Avian Explorer » cross-stitch

Cross-Stitch Audrey

Elizabeth — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 13:06:08 +0000

It took over a year to make (because I have so many interests) and here it is. Behold Audrey!

If you’re not familiar, I have software that converts pictures to cross stitch patterns. So I made a cross-stitch pattern for Audrey. Here’s a close-up.

You can really tell that it’s Audrey and not just any cockatiel. I’ve hung the picture at work. The finger in the picture is Jon’s.

It’s part of a theme because I’m a tad obsessed with birds.

Since I’m always at work and I don’t get to see Audrey enough, at least I can look at Audrey’s picture.

Cross-Stitch Macaw

Elizabeth — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 02:59:00 +0000

My mother has a blue-and-gold macaw named Suess. Isn’t he beautiful?

He is not a fan of me. Below is a picture of him trying to kill me. Look at his colors!

For Christmas last year, Jon gave me this wonderful software program called Stitches. Stitches takes a photo and generates a cross stitch pattern. It’s very configurable. You can specify the size of the pattern, the number of colors, it does everything!

It’s easy to use on your computer too because it creates a giant pdf. I love working with a single pdf. Before I was using patterns printed on paper and you have to line up the different papers. I wasted so much time on matching up the papers.

After eight months of work, I completed a cross-stitch version of Suess:

I used 150 different colors. It was so much fun to create each section and then step back and see how it forms a shape. The best transformations came from the tongue and the claws.

I had the picture framed.

Mom reports that Suess is very suspicious of the picture because it’s bigger than him. He’ll look at it and bob his head.

For my next project I want to do the cockatiels. I want to capture them in their signature poses. When I think of Conner, I picture him bowing down and cocking his head slightly to look at me. When I think of Audrey, I think of him standing straight up with his huge crest or bowing down, wings quivering in a flirty pose.

I’m trying to get those pictures but so far all I’m capturing is distress.

Poor Audrey!

Cross Stitch Project

Elizabeth — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 03:00:00 +0000

Almost two years ago I took up cross stitching as a hobby. My first project came from a kit for a pillow. Below is the cross stitched part.

I really like the pattern because, duh, they’re birds and because it’s similar to M.C. Esher in that the bird wings mesh together. It didn’t take too long for me to finish the stitching, but I waited a year and a half to make the pillow. I was worried I would mess that part up because I have no idea how to sew.

But it wasn’t difficult. I put a backing behind the cross-stitch layer so that it would lie flat. Then I sewed green cloth to the cross-stitch layer, making sure that the cross-stitch side was facing the inside.

Next I turned the fabric inside out and stuffed the pillow with fiberfill batting. Voila!

Looks pretty nice on the couch!