"Fields of Gold" Friday

Last Thanksgiving weekend, I hopped in the car with my camera and took these early morning shots of the hills and vineyards around Cloverdale, which I think is technically called the "Anderson Valley" region of the Sonoma wine country.  The colors were amazing, as I think you'll agree..... 

 

At one point, as I was driving, I paralleled a HUGE flock of starlings (I think that's what these birds are) that migrates through this area every year.  I pulled over to watch as they roosted in a cluster of tall trees, then every now and then rose en masse and circled over the vineyards.  Their noise was a terrific roar; rather like a high-pitched waterfall - constant, deafening and completely overwhelming.

 

 

 

 

Happy Hectic Friday!

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).

A Prairie Hymn

Like so many of you stitchers, I adore all of the Prairie Schooler designs, and have many of them in my stash. I am drawn not only to their folk art simplicity, but also to their graphic style - which may appear simple, but to me is very elegant and sophisticated. It seems to me, Prairie Schooler patterns are absolute CLASSICS. And by this I mean they stand the test of time. Whether viewed new today, or ten years later, they still delight the eye and are a pleasure to look at - as well as being really fun to stitch, with their limited color palettes and full stitches.

I wanted to share with you one of my favorite designs: these four birds from Prairie Schooler. Instead of stitching them separately on pillows, I wanted to stitch them vertically like a bell pull. But when I finished stitching them I decided not to make a bell pull, but rather, set them in a long frame.

I stitched it on a pale green 18 ct. Davosa fabric, using my Over-One-Tent-Stitch so that it stitched up quicker than cross stitch. Anyway, I love it. And have it hanging in my living room, where I look at it every day....and never get tired of it!

And like many of you, I have a stack of Prairie Schooler patterns that I WILL GET STITCHED (well, that's my plan, and I'm sticking to it).....But even if I just pull them out now and again, and just look through them, they make me happy. And they inspire me to keep stitching - on whatever it is I'm currently working on - so I can (one day) start stitching on yet another Prairie Schooler classic!