When it comes to wildlife paintings, John James Audubon is a well-known name. Working in the 18th and 19th centuries, Audubon set out to paint and document every species that he encountered. At the time, conservation and stewardship efforts were non-existent. Audubon's enthusiastic and tireless work set a standard for conservation, a legacy that endures today. Bring the beauty and magnificence of Audubon's work to your embroidery projects with an exciting new line of designs. 2012 is going to be a wild year with new designs every month that have been adapted from Audubon's original plates. You've seen January's Snowy Heron and February's Flamingo. For the month of March, enjoy the Little Blue Heron. Most egrets are a brilliant white -- but some very special ones are a dark and smoky blue. When Audubon first found the Little Blue Heron he painted it in the habitat where he found it: South Carolina. However, over the past 150 years these birds have moved their breeding areas north. Today they're found primarily between Maine and the Great Lakes. The design is below, available in four sizes. Click on the link to the size that you need, and add the design to your basket.
Embroidery Library has more than 80,000 designs that range from very simple to very complex. The new designs that are based on Audubon's work are complex with layering, shading, and highlighting that give the piece its realistic look. When working with complex designs, choose a sturdy fabric with minimum stretch. Canvas, denim, duck cloth, and corduroy are all examples of excellent fabric choices. Use one piece of medium-weight cutaway stabilizer (2.5 or 3 ounce) as a backing. Hoop the fabric and stabilizer together firmly. Free Fabrics 101 articles are available for you to reference. These articles give stabilizer, design, and needle recommendations for you to get the best results from your stitching. And, this Perfect Hooping tutorial shows methods of keeping the fabric and stabilizer from slipping in the hoop. If you have any questions, or want to show photos of how you've used this design, we'd love to hear from you! Send an email to stitch@emblibrary.com.