Hand embroidery

I've finished most of the machine work on the birch trees and I've started doing the hand embellishing.

Two new books arrived this week. One I haven't looked at yet so I'll save posting about it. I'm really excited about Free Form Embroidery by Judith Baker Montano.
Her work is stunning to look at but there is also a great compendium of stitches with suggested uses. The stitches are also shown and labeled in examples of her work. This is what makes it different from other reference books. The textures and colours are so wonderful I want to examine them with a magnifying glass! It's such a great reference and very inspirational at the same time.
So now I'm inspired to sit and do hand work.

One reason why I don't get projects done quickly is that I usually spend my morning doing things around the house. This morning, I made bread. It's baking in the oven right now.
As soon as it's done, I'm going to grab the camera to take along on my walk. That'll take an hour since I stop so often for photos. I just can't stay in on such a beautiful day!
I'll come home, make tea, and sit with my needlework.