This design took me about the longest time to digitise than almost anything I’ve ever done: the berries alone took about a week, and then there were all those birds and leaves. And stitching it out took almost three hours. But I think it was worth it, and that it worked out well. Yesterday a friend of mine said that it reminded her of William Morris’ “Strawberry Thief”, which you may know is a design of a blackbird with a strawberry in its beak. I really like that idea so I think I’ll call this “The Rowan Thieves’
The Rowan Thieves
Now – things here are getting totally hectic in the run-up to our NEOS (North East Open Studios) exhibition. The woman who usually runs it is in poor health so the rest of us are running around in headless chicken mode trying to work out what needs doing and who’s going to do it – and then of course having to do it. So I probably won’t get round to posting for a couple of weeks, and I’m afraid that September’s freebie will have to wait. But I’ll be back soon
I’m not surprised it took so long to finish. I love your title and the rowans’ wings. Good luck getting everything done!
Hi Mia, The title that you chose for your blackbirds in the rowan tree was an inspiration and fits your design perfectly. With all of the different poses your blackbirds each seem to have their own personality. I will look forward to your next newsletter after your exhibition is over.
Hello Mia,
Encore une très belle réalisation
Je peux imaginer le nombre d’heures pour la numérisation et pour la broderie
Félicitations et bonne exposition
A bientôt ton retour
Best wishes with the show! These blackbirds are so very cute! I love this one! As you know I’m not a blackbird fan due to their early noisy habits but it’s fun to watch them in the early evening when they’re quiet for some reason and hop around the field. It’s mostly been a family of 3, or so we suspect but sometimes all their relatives come for a visit too. Enjoy your show!
Lovely!!
This is so beautiful. You do such wonderful work
Stunning!
Mia, wonderful design and I love the title. I love blackbirds, they are so much fun to watch. I have a bird bath that doubles for a place for birds to get a drink of water. They love to take baths and make me laugh at them, so I can just imagine them stealing the rowan berries. As usual you did an excellent job on the execution of your imagination.
Your ability to capture expressions is amazing. I think it’s the eyes and the tilt of the heads. Have a great show!
Mia, beautiful! We have a rowan tree in our backyard, we call it an ash. Our rowan thieves happen to be robins in the fall near Thanksgiving. Many years we sit down to dinner and are entertained by the robins. They almost seem to get drunk from the fermented berries. I love your crows and the background fabric colors are so fitting.