Two Shorebirds

Here are my latest creations - some stitched Shorebirds. Two pincushions requested by a friend. One is for her own collection...one for a charity event. The event will take place the end of this month and afterwards , on her blog, she will post more photos and finish the story of these pincushions. I think you would enjoy her blog....so visit my friend, Vicki...here. After she posts 'the rest of the story' on her blog.....I will post my response here on this blog. It should be great fun and I can't wait to see how it turns out. (By the way...her current post has some absolutely gorgeous photos of she and 'the Gardener' on vacation. You will enjoy a mini-vacation of your own if you check out her post...and you will absolutely LOVE the color!)

Vicki asked that I used a 'Shore bird' theme. At this point, I've made several 'bird' pincushions. It took a while to think of what to do...but in order to finish, I realized that they had to include work that I loved to do or I'd never finish them....I set out by painting the fabric, then proceeded to embellish by embroidering the birds and foliage, then beading the edges. I knew she wanted some shells there too...she loves the beach....so I found some tiny shells to include in the beading. In my mind, all that beading represents the water. It's all relative, of course. You probably would have done something completely different. Each pincushion has it's own bead selection and colorway.....and Mama and baby birds. The last photo shows you my bead 'tray' which is a vintage glass serving dish lined with a square from an old Velux blanket. This holds all the beads I'm currently using so they won't roll all over the place. The tray is just a pretty way to keep everything in one place as I thread those beads on my needle. I love using this.

I've used painted fabric, DMC embroidery floss, some perle cotton, silk ribbon, and hundreds of beads to make these pincushions. Upon receiving these, Vicki told me she could never stick a pin in them, which thrilled me to death, but also made me smile....my, how many hundreds of needle holes have already been made in them!

If you'd like to see more photos concerning these pincushions...I can post some more...just let me know how you feel about it. And, then, too, at the end of this month, there will be more on this blog and also Vicki's....I'll keep you posted. Please DO visit her....you'll love the visit!
take care out there...pat