Thoughts of Spring

As you can see from my blog, I needed a change. The winter doldrums were settling in quite nicely and I thought a touch of spring was needed. What could be more springlike than tulips and birds?
The past week has been mostly cloudy and gloomy which resulted in next to nothing in the way of stitching. That type of weather doesn't bring out the best in me to say the least! That was until this weekend however, when the sun made its glorious return and two new starts brought my stitching back to life.


In keeping with the spring theme is Blackbird Designs Breath of Spring.

The lovely pastel colours just have that spring feel to them and Easter baskets and bunnies also bring thoughts of spring. I know Lent is just beginning this Wednesday but if I want to have this done in time for Easter, I have to get moving now. I want to finish this one into a small cushion when it's all stitched up.


My next start is Plum Street Samplers Olga. This is such a fun stitch and is moving along fairly quickly considering I just started it on Saturday. 

I've swapped out one of the floss colours because I wanted more of a contrast on the tulip. The original floss was a sort of gold-brown colour but I'm happy with my colour change which I think fits in well with the rest of the design.

I noticed a bit of a flaw in the linen near the top of the alphabet after I'd got started but I have no intention on changing things at this stage. 
Once this is completed, I hope to stitch its companion piece, Boris. 


I had some stitching frustration earlier in the week which didn't help my mood any. I picked up The Good Shepherd once more and discovered that the DMC conversion of the silks was not a good one. I got ready to stitch the deer and he was going to look more pink than beige. Before I went any further, I started checking out some of the other floss colours and found that there were too many differences from the original colours and that the piece was not going to look anything like what I'd hoped it would. Besides that, I wasn't too happy with the linen I was using. The colour of the fabric was fine but the weave of the linen was just too loose for my taste and it was slowing me down.
Do you get the idea that I was becoming a bit disenchanted with things, lol?!


If I'm going to continue with this stitch then I'm going to have to start from scratch with a new piece of material and use the called for silks. Unfortunately those silks just aren't in the budget right now. There are 27 of them needed to finish this and that's just way out of my price league at the moment. I've removed this one from my WIPocalypse list for now. I really do want to stitch it at some point in time, but it just won't be in my immediate future.


Instead, I'll be replacing it with Country Stitches Birds of a Feather. I added this one to my stash when the designs were first released but didn't have the time then to follow along with they Mystery SAL. My friend Trish spotted this one in my stash and fell in love with it.  I had told her I would stitch something for her as a thank you for the use of her sewing machine for my small finishes. She offered to pay for the floss and fabric so as soon as they arrive I'll get started on this one for her.


The sun is so spectacular today and I'm enjoying its warmth at my windows. I don't know why Clarisse isn't sitting at the windows chasing after all the ladybugs it's brought out of hibernation. Instead she's hiding in here! 

I hope the sun makes its way into your corner of the world. Happy stitching, my friends!