Buggers!...

I had PT this morning and needed it in a big way. I woke up in pain, so I finally took an anti-inflammatory and Handsome drove me to my appointment. I'm feeling much better, but that my excuse for this late post - and I'm sticking with it.

I'm sharing a photo of how I decided to preserve and protect my goldwork birds. Handsome purchased this shadowbox frame ages ago for another purpose, but I came across it still unused, so I appropriated it. 

I attached dark-colored, round-head pins and then hung the birds from those. I used similar pins to secure the bottom of each ornament to keep them from twisting. I'm quite chuffed with how it turned out, and the frame now hangs in the hall outside my studio where I can see it every day.

This afternoon is another classmate dinner, but I didn't want to leave again without writing today's post. I'll be on time tomorrow, for sure! See you then.

 

Mockingbird Ornament...

My mockingbird ornament is complete! Rather than add a tassel or nest under this bird, I added three silver beads to weight the bottom of the ornament. 

Now, my new mockingbird hangs next to the blue tit ornament from my first bird class with Clara Warschauer. I think her next bird may be a blue jay, but I'm thinking about a different one that I may tackle yet this summer. I'll draw up a few ideas while I mull it over.

If you're on Instagram, you can click HERE to go to my Brynwood Needleworks page and see the video I shot showing my hummingbird among the hollyhocks. A little bee even stopped to say hello. 

On to the next thing. Your guess is as good as mine right now. I'll be sitting down to peruse my choices.  We'll see together soon.

Goldwork Mockingbird - Nearly Completed...

Wednesday went even better than I planned. It started with packaging up almost twenty pounds of fabric to send to my dear friend in Arizona, along with tidying up the studio a bit. I "hoped to work on my goldwork mockingbird" to make a little progress afterward. Imagine my joy when I actually finished all the needlework!

 

I think I may have even captured a little of the sparkle on it in this shot! My plan today is to release it from the ground fabric, add feet, and then turn it into an ornament like the blue tit I did previously. It won't have a nest hanging below it, but I will have another completed class piece from Clara Stitching.

I'm hoping to show you the completed piece tomorrow, and then I'll hang it in my studio with all my other embroidered birds - the quilts and the goldwork ornament. It might be time to think about my next bird quilt, too. Hmmmmm. Bluebirds? Orioles?

Mockingbird Head Is Finished...

My mockingbird's head is finished, and I'm really happy with the results. My execution is a bit different from Clara's design, but that's what makes it mine, too. Rather than cut the smooth purl on the top part of his head into small chips, placed haphazardly (as with the bright check purls), I chose to place the smooth purls in more of a feather pattern you'd find on the real bird.

Here's a closeup of the head detail. I'm really happy with how the eye turned out, too.  Once I take pictures, I'm able to see things I don't see - even using a magnifier. I need to trim down some of the fuzzies on the felt, just for starters. That's what's obscuring sections of the silver that outlines the entire body and wing. I'll trim that tomorrow, and then set it aside until our next class session...unless I find that I just can't wait to work on more of the design!

The blue lines you see around the outline of the bird, as well as placement for the feet are drawn using a Frixion™ heat erasable pen. Even though they won't show on the finished brooch, I'll take my small iron to the edges when this is all finished to make the lines completely disappear before I tackle the task of finishing the back.

Next class session is Saturday, so I've got some froggy stitching to return to in the meantime. I'm keeping track of the names still on my list, so I'd better think about getting them done to be able to mail them out sooner, rather than later. See you tomorrow!

Beginnings of a Mockingbird...

 

First, please believe me when I say it's just as weird for me, as I'm sure it is for you, not to see Tag's handsome face here on Tuesdays. I'm having a hard time coming to terms with his absence here and in my life. I'll do my best to make your Tuesday visits here worth while without him. 

When I got back from the airport, I couldn't wait to begin working on my mockingbird for the first session of the class. I had the tracing done before I went to bed Sunday night, so I could cut out all the pieces of felt and start stitching.

I attached all the felt padding, stuffing as I went; couched down all of the super pearl purl outlines; and finished the day by adding the eye detail. By the time I was to this point, it was late and dark, so I didn't do a very good job with lighting to show any closeups. I'll do that when I start working on it again today.

I did take out a section early on because I wasn't happy with the way the padding was progressing. Once that was removed, I reapplied and was much more pleased with the result. 

My stitching today will be to add chipping to the head, using two different "threads" - brilliant check purls in silver, and smooth purls in shades of gray. Once that's done, I'll be caught up with our class assignment. I'll post photos tomorrow to show you how it looks after the purls have been stitched down. 

Time to get to the really fun part. (I love cutting and applying all the little chips of check purls!) See you tomorrow.

St. Patrick's Day...

I planned to work on my mockingbird all day yesterday, but alas...the best laid plans...

Handsome is going to Florida today for the funeral of a dear friend of ours, so instead, there was prepping to do so he could pack, and I wanted to make a nice dinner for him before he left for restaurant food for the next week.

I decided on a traditional Irish dinner featuring a loaf of homemade Irish Soda Bread to accompany corned beef, cabbage, carrots and red potatoes. I placed everything into a large dutch oven and let it cook all afternoon. 

The bread was easier than most varieties I bake. This took about fifteen minutes to mix and forty five to bake. No rise time at all. Irish Soda bread is tasty, but not as flavorful as some of the others either, but it was a perfect side for the rest of our meal. I later had a small piece, toasted, with peanut butter. Yum!

So, today the plan is to sit down to my needlework frame and get in some needle dancing to start the mockingbird. Our second - and last - session is next Saturday, so I want to get up to speed for that class. I'll share what I accomplish today when I see you again tomorrow.

Class Day...

Today, I begin my morning with a Facebook live class that I'm teaching. At 10:30, I'll share the techniques for dyeing the plastic eggs we did last weekend. I'm looking forward to showing others how simple and fun this technique is.

This afternoon, I'm taking a new class with Clara of Clara Stitching. This class is the Northern Mockingbird Brooch. I pulled this image off her website so I could show you what we're learning. You know me...rather than complete it as a brooch, I'm going to finish this one the same way we did the Blue Tit - as a hanging ornament. That way, I can display it next to the other bird in my studio. 

You can see from Clara's drawing that this bird is waiting for its legs and feet, and then it will be beautifully finished.

I'm planning to just take notes today, but will begin the work on it soon. I have a few other important pieces in line ahead of it, and this will be a two-session course. The second session is next weekend, so I'll try to get something done before then.

It's going to be a busy day, and I still have final setup to get done before the class I'm teaching begins, so I'd better head to the studio. I hope you have something fun planned for this weekend! We can compare notes on Monday. Happy Weekend!