- Design by Lesley Teare / Cross Stitch Collection #229
- Materials: White Belfast linen, DMC
- Size: 5 x 7 inches
- Time to stitch: 12 days of winter/spring 2024
Presenting my second finish in the Lesley Teare’s seasonal bird series! (charts available on her website). Spring bird finish is here.
The pattern is just wonderful, with a great selection of colors, just enough for perfect shading of the various tones. There’s quite a few fractional stitches and plenty of backstitch in a couple different colors, which I didn’t mind at all since it makes all the detail pop. The Robin is actually a bird I see often my house. The flower selection include Snowdrops, Christmas Rose, Holly, & Callicarpa (beauty berries). The rectangular border is done with several shades of green for a variegated effect. Cross stitch with 1 strand over 2 is used around for a soft effect around the circular border. The robin’s eye includes a french knot. The design has a wonderful sense of perspective with the bird and flowers in the foreground, water in the background, perhaps a river, and tall evergreen trees on the far bank.
The materials are DMC and white linen. I think the white background suits this full scene design. Winter cross stitch designs can be sometimes be a little boring with lots of white and grey (for someone who adores color as I do), but the colors in this chart are bright and vibrant. A fat quarter of 32 count fabric, carefully cut into quarters is enough for all 4 seasonal designs.
My favorite part of the design are probably the robin, with the short straight stitches creating a feathery texture. I like the snow falling in the sky, the shimmering effect of the water, and all the lovely little berries in the violet and crimson. This project was not a heavy lift; depending how I do with my other WIPs, I might stitch the summer or autumn bird patterns later this year.
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