Tiny stitches, teacups and lost feathers!

"The breezes taste 

Of apple peel. 

The air is full 

Of smells to feel- 

Ripe fruit, old footballs, 

Burning brush, 

New books, erasers, 

Chalk, and such. 

The bee, his hive, 

Well-honeyed hum, 

And Mother cuts 

Chrysanthemums. 

Like plates washed clean 

With suds, the days 

Are polished with 

A morning haze. " 

-  John Updike, September

Because it is this month is heading towards Autumn and this month is about harvesting it got me to thinking about wildlife.

We are not the only ones who harvest and get ready for the Winter months ahead our wildlife does too.  I feed the birds in our garden all year as I believe it is as important in the Summer and Spring as it is the Winter months.  The wildlife have family's to bring up and so I put food down for the busy parents who are gathering worms and other morsels for their young but need to eat themselves so I try and get high energy food for them.  They soon get to know who feeds and my garden is always a hive of activity for them to munch.

I also then can get to sit quietly and sketch them.  I have been filling vintage china teacups with fat and seed and hanging them in my pear tree... These have gone down a treat, also found next doors cat licking one as well !!!! The drawing on the left is the shape of cup that I have taken my inspiration from.

But this gave me a great design idea involving china and the little thrush that I feed and its lost feather I picked up......

I have some beautiful colour threads to play with for the different colour flecks in the feathers and some wonderful fabrics and a couple of pages of my sketches to work from.....

I look forward to seeing the pair of robins who will soon appear as well and want to get some sketching done of those too for something for Christmas time stitchery.  I love that the birds have started to trust me to the extent that they do not fly off if I go and sit in the garden and observe them. I also have a rascal of a squirrel who will practically eat from my hands now ( crazy animal person that I am)

I have drawn the design on linen and have cut out the fabrics to use but do not have an awful
lot to show you for a week or so...... Then it there will be some snippets for you.  The little thrushes in our garden are going to be in a picture along with the little lost feather one left for me to pick up and that will be stitched into the picture with a few tiny stitches to keep it in place.......


Well I am away to my stitching and I hope you all have a wonderful day and Happy Stitching!