It’s been a minute! (And not much to report – been doing some nature journaling, and home rennovation, and storm cleanup.) When I began taking the train earlier this year, I looked for small projects to work on. I like to read in the morning, but felt creative in the afternoon. Unfortunately, the train life no longer proffers me a seat after work, so I’ve since given up this idea. I did manage to finish this simple stitched photo first.

Boy took the photograph while we visited a bird house at some point at some zoo neither of us can remember. He sprayed it with a matte finish and then it sat in a drawer for years. I merely added perle cotton to highlight some feathers. (I began with the dark blue, but once I got the swing of things, I wish I hadn’t included any stitching in the shadow of its belly. Lesson learned: threads are highlights!)

When the light catches the holes by the needle just right, it produce a sparkle effect which is kind of neat. That effect is exaggerated here, but in normal display, it looks cool against the matte finish.