I couldn’t resist the little shy bird from Shibden Hall, peeking out from under his wing. I cropped the photo and printed him out in various sizes before copying him onto calico.
We went off to Rievaulx Abbey a couple of weekends ago to attend their Murder Mystery weekend and he was perfect to pop into my bag to work on while the rest of the family solved murders, explored the ruins, decorated a wooden shield and walked up the bank to Rievaulx Terrace. What a view to look at while I stitched…
…and behind me, down the Rye valley .
His outline is worked in split stitch using a heavy vintage perle thread.
It wasn’t long before we were out again, this time to Tolethorpe Hall to watch the Stamford Shakespeare Company’s production of The Tempest.
More wonderful surroundings…
…and they have this amazing Kaffe Fassett tapestry.
We took a picnic, as is traditional, and the play was really good. I taught The Tempest this year as part of the Shakespeare 400 celebrations so now I know it really well, which enhanced the whole experience.
Shy bird came out after the picnic and I managed to add one foot in split stitch and start the Bayeux stitch for his wing in crewel wool.
He’s a well travelled little bird!
Under A Topaz Sky 
Look forward to seeing more of this little bird Alex. I like to read your blog & see what you’re up to. 🙂
Thank you!!
He’s going to be quite the veteran traveller and picnic aficionado by the time he’s finished!
I love your bird and I love the pictures ,especially the abbey.Hope Little Bird gets to visit a few more places.:)
I dearly love him!! Once, long ago, I made up three American Indian bird designs using punchneedle. It was great fun and I love seeing them in our dining area every morning.
your shy bird is lovely! i’ll enjoy watching him grow. Thanks for the comments you’ve left on my blog, as you are a WordPress user, I can’t email you back.