Day 18 - Cross-Stitching, Quilting, and Bird Watching

Black Capped Chickadee Cross Stitch
Originally uploaded by Pictures by Ann

This is another cross-stitch design I completed as part of "Art Every Day Month." It's about 2" x 2" - so it's pretty small. As I was cross-stitching, I looked at a note that I had written at the top of the pattern. It said, "Dad's Quilt."

My original intention was to incorporate some cross-stitched designs into a sensory and memory quilt I made for my dad for one of his Christmas presents. As I creating that quilt, I chose to focus only on photos that he selected since they had personal significance and represented important people or experiences he had in his life.

The other half of the squares of the quilt were different textures and colors of fabric. As he moves further along his journey with Alzheimer's Disease, have these photos and a soft, multi-textured quilt provides comfort to him. I know this because every time I see him he shows me the quilt and tells me how much he likes it. I am so happy I made the quilt for him. It was one of most meaningful ways I've shared my creativity with someone else.

So...back to the chickadee cross-stitch design. Although it didn't make it onto my father's quilt, I'm thinking about how to incorporate it into something else. The chickadee reminds me of one of the many types of birds that visit the bird feeders. Hearing them chirp and call to one another at the feeder always makes me smile.

After getting a seed or two, they quickly fly back to the big pine trees that around the house. I can hear them sing even in the trees. Such a tiny bird...but a loud, beautiful voice.

The chickadee also reminds me of the love my father has for birds and how he enjoys watching them from his front window and by the kitchen. Both he and my mom tell me almost every time I talk with them how much they enjoy seeing the birds line up in a row as they wait for their turn at the feeder.

I thought they were joking when they first told me this, but they aren't. Truly, the birds line up in a row on the deck rail and wait their turn. When one flies away, they each take a couple of hops forward and wait some more until they get up to the feeder and can eat.

Feeding and watching the birds brings so much joy. I'm so happy to be able to see so many different types of birds at the feeders throughout the year, but particularly during the winter when their vivid colors brighten the stark landscape.