your stitching is lovely! :) x
ReplyDeleteLovely stitching. Nothing better than rainy days to make some progress. The colors in both pieces are so pretty.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely finish just in time for July 4th! And I love your parrot! If you're adding a word... perhaps Joy. I like your more colorful version of it.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for linking up to last week's Stitchery Link Party and for linking back to help get the word out about it. Hugs!!