Ruffled Feathers

Ruffled Feathers by Lindy Stitches — a folk-art goose with trailing flowering vines and scatter motifs, charted small (85w × 56h) and designed to be finished into a needlebook or pincushion.

This was the featured class piece for a Lady Dot Creates event on July 22, 2023. I finished mine on July 23, 2023.

Stitched on 32ct Zweigart Pearl Gray linen — the recommended ground.

The pattern as published is a DMC chart (347, 517, 939, 964, 992, 3608, 3712, 3811 — bright reds, teals, navy, and pinks), but I swapped the entire palette out for hand-dyed and overdyed cottons to push it toward a more primitive, muted folk look:

• Classic Colorworks — Chesapeake Bay, Blue Corn, English Ivy, Purple Aster, Cauldron
• Weeks Dye Works — Rum Raisin
• The Gentle Art — Grape Arbor, Black Raspberry Jam, Witching Hour
• Kreinik 012 (#4 very fine) — for the metallic accents

The swap-in is what made the goose come out deep purple instead of the original red, with rust pomegranates and sage-green vines, and the Kreinik catches just enough light to lift it without making it sparkly.

Finished as a fold-out etui: two padded oval covers in a multicolour ditzy floral cotton, joined with a green woven strap, secured with hand-dyed pink silk ribbon ties. Inside, one oval holds a yellow wool felt pin keeper stocked with pins; the other has a scissor pocket that holds a pair of gold-handled embroidery scissors.