Lately, I've been tidying and organizing my studio. I don't believe I have previously shared this pillow I made. Inspired by traditional American crewel work of the 18th century, I blended embroidery stitches on a scrap of wool fabric with some needle felting . Crewel work is a form of free embroidery as opposed to counted embroidery such as cross stitch . Linen and cotton fabrics are typically used, but I thought this tartan was especially festive.

A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song. -- Chinese Proverb

I used a cardinal shaped cookie cutter as my needle felting form for the bird. This makes it

quick and easy to develop an image with the added bonus of protecting your fingers as you stab

at the wool. The eye is a black bead stitched into place. To give the wing and bead more definition,

I employed satin and back stitches.

The tree is composed of chain stitched limbs and back stitched leaves. I sketched their placement

on paper prior to using transfer paper to trace the pattern onto the fabric. This saved me hours of

guess work and ripping out misplaced stitches! The thread is a single strand of Persian embroidery wool

that is more typically used for needlepoint. I like its slightly rough texture.

To finish off my pillow, I knit an i-cord for trim. The pillow is a basic knife-edge shape, so super simple

to work up. I used another plain wool in navy for the back. I need to make a trio for my studio couch. Maybe

a robin next? Or a golden finch?