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Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Nicola Jarvis Bluebird: at last!

I have had the kit for this since it appeared in Înspirations Magazine Issue 82. In January I decided to take it on holidays with me and try to finish it.

It was a lot of fun - and interesting - to stitch.


For the purposes of stitching the bird is divided into sections - not surprising, really, but there were more sections than I had imagined, and I was surprised at how manageable it made it.


The tracing needed to be precise. Mine wasn't and I needed to correct it a couple of times.







I really enjoyed the simplicity of the shades of blue - and the effect one could achieve with them.






I found I worked best with five needles threaded up with the five different shades.






I can see these might become addictive - it's the texture, I think, that is so intriguing.





There is just a touch of bling - in the eye and a metallic thread.













I wanted to start another one as soon as I finished!













I had originally intended to make this into a bag. To this end I positioned it in one corner of the cotton. The original was suggested as a tray cloth, which I didn't need. When I had finished the embroidery, however, a bag of cream cotton with a single blue bird seemed a bit tame.














I decided to appliqué it to a denim shirt.





I tend to wear this shirt as a light jacket. I was a bit nervous cutting out the bird, but it worked well and fairly easily.


















I like it so much I am considering purchasing more of Nicola's birds and appliquéing them all around the bottom of the shirt! Trouble is, they are not easily available in cotton thread on cotton.

Perhaps I'm just a glutton for punishment! It's not as if I have nothing else to stitch - I am currently focused on Nicola's Wordsworth Sampler from the Crewel Work Company Spring Retreat. Not to mention my knitting and zenbroidery....

5 comments:

Nicola said...

Thank you so much for writing about your experiences with the Blue Bird - he looks great on denim!

I'll bring a pack of other garden birds on cotton when I come out to OZ in Oct, and see whether you might like to choose another.

I love the fact that you are a finisher Jillian - it really is heartening for a designer to see their work live through another's hands.

Look forward to seeing you in your Spring, and very best wishes from,

Nicola

Lyn Warner said...

That looks like fun to stitch. Just the thing for your denim shirt-jacket.

Anonymous said...

Jillian, I love your idea of adding your embroidered bird to your shirt - it looks great. I always find tracing patterns a challenge. It's such an important part of the process, but I find myself rushing through it so that I can start stitching. Thank you for sharing this finish.
Mary in NYC

Catherine - Hillview Embroidery said...

I love Nicola’s birds too and am looking forward to starting the ones in my stash soon.

Monica said...

Well that looks excellent on the shirt! Nicola's designs are beautiful, and you did a great job with this one. I'm sure you could find an equally creative use for a few more!