The starting and finishing are't always the same...

I remember buying this needlepoint - I was in Denver CO and had just won an appeal for work.  To celebrate I drove to a needlepoint shop that was in the immediate area.  The shop has gone out of business since then, tried finding it again when I was there a few years back.

This canvas was on sale, but I knew it was perfect for me.  I loved the purples and blues  with a touch of orange - I thought - this is perfect just they way it is, no changes.  It did spend its time in the stash bin until it finally called to me to be stitched.  Then it progressed to the stretcher bars while it talked to me and told me how it wanted to be stitched.

I had no trouble doing the background at all - it just fell into place, the colors and the stitches.  I wanted an adobe feel to it and think I achieved it with the texture of the stitches.  The thread was two different watercolors and were stitched in opposite directions.

Next came the owl, it proved to be a challenge.  I changed the colors and thread types at least 3 times!!  And finding a stitch I like - can't tell you how much time I spent doing and re-doing and doing once again.  Started out with perle cottons, matching the colors exactly - but the thread just didn't seem to fit being an owl.  So I changed to silk-n-ivory- again trying to match the colors, but it just didn't blend with the background :(  So I changed to the oranges, deep reds and teals, which worked better, but still struggled with the stitches - tried long/short, tried basket weave with long stitches, but in the end - I just did a basket stitch for the longer feather.  The rest have a decorative stitch that I thought worked well to give the feathers some texture.

As you see below it was finished, the material behind it was used for the backing of the pillow- it really blended well and picked up the warm browns and greens.  Still not really happy with the face, wanted to do it in a needle punch, but it didn't work...OK I couldn't do it right, so did it all in a turkey stitch and clipped it - ALOT!!  The beads were made by my niece, love them and thought they were perfect.  The picture isn't very good, my camera isn't the best, it washed out the back ground.   The pillow found it's home with my Mom, she has collected owls forever, but as asked for us to stop giving them to her as she had no place to put them all, so I figured a pillow would be perfect.  It has a place on a wooden bench my Dad had made for my Mom that has a carved cat sleeping on it.  Along with my pillow are several teddy bears that my sister has made my parents through the years.  Next time I'm home I really need to take a picture of them and post so you can all see the teddy bears.  My sister is very talented would love to have a 10th of her talent.

Hoping to start a new design - Queen Elizabeth I, which is through an internet class.  The lessons start next weekend - so I need to get my pre-work done so I can start on time.  I know I need another project like I need a hole in the head...ever wonder where that saying came from?  hunmmmm I see some goggling in my future.  Anyways, I really liked the picture and thought it would have some interesting stitches to learn.

Have a great weekend - and hug a Veteran tomorrow, I know I will.  My husband was in Viet Nam during 1968/69.  I have a lot of respect for our men and women in uniform.

Sandy