What Are You Stitching?

Birds in Embroidery

Birds are a very popular subject for the embroiderer. As Trish Burr’s Hummingbird demonstrates, the brilliance of the feathers and the delight of their personalities ensures that our feathered friends are a never-ending source of delight and inspiration. So today we bring you some examples of birds and other flying creatures stitched by the Inspirations Community.

Bird Picture | Iris Vodopivec

‘I currently live in California, USA  but I was born and raised in Argentina. I’m an architect and needlecrafter and for many years I have been doing different types of embroidery. But I love long and short stitch.’

‘For this project above, I designed the motif and also the choice of colours is mine. I really like to embroider birds; they have a beautiful variety of colours.’

Your birds are beautifully stitched, and the colours and background are just perfect. Thank you for sharing your work with us, Iris. If we didn’t know better, we’d think they were just about to fly out of the frame!

Royal Blue | Margaret Cobleigh

‘Last year, I emailed in to request that the project ‘Royal Blue’ by Trish Burr from Inspirations issue #77 be made available as a downloadable digital pattern. The team at Inspirations did your part by publishing the pattern – thank you very much – and I’ve now done my part by stitching it!’

‘He really wasn’t very difficult to stitch. I did do some things in the embroidery that were not part of the original instructions, but overall, it was a pleasure to stitch. I really didn’t want it to end.’

LEFT: Original piece as it appeared in issue #77 RIGHT: Margaret’s ‘tribute’ photo

‘Here is a picture of the completed bird surrounded by all the threads used to stitch him. This is my ‘tribute’ to the original photo with all the feathers!’

We love your ‘tribute’ photo, Margaret, but more than that we love how you’ve captured both the shine and the shading of this cheeky little bird. You’ve really brought his personality out with the skill of your needle!

Bunny Blanket | Mary Bak

Next up we have a lovely blanket by Mary featuring a gorgeous little bunny being teased by a flock of brilliant blue birds.

‘I ordered this pattern from Jenny McWhinney. I thought it would be perfect for a good friend’s new grandson born in November last year.

I used fleece for the blanket and found a cotton bunny print complete with red mushrooms for the backing. I had never considered putting a backing on the blanket after the embroidery.

This project was a new experience for me, having done mainly tea towels with stem stitch. I enjoyed it and thought it turned out quite nicely.’

‘I used #3 perle cotton for the project but would use #5 if I do another one. I wanted it to sit on top of the fabric and not get lost in the fluff, and it certainly does that! Although I didn’t have a huge selection of colours in either thread or fabric, I just wanted you to see a beginner’s attempt at this lovely project.’

You’ve done a fantastic job and we can’t believe it is a ‘beginner’s attempt’, Mary! I’m sure your friend, and her new grandson would have been thrilled to receive it.

The Jade Dragon | Luan Callery

The next project is not a bird per se, but it’s definitely a creature that flies! Luan Callery from Florida, USA has sent in a picture of her Jade Dragon.

‘Here is a picture of The Jade Dragon, designed by Colleen Goy of Roseworks Designs. I received first place at the EGA exhibit in Naples, Florida, last February for this piece.’

‘Although I have written several correspondence courses available through EGA, I enjoy working some of the wonderful designs offered by other teachers and designers, such as The Jade Dragon.

My version is more blue than jade, but the excellent design could be in any colour.

I especially like the creativity of threadpainting, however, I enjoy other surface techniques as well.  This piece offered lots of challenges, but it was very rewarding.’

Both the design and the stitching are exquisite, Luan. We can see why you wanted to stitch this majestic dragon, which, in our opinion works perfectly in blue.

If you’ve stitched a project featuring a bird or any other flying creature, or indeed any subject at all, we’d love to see it! Send us photos and a little bit of background on your stitching journey to news@inspirationsstudios.com and you could see your work featured in a future issue of All Stitched Up!