Between Projects

I hope you had a lovely Easter break - I am not quite where the past week went?

We have had the most beautiful autumn and I have spent quite a bit of time scratching around in the garden. It is a funny time of year, it is cooling down but it is still ever so dry. I think I have lost more plants in autumn than in summer because I forget I still need to water.
I did quite a bit of writing and drawing for projects and patterns, and also managed to pick up my knitting needles. I haven't knitted much in years and it was really nice to get into the clickety-clack of the needles again. To me knitting is a little like starting a good book, once I pick it up I find it hard to put it down. I managed to finish a pair of socks (love knitted socks in winter) and have started a long jumper / vest kind of thing. It is based on this pattern but I am using wool and partially changing it as I go - time will tell...

I also picked up my long time 'in-between' project. This one has been on the go for years (literally) - picking it up every time I am 'in between' other projects. At one point is was halfway finished but in much darker and more muted tones. I didn't like it so I pulled it out and started again.
One thing I have become really, really good at over the years is 'reverse stitching'. I no longer hesitate in ripping stitches out and starting again. Embroidery simply takes too long and involves too much effort to end up with something you are not happy with.

I love my new colours and am really enjoying working on it again. Who knows, I might even finish it this time. It is funny when you don't work from an existing pattern - some times choosing stitches is easy and at other times it can take me forever to find just the right stitch for what I am working on.

I had no idea how to work the wing feathers. I didn't want to fill them all together, but the stitches that first came to mind - fly stitch and feather stitch, didn't quite seem right either. Somehow I decided to give wheat-ear stitch a try - not at all sure where the idea came from - but I am really, really glad I did. Do you like them?
It is one of those stitches you look at and wonder how and where you would ever use it but it
is such a great stitch. It is really quite easy and fun to work and the result is this amazing textured / patterned line of stitches. I haven't put a stitch how-to up for a while, so perhaps this is a good one for tomorrow...?

Happy Stitching,
Anna x