12 Months of Christmas: Colly Bird

Hi all! Apologies for my late post in the 12 Months of Christmas Stitchalong - I have had a few health issues lately which kept me from adhering to my stitching schedule last month. The good news is I'll have some recovery time later this month, which will hopefully mean: more stitching! Up above you see my the results of my efforts on the Colly Bird pattern by Mmmcrafts. And yes, that's Colly Bird, although you may have heard "calling bird" as well, Larissa explains a bit of history on the song, in this post on her blog.

Here's how the set of first 4 patterns is looking so far:

I did a few things differently in my stitching, as I've mentioned before, I like to "wing it" with Larissa's patterns. :) I've once again left out the little bead on the bottom - why? Maybe just laziness? :) On the eye, I chose to use a sequin and bead, instead of a French knot.

I also cut a small oval shape for the eye area, instead of stitching around the eye:

I added a little bit of extra stitching to visually "join" the tail section to the rest of the body:

Once again, I used metallic DMC threads, and a similar palette of felt and thread colors. All of the felt came from the Benzie Design felt bundle for Partridge and Pear, and that heathered light blue on the wings comes from their Healthered collection.

A funny thing I am discovering as I stitch these is that sometimes I prefer the look of the ornament before I stuff it (particularly the birds). Maybe my stuffing method is just clumsy, but I feel it really changes the charm of the design when it's stuffed. I might experiment with stitching some "flat" versions of these, at some point. What do you think?

JOIN THE 12 MONTHS OF CHRISTMAS STITCHALONG!

Would you like to join in? Remember, joining this stitchalong is easy, and no-pressure! To join, visit Larissa's shop to purchase the Twelve Days pattern of your choice. Tag your pictures with the hashtag #twelvedaysornaments and #12monthsofChristmas on Instagram so we can find them.

Leave a comment here with a link to your blog, or any space on the internet where you are tracking your progress. And don't miss the page Larissa has set up with lots of tips for stitching this series: http://mmmcrafts.blogspot.com/p/twelve-days.html. Next up is Gold Ring! Let's stitch!

Previous Stitchalong Posts

        #1-2: Partridge and Pear; Turtle Dove;                  #3: French Hen