say hello to 'blackbird,' our july pattern for cozyblue stitch club. 🖤

to start, i'm just outlining these green leaves with back stitch [2strands] and then using straight stitch [1 strand] for the shading lines:

next, i'm working on the dark teal plants, using brick stitch [2 strands] to fill in the shapes:

and now, it's time to stitch these blackbirds!
the black floss is hard to photograph, but hopefully, you can see well enough.
🖤
i'm using 2 strands of floss, and, starting at the beak, filling in the bird shapes using split stitch.

i'm trying to mimic the feathers with stitches. so the stitches on the head are shorter, and then they get longer as i fill in the neck, and then down each wing, then the body and tail feathers.

this method is not exact, and it's also pretty forgiving, so don't worry about perfect stitch placement here. just try to fill in the shape evenly, without any visible seams or spaces.
embrace imperfection! it's fun!

ok - last steps on my 'blackbird' design!
for the pink flower things: i used a whipped back stitch for the circle outline (so smooth!) and a star stitch for the center. [2 strands]

and lastly, the scattered stars in the background: there are three sizes of stars, and i'm using colonial knots for them all. for the smallest, 1 single strand. the largest are 3 strands, and the middle sized stars are 2 strands.

i often get questions about carrying the thread behind, or whether to tie off for each star, and i have a few thoughts to share:
first, i like to back my projects with a layer of thin muslin fabric. this helps with the opacity (so you can't see the thread carries through the fabric) and also helps with fabric stability (so the tension stays nice and tight and even).

second, i will carry threads from point to point if it's a short distance (less than .5" or so). but what i also do is anchor the thread to the stitches in the back - instead of just carrying it across, i'll weave it under the backside of other stitches. this really helps keep good floss tension, and helps the stitches on the front side stay in place.
check out this pic, and you'll see how i've carried and buried the purple floss that i'm working with:

 and here it is, all done!

the birds are my favorite part of this design. they were fun to stitch and turned out pretty great.

next i am finalizing the PDF pattern for you, and it'll be in the shop on august 1.

 happy stitching!