An Awesome Tree

On my morning walk, I found this most amazing tree; dotted with oh so delicate; dainty purple flowers.  But it isn't just the flowers that I love; it's the 30 or so tiny birds tucked in the tree; scattering from branch to branch and chattering so much nonsense.  These lovely birds are a sight to watch; but there was a blur that caught my eyes; a flurry of green swooping into the tree.  Parakeets! My lord! And so many of them!  I wish you were there with me to be in the moment; forgetting the cars and their passengers rushing to work or the kids taking over the sidewalk waiting for their school bus or the crazy scary guy who sits under a tree talking to himself. It was a moment simply to be. I stood under the tree for awhile taking in the lovelies when it suddenly came to mind that there could be a poop fest any moment!  Nasty stuff. So off I went, vowing to bring my camera on my next walk; and perhaps an umbrella.

I found a package of waste canvas; used for cross stitching, at a local thrift shop.  I decided to give it a go on these cute mini pincushions.  I loooove how they came out. 

First is this here hedgehog with his squirrel buddy.  The squirrel buddy was added when I realized that I placed the hedgehog too high. Oops.

This little project started with a piece of linen, cut into a half a circle. Pins held the rick rac in place but oow-wie; so many pin pricks!  Pain is wonderful at times; prodding me to think that perhaps using a bit of glue would work much, much better.  And it did.  

After hand stitching the rick rac in place, I aligned the centers of the waste canvas piece with the linen and pinned it in place; knowing that basting is traditionally required but I say "what the heck".  I'm a reckless crafter who lives on the edge. Who knew.

The fun and scary part is removing the waste canvas threads; first by wetting the waste canvas; then carefully pulling one thread  ....

then more ...

and more and more..whew.

My sewing table sits facing a window; perfect for staring at the sky or catching a smootching couple (yes, we have LOTS of birds here). 

Distractions aside, I managed to finish two more pincushions.

I now am in love with cross stitching with waste canvas.  I thought I would run into problems with removing the canvas but it went without a hitch or I should say snag. 

hmmmm....what shall I make next?  .... I'm thinking ... BIRDS!