First of all, my apologies to those readers who had problems accessing the free design last week, or problems in opening the image. I have no idea what wrong – everything was posted exactly as usual. I am inclined to think that Typepad may have been having problems of its own which made access to their blogs difficult. Anyway, things seem to be back to normal now – let's hope they stay that way!
Regular blog readers will know that I'm fascinated by Celtic and Pictish art, You could call it the "native art" of this part of Scotland – we seem to be surrounded by it, and you can find it in all sorts of unexpected places. I love doing original drawings in the Celtic style, but I can't claim that this week's design is very original – I only wish it were! I I'm not sure where I found the model for it – it could perhaps be based on something from the Irish Book of Kells or the Lindisfarne Gospels, but those works have mostly religious images and this double bird isn't the least religious
A double challenge for the digitiser
It was tricky to digitise – all those overlapping feathers need special treatment to get them to stitch out smoothly. If you digitised them in the ordinary way you'd be left with a design that was more jumps than stitches! But with a little lateral thinking it was possible to minimise the jumps to a point where it's easy enough to stitch out. There are still jumps. of course, but not too many
Hi Mia, Thank you so much for sharing another one of your awesome native Celtic designs with us. The interlocking tail feathers and wings of the birds are lovely .
Hi Mia, I love our Celtic birds and their interlocking feathers. I can see why there would need to be some jump stitches. Thanks for letting us look at some of your beautiful work.
I’m still constantly amazed at your work! I love Celtic designs too, but am not that familiar with the Picts and their art. Looking forward to your familiarizing us with it! This design is gorgeous, wherever you found a source of inspiration – the shapes, curves, and especially the colors! I so hope this beauty will be a freebie in the future, if we’re VERY good.
Thanks Mia for showing the picture of the birds. That would be a difficult project with wings one on top of the other wing with that checkered look just love that look