Outside the Box

Hey there, Stitchy Peeps!

This is what I did recently. You like?





(Pattern by Annie Oakleaves.)

When it comes to stitching, I seldom think 'outside the box'. I tend to stick with traditional colors. Of course, there are exceptions and every so often I get super creative and do something like this rainbow buggy. Not exactly what you'd find in nature, but not that off-the-wall. ;) So I found myself sort of surprised when the floss toss I did for this Winter Bird yielded these results: PINK and BLUE. Pink and blue? A pink bird that isn't a flamingo?

(I am loving it.)

I think I may have been inspired by the Christmas decorating magazines that line the shelves of my local supermarket. While there are many glossy, beautiful photos of homes decked out in traditional schemes of red and green, there are also many non-traditional color combinations that I find myself drawn to. I've always loved using all-blue lights on the tree or in a nativity scene...and I have a fuzzy yet persistent childhood memory of my great-grandmother's home at Christmas, decked out in all-blue lights and decorations.

It's hard to tell, especially in the second picture, but the little guy is tinted pink. I shouldn't really say tinted, however; he is simply filled in with a colored pencil. It's very subtle, but I thought he needed a little something, and filling him in with stitches just wasn't an option. I didn't want to compete against the wing & tail, or the details in the hat & scarf. So once again, it was colored pencils to the rescue. :)

Winter Bird has put me in the mood to do some Christmas stitching...I will have to peruse my collection of patterns for Christmas-y and wintry things. Hopefully I will be back soon with some seasonal stitching to share with you. Until then...

Happy Stitching!