Owl Stitchery



With all that's going on in life, this project was like a good book that I could pick up and get lost in, a mini-retreat if you will. It's been a little sad to call it done, but finished it is. I used materials I had on hand. The base of the owl is an old washcloth with a beautiful design that I'd saved from years ago. There are scraps, a block printing sample I made, and miscellaneous threads, some gifts of hand-dyed wool I had been treasuring. 


Here is the progress for my little whimsical owl stitchery. I started by making the owl face, and placed the face onto the washcloth. I took a photo and in my notes I sketched out different lines, colors, and ideas. 





The computer sketch is above and stitching below. 





The completed owl.





I put linen and my block printing sample into the embroidery hoop, and played with the positioning of the owl and branch. I used my notes on my ipad again to try out different embellishments that might look nice. I really enjoyed using my ipad for this, and am now using this method for some of my other artwork. 








The block print sample was stitched to the linen.





Here's a computer sketch of the branches to be stitched.






The grounding branch, blossoms and dainty branches were embroidered.








I needed to decide whether to leave it plain or add flowers, so I cut out a few flowers and arranged those in different ways. 







I loved the cheery flowers, and really, I wasn't ready to stop stitching yet, so I appliqued the flowers and leaves. 






And still not ready to put it down, I added various flora. 












A tiny bit of red was needed to pull in other art that would be nearby.







Once the stitching was complete, I hot glued the fabric to the embroidery hoop, then trimmed the excess off. 














I'm planning on creating a gallery up my staircase wall where my little owl will reside and watch over us with her sweet, inquisitive eyes as the years go by. 






4 comments

  1. Your charming little owl is beautiful! I love the materials you chose, and your stitching brings everything together. Lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello Jean~ Thank you so much! I was very excited when I "saw" the owl in the washcloth. It's fun finding a new use for something spent, yet still pretty.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is fabulous. Great choice of materials.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Mary Glenn! It was fun making something out of random bits and bobs, and few treasures from the stash :)

      Delete