Wool bird progress

It's been raining all weekend and I've been inside embroidering my Sue Spargo wool applique birds. While I'm working, I'm listening to our own birds -- two parakeets -- and one of them has started imitating the rabbit's snoring. Who needs music?

The birds above and below show the drizzle stitch used to make fancy feathers. I learned that stitch from Sue's book, "Creative Stitching." The birds are from her "Bird Dance" book, although I'm changing a lot of the embroidery. I outlined the green bird in the back stitch and the red bird in a fly stitch.

This orange bird shows another stitch I learned from her book: the rosette chain that runs down the bird's breast.

I love this orange thread from the Thread Gatherer. It's called Sheep's Silk and is a 50/50 blend of wool and silk. It needles beautifully.

The blue thread in the fly stitching above and below is #8 pearl cotton, which doesn't pull through as smoothly as the Sheep's Silk but is way more affordable.

(Here's how it looks outside.)

The next two birds are still in progress. I might add beads to the top one, and I've already stitched purple beads on the second one. That lavender wing could use a little something, too.

Meanwhile, my nest of thread tails is growing.

Have a colorful day