Saturday, April 25, 2009

The Birds are Singing

It's official: Spring is really here.

I know because there's a pair of very busy starlings feeding a nest of babies in a tree in my front yard. They've been at it for the past two weeks and the peepings from the nest are getting louder every day.

It reminds me of a project I stitched many, many years ago:


It came from a watercolor painting from a book called The Country Diary of an Edwardian Woman. Do you remember how popular that book was, and how eventually a cross-stitch book came out with her designs?

I actually cross-stitched this design on a 20 ct. evenweave fabric (Davos, perhaps?). And what I remember most about stitching it was that halfway thru the project, I fractured my wrist (falling off a spooked horse) and had to finish it with one hand only (the other hand being in a cast and propped up on my elbow). And let me tell you: it was the most torturously slow project I've EVER worked on. But I was determined to get it finished - broken wrist or not - and I finally did. Whew.

Consequently, every time I look at this project (which I made into a ruffled pillow) all I can remember is being propped up in bed, stitching painfully and very slowly on an awkward lap frame. But I also remember how determined I was to keep stitching, no matter what..... and even when I was laid up, I kept working on it and ultimately, finished the project (to my great relief and satisfaction).

4 comments:

Wanda said...

Certainly this project will remain with you always...as the project of recovery and pain. But it is lovely. It is soft and gentle without any backstitching. Very nice

Anonymous said...

I can see why this picture was the cover illustration of Country Diary. The baby hedge sparrows are so cute!

How long was it before you made this into a pillow? My first big cross-stitch project was so frustrating and painfully slow to complete that I hid the framed picture away for two years because I loathed it so much.

Carol said...

Well worth the effort. That is real dedication :)

sophos said...

il est superbe ce tableau !

Sophos