Chickadee
First time in a while that I totally just chilled out and had fun with an embroidery pattern. I just finished three, what I consider intense pieces (the two panels within my silk ribbon floral piece, my BE Lilac Bouquet, and months of working on Christmas at the Beach cross stitch pattern), and wanted a fun project before I begin work on a Hardanger runner.
I looked through my stash for a winter scene of two Golden Lab puppies on a sled and while going through my stash of cross stitching kits I came upon this Chickadee one. I have been wanting to try a Crossed Wing fabric and pattern for several years. Last year I noticed 123 stitch.com was offering a Crossed Wing Collection cross stitch design and appropriate fabric as a kit and I purchased it.
Crossed Wing collection website offers several of their hand dyed fabric and I plan to purchase one or two more for other Crossed Wing cross stitch patterns that I purchased from 123Stitch. Crossed Wing uses 28 count Permin fabric from which they washed the sizing and then dye by hand. I had been holding up purchasing fabric from them because I do not like a super soft fabric to stitch on and I was wondering with their repeated washing and soaking whether I would find their fabric to be too soft.
Their hand dyed fabric is soft but for this 60 x 60 count pattern I was able to tautly stretch and tack (onto wood bar frames) the 8 inch square of fabric so that there wasn’t much give as I work. If you noticed the math, 28 count, 60 count pattern over two threads (120/28) means about 4.5 inch square worked area.
I liked the feel of this even weave fabric so much that I did full cross stitches through out, where on Aida (for some reason) I prefer to do half cross stitches.
For this piece I worked on the color of fabric called Woodland and the pattern is Chickadee No 2.