I have nine feathers left to embroider on the hummingbird.

Nine?!? That seems like an incredibly high number!

I’m beginning to think the feathers are secretly multiplying at night.

Here’s where I am:

You can click on the photos for larger versions, if you like. You’ll get a better idea of what was done well…and what wasn’t!

I really love, love, love the fishbone stitch for the feathers on this project! I’m glad I went with that stitch. At first, it didn’t quite fit with my plan – I wanted more variety – but I like the results.

Which just goes to show you – don’t force yourself into pre-determined absolutes on your embroidery projects. Sometimes, the stitches we imagine we’ll like, we don’t, and the stitches we’re determined not to use end up being the better choice.

Retrospective Embroidery

This project is closer to finished than unfinished at this point (you would hope so – I’ve been working on it for ages!). And as I near the finish line on the one hummingbird, I can’t help looking at the project in retrospect, thinking of how I would do some things differently at this point.

Although I don’t plan to go back and change anything at this point, the things I see now that I wish I had done differently are good lessons for other projects. I’ll make note of them in my project book for future reference.

Here’s an angle you don’t normally see. I was fetching my camera in the wee hours of the morning, and shot this photo as I walked past the frame.

When I look at my embroider from weird angles, I see things that still need doing.

Before I can call the bird complete, I have nine feathers to finish (including the little tips above the wing), the beak, and some touch up stitching to do at the lower edge of the wing and where the body and wing meet.

So that’s where I am. Not as far along as I would like, but ever hoping to get there soon, especially because I’ve got other projects going that need my attention and that I want to share with you.

Besides, even my mom is nagging me to finish it!

Nine more feathers.

One more bird!

Oh, yes, and Happy Halloween! May all your pumpkins smile warmly as the little ghouls coming knocking at your door!

If you’d like to follow along with the Secret Garden Embroidery Project, or read about its development from the very beginning, you can find all the articles relating to the project arranged chronologically in the Secret Garden Project Index.