Winter Wonderbird

Over the years, Jim and I have grown quite fond of the quirks and personalities of the birds that share our backyard and sup at our seed-y smorgasbord.   I'm particularly fond of the Eastern bluebird and Jim's favorite is the Black-Capped Chickadee.



I think he sees a bit of himself in its capable, efficient manner.  Targeted in its feeding style, the chickadee avoids the food squabbles of the finches, sparrows and jays.   Waiting patiently for a break in the fray, it flies in, gets a seed, and flies away again to eat in peace before any protest is mounted.  Though the titmice are similar; the chickadee is the only bird to let us know when the feeders are empty by calling just outside our window...chick a dee dee dee, chick a dee dee dee.

They're also the only birds that escort me across the yard while I'm carrying the newly-filled feeders, taking seeds as I lift them up and before I can even get them hung.  We've seen pictures of people training chickadees to eat out of their hands and Jim has often said he wants to try that once he retires.

I mention all this as backstory so that you understand why I said "yes" without any hesitation when Pam Kellogg asked if I would be willing to make the January artwork for her annual Crazy Quilt calendar.  This year's theme was birds and would I be willing to do a Chickadee?

Jim's favorite bird and my favorite month...slam dunk...I was in.



Another reason Jim loves the chickadee is because it's with us all year round.  A fierce little bird and a scrappy forager in the worst of winter weather.

Inspired by their brazen, insistent requests, I decided to place my chickadee on the crepe myrtle branch outside of the window, winter bare but for the seed pods that are left closed until Spring...



This is the branch from where our chickadee friend, seeing us seated inside the warmth of our home, calls to us to come out and fill the feeder.



I splattered the block with Lumiere textile paint in pearlescent white, wanting the bird to be in the middle of a snowstorm. 

I envisioned snow to be everywhere so I spent some time studying photographs of snow crystals and reading up on the properties of snow in this book...



I can't recommend it enough!  Find it at the library or bookstore and spend some time looking through its pages...it's a beauty to behold.

The snowflake structures lend themselves beautifully to embroidered interpretation...

And I discovered that all snowflakes have either six- or twelve-sided symmetry...never four or eight as I've sometimes seen them depicted.

Each stitched snowflake is unique...

And I was able to use the painted watch parts and beaded snowflakes I had made a few years ago.  Evidently, their time had come...

The crepe myrtle seed pods were "stitched" by making knots of Au Ver a Soie silk chenille thread, sinking the ends, and sculpting them with needle and thread...



I found that the thread was too thick to stitch with a french knot without serious worming.

The snow on the branch was made in the same manner as my January Reflections piece.

As for the chickadee itself, I wanted to give the appearance of the feathers being fluffed out, trying to retain body heat so I stitched in a few fluffy feathers to give the suggestion of cold.

And the little blue beanie?

The inspiration for that came from none other than my son Jack himself.  He wears one pretty much every day...



And I was in the process of making a new hat for him when I dropped him off at school...

To keep him warm through those cold Boston winters.

So I knitted one for him and one for the bird...

I had to steek the bird's beanie so I could cut it in half and sculpt it with thread onto the piece.

Steeking is a method of cutting a piece that has been knit in the round.  I had never steeked anything before so I learned a new technique.

Thanks Pam for including me in your calendar.  You can see the other birdy pieces in the calendar and purchase your own here.



I know I haven't been blogging very much lately but it isn't for lack of desire.  I still love my blog like an old friend and plan to be here more regularly, life willing.

Waving to you all!

Bead Journal Completed June (2009)

My Symphony

"In my next life, I'm going to..."

Oh, how many times have I answered this statement. And similarly, this question:

"What would you choose to do in your next life...?"

How many times have I asked this question of Jim or Jack or my friends??

Answering the question is a way of identifying hidden dreams, of uncovering latent desires, of creating a fantasy story for ourselves or for those we care about. I'd be shocked if you've never thought about it yourself.

Granted, I am pretty happy with the talents and skills God gave me. But, boy oh boy, in my next life I would LOVE to come back as Patti LaBelle or Aretha Franklin -- stand up on stage in front of thousands of singing fans, and belt out a R-E-S-P-E-C-T like there's no tomorrow!


Using all ranges of my unbelievable voice, up and down the scale, no holding back...letting my voice belt out all that is beautiful and good. Maybe this is why gospel music and spirituals have always appealed to me. That deep, soulful singing that comes from the very core of your being...*gulp

OK. Back to reality. I can sing OK...not great.

I mean, I'm probably good enough to be in the back row of our local church choir. And maybe, one day I might join that group when I have more time to commit to it. For now, I have to settle for sitting in the front left side of the church where the choir sits and the music is loud and they drown out my singing when I belt it out! Once, I sat in the back of church because we were late...I was so out of place. There are very few singers in the back of church and the ones who are singing...are definitely not belting it out. More like mumbling and humming. This bird was very out of place back there so I haven't been late to church since...that'll teach me...


And it's not like I just want one thing in my next life. Greedy girl, I know.

I would also really love to be able to paint. I mean, really paint...Like Michelangelo or Raphael or Judith Leyster. I love the idea of setting my easel in the midst of a garden, surrounded by my paints and by nature, with Monet's waterlilies appearing magically from my brush...and, when I was done, they would actually look like waterlilies...*sigh


OK. Back to this life. In this life, I can't draw very well but, just like singing, I do it anyway. Maybe I don't need to be the world's best painter, maybe I would just like to draw better.

So, inspired by my work on this piece, and by Betty Edwards' Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain (she swears anybody can draw), I'm going to take a drawing class at my local art center and see what happens.


But all of this is background soundtrack for My Symphony.

When I began this piece, I was thinking of what I am not. And, over time and many stitches, I have come to embrace what I am.

Simply put, I am a painter with threads and I sing through my needlework.

My medium is cotton and silk and fabric and beads and any other bauble that strikes my fancy. I am indeed standing in the middle of the field, inspired by nature, and stitching my masterpiece of a life.


The music in the background of this piece is Beethoven's Ode to Joy printed on fabric and it underscores my life's symphony. It's joy, it's gratitude and it's the only song I ever learned to play on the piano. And, it's this life -- not the next one.


So, I don't know if I'll ever get a next life or not, but I'm not sure I would want to give up my needle and thread in order to be able to sing and paint.

Thank God I don't have the choice. I am almost certain I would mess it all up if I did.


Thank you for taking this journey with me. It seems like it's taken me forever to finish this piece from when I first started last October. But I liked that I tried a lot of new things while making this piece.

Here are a few back links to the various phases of this piece if you're interested.

Free-motion embroidering the grass
Making the Butterflies
Making the Canvas, Palette and Brush
Dressing the Doll
Glittering the Background Fabric
Painting and Printing the Background Fabric
Self-Portrait Inspiration

Now, I'm off to make a snowman...Maybe in my next life, there won't be snow!