WIP - An Indian Summer Garden - Part 1

Secret Garden - An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book by Johanna Basford in not an ordinary book. For every page you turn to will inspire you in many ways. And for embroiderers it is a virtual treasure trove. My first pick out of it was a gorgeous peacock perched on a tree, surrounded by blooms. 

Although the peacock is yet to be embroidered, the foliage around it is done, so over the next few weeks I shall give you glimpses of these. The above is the first of the series - the tree branches done in close rows of stem stitch, the leaves in fly stitch and flowers in lazy daisy. 

Chinar leaf - thinking of fall colours!

To be honest, I've never seen chinar trees during fall. What a glorious sight it must be, to be surrounded by a million hues of green, yellow, brown, red and orange! Some day I will travel to a place just to watch the chinar trees change colour. Until then I can find solace in embroidering a few coloured threads on my canvas, what?

Arum lily

The arum lily somehow reminds me of an ornate lamp, which is why, I chose to embroider it on a black background. It gives the illusion of the petal embracing a flame within, doesn't it?

Stumpwork - Butterfly and Dogrose

This was my first attempt at stumpwork. The dogrose petals and leaves have been padded with felt. For the butterfly wings, I first couched thin wire around the outlines of each of the four on a separate fabric, covered it with buttonhole stitch, and then filled-in with long-and-short stitches. Here's another view:

Pink Frangipani

Delicately scented and pretty colours - whats not to love in a frangpani? Most homes in the armed forces have huge gardens and you'll most like find this beautful tree in one corner. I've spent many a hot suumer day hanging about in its cool shade, reading, or just day-dreaming. Embroidering it, was hence, filled with many childhood reminisces! 

The early morning bird

One of my most enduring childhood memories is watching the little Indian sparrow flitting about busily. They often spend much time hopping about on the ground, pecking, perhaps examining anything that even remotely resembles their food. Although one rarely finds them in cities these days, it is a pleasure to spot them in the outskirts, as industrious as ever.

Their attitude is much what I emulate - travelling, studying topics of interest, anything that can inspire my next creation. Which is why, when I decided to embroider a bird, it had to be the common (or not so common anymore) sparrow!