You know what the funniest thing is about setting a concrete stitching commitment, with a daily stitching goal attached to it?

You find yourself thinking about the project Every Single Day. Pre-commitment – before I set in concrete my goal to embroider one feather a day on the Secret Garden Hummingbirds – days and days would go by without the project ever entering my brain.

Sure, occasionally, I’d glimpse it, perched on a stand, covered, waiting for attention. But just as quickly as I saw it, out it went again, replaced by some other pressing task.

But now, I have feathers on the brain. I can’t escape them!

On the bright side, it is paying off. In fact, I’ve even put another feather in the bank, so I’m four feathers ahead on my stitching goal.

Last time we looked at the embroidered hummingbirds, I had three long feathers stitched at the top of the wing. And now there are only three more long feathers left on that section. Those, I might have to chunk out all at once, as I’m eager to see the upper wing completely finished.

I still need to stitch in the shadows on the scallops on the upper portion of the wing, to give them a little more definition, but I can’t do that until those next three feathers are finished.

Here are both of the birds, flitting together:

You can click on the photos above for a much larger version, especially if you want to ferret out the flaws! There are plenty of ‘em. I won’t point them out, because you might not see them, otherwise, and then my secret’s safe… Aren’t we always our own worst critic?

So that’s the Commitment Update for now. Next time you see this, the wing should be finished. And then, it’s just The Tail.

If you’ve made a stitching commitment recently, keep going! I’m cheering for you on this end!

If you’d like to see the progress on this piece from beginning to end, including information on pattern, materials, and techniques, you’ll find all the articles relating to it in the Secret Garden Hummingbirds Project Index.