To define the bird’s wing area, I chose a scallop stitch, which I stitched across the center of the wing and satin stitches to define the lower feathers.
Wing Detail Work
I then satin stitched around the entire wing with a matching gold embroidery thread.
Wing Detail
To give the bird’s neck a little more detail, I chose a decorative stitch.
Neck Detail
The three yellow petals were created the same way as the tail feathers. First, I attached them with a free motion straight stitch.
Next, I finished the edges with a blanket stitch using yellow embroidery thread. Red perle cotton was couched under the stitching. The red and yellow contrast so beautifully with each other in this little motif. I think a full-petaled flower in the same colors would make a wonderful embellishment for another project.
Couched Perle Cotton
Each of the leaves received individual detailing. For the first leaf, I stitched some veins and then gave it a trailing vine. The edges were appliquéd with a decorative stitch.
Leaf Detailing
Using a dark green embroidery thread, I gave the second leaf a center vein and then thread painted a stem base. A lime green perle cotton was then couched down with a dark green blanket stitch around the leaf’s edge and stem.
The third leaf was detailed in gold, beginning with a decorative stitch center vein and an outer border of couched gold perle cotton. For a little more contrast, dark green perle cotton was couched with gold embroidery thread next to the previous couching.
Double Rows of Couching
In part four, this project will receive the finishing touches.
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N. Rene West
Time Treasured
