Spring 2024: Google ended its email subscription service in 2021. I believe I've found a replacement, but haven't had time to test it. I have been stitching a little bit here and there and have some posts ready for when the email subscription is active again. Fingers crossed, I'll have time to rouse this blog out of its dormancy sometime this year.

03 October 2019

Blame the Cat

The shadows and leaf veins are in on Royal Blue's branch and it's looking better. I'm almost to the part where I get to stitch with bright pretty blues!

Thread painted branch and leaves mostly complete

I'll probably tweak the branch a bit more later, but it's good for now. I need to stop looking at it. I should probably mention that I stitched the branch differently from the directions. I didn't do rows of adjacent split stitch. I've found that when it comes to bark and branches I like a sketchier result, rather than the smooth look you get with adjacent lines of split stitch. It's also more fun to stitch the sketchy look, but you never know how it's going to turn out!

I added the legs, leaving the feet for the very end of the project. They are done with bullions and I don't want to take the chance of damaging the bullions as I'm stitching on other areas of the bird.

Bird's legs complete (except for the feet)

Next comes the tail with its vivid blues! There are five shades on the tail and the end of the tail really pops. It was so much fun to stitch!

Upper part of tail complete with vivid blues

Both parts of the tail complete with five shades of blue

With the tail finished, it's on to the breast starting at the bottom and working my way up.

Embroidering the bird's breast beginning at the bottom

I had help. Sort of....

Koji, my Siamese cat, looking up at me as I try to stitch with him in my lap

Koji, my Siamese cat, sitting in my lap whilst I try to stitch my bird

I don't quite know why he wants to sit/sleep on me when I'm stitching because I hold the hoop right above his head and frequently poke him with with my elbows, drop scissors on him, and other annoyances. Fortunately, he doesn't normally sit on me when I'm working, but this particular day he was needy. I somehow managed to make progress on the bird despite the cat.

The bird's breast is half stitched in blues. My Siamese cat, Koji, is sleeping in the foreground.

Uh, oh, problem!

The direction is wrong on the last couple of rows at the top. They are flaring out weirdly. I could almost live with it, but I set the bird down for a couple of days and then took another look and those rows have to come out. This is going to require some unstitching. Groan. The colours are pretty, though.

Completed bird's breast with some directional issues at the top.

Fortunately, directional problems don't happen very often, but when it does it's usually because my attention has wandered. I blame the cat! (He won't care.)

6 comments :

  1. Gosh it's beautiful so far! The cat is gorgeous too.

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    1. Thank you and, yes, Koji is my beautiful boy and a big boy at that! It was much easier to stitch with him when he was a kitten. :-)

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  2. Gorgeous ...it is going to be gorgeous ! :) x

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    Replies
    1. Thank you. I think it's going to turn out OK. The blues are so pretty and make stitching a real pleasure.

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