OhSewCrafty Blog

• Pattern: kit by Riolis 0034 PT
• Materials: printed Zweigart aida, Anchor floss, Kreinik #4 
• Size: 12″ x 16″
• Time to stitch: 15 days since May 2018

Presenting my Phoenix, the newest member of my Magical Menagerie!   

The pattern is fine, extremely well done though the chart is color printed, not my preference.  And the colors on the chart don’t necessarily match the floss colors!  I suppose this is because of the very subtle shade differences between some of colors.  Still, it was a little confusing at times.   I think the whole kit idea is rather ingenius actually.  The bird and fire trail are entirely counted, and stitched.  The background (sky, grass, flowers, light) is pre-printed and it’s lovely.  I’m glad I didn’t need to stitch it, though.  The only modification I made was swapping out the 3 backstitch colors for matching Kreinik braids.  The sparkle is entirely appropriate for this fantastical bird and I’m glad I added it.  

The materials as kitted are high quality.  The aida is a little stiff from the printing process and maybe some starch, but it was fine to stitch on, no problems at all.  Bird of Happiness was my favorite WIP, for a while, and aida is not my favorite fabric, but I liked it just fine for this piece.  The Anchor floss in about 20 rainbow colors is pre-sorted, bobbinated on cards.  I noticed that when I stitched with long lengths of it, the floss on my needle would get a little “fluffy” after awhile.  This effect was fine with me since I was stitching bird feathers, which are supposed to be fluffy.  If I were using Anchor alongside DMC in a pattern, I’d definitely cut shorter lengths of the Anchor.  

My favorite parts of the pattern are the rainbow color scheme, the sense of movement with the phoenix inflight, and its luxurious plumage.  The stitching was fun and easy, with a few color blends and some lovely subtle shading.  I love how the backstitch is used judiciously, and to great effect.  The gold is perfect on the head, neck, and wings, while the red and navy are great below where the tail transitions to fire.  

I’m almost sad to to see the end of this project and I’m glad to have another one of the series stashed (a gryphon).  I hope Riolis designs more magical creatures, I love this series.