Friday, March 6, 2015

Final Friday Framed Finish for 2014

This is the final piece which I had framed in 2014.
It was a Christmas gift for a button collector! 

Design - "Button, Button"
Designer - Country Cottage Needleworks
Fabric - 28 count Patina Lakeside Linen
Fibers - DMC & Crescent Colors - 2 strands over 2 threads
Started - 18 August 2011
Completed - 9 September 2011

Framed - October 2014

Please excuse the shadows - I'll try to post a better photo of the completed piece at a later date.

Several people have asked me about the camera I use. For a couple of years I had a Canon Powershot SX280. It was a great pocket camera with a very good zoom - but met its demise falling 8 floors in a garbage shoot! Since then I've upgraded to a larger camera - still a SLR - a Canon SX510 with a 50x optical zoom.  It is wonderful for capturing birds at a distance.  I've had it for a year and a half now and am very pleased.    

Sometimes the birds are close and who needs much of a zoom anyway?
This Sharp-shinned Hawk is sitting in tree right by the peanut and suet feeders.  

It is because of hawks and other predators that I am sold on having brush and thickets for the birds to seek shelter.  It may look untidy, but it provides much needed protection. 

I can assure you that the Chickadee did not cross paths with the hawk.

The Chickadees have pretty good warning system in place as they are almost always in small groups so there are several birds on the look-out at any given time.

One of the many things I need to continue to work on is finch identification.  Specifically the differences between a House Finch and a Purple Finch.  The differences are subtle and as the birds do not let me get very close, often I can only try to figure out the ID from the photos I take.  This is male Purple Finch. One of the key marks is the darker puffy crown atop the head of the bird.   

I did see my Lesser Goldfinch the other day, and on the first of March I saw a male Rufous Hummingbird.  That's yet another sign of our wacky non-winter, as the bird is a couple of weeks earlier than usual.  With Rufous Hummingbirds, the males migrate first and establish territory, the females arrive later when most of the arguing is over! 

11 comments:

StitchinByTheLake said...

I love this button piece! Almost all the stitchers/quilters I know are collectors. :) blessings, marlene

Margaret said...

Cute framed finish! Love all the birds as alway.

Vickie said...

Perfect stitch and gift for the button collector!

Weronika said...

Lovely stitching and a beautiful finish! I like the colors- blue, purple and green looks very nice together.

Frances said...

I'm sure your friend was thrilled to receive your lovely stitching!
Your camera is perfect for your bird photos--so clear! You must have your yard laid out perfectly for the birds, even incorporating shelter and hiding places for them! You've spent time on this!!

Cathy said...

Just lovely stitching! And amazing, awesome birds too.
Cathy
CraftyCat

Karen said...

Your bird pictures are always so amazing!

Ann at Beadlework. said...

Framing really does make a difference, your choice sets the piece off nicely.

Barb said...

Your framed piece is so pretty. Your comment about the chickadees reminded me of a professor from UW who spoke about crows on the radio the other day. It was absolutely fascinating!!

Anna van Schurman said...

Love the colors in this one! So springlike...I remember spring. {sigh}

Melanie said...

Oh gosh, that is an adorable gift! I've always liked that pattern. (Nothing better than a big tin of buttons to paw through.)

It must be a great camera because your photos always look like the birds are RIGHT in front of you when you take it and I'm sure that isn't true at all.