Bird Song by Carol Pederson

I designed this piece in 32-count Belgian linen and Anchor perle cotton for the top of my piano. The musical phrases are from Chopin waltzes.

My first challenge was to design a treble clef, as curves don’t lend themselves well to Hardanger. I broke rules in deference to the design. You will find cut and pulled threads at the end or a row of buttonhole stitch instead of anchored by a kloster block; there is a kloster block in #12 fiber under the buttonhole stitch. Openwork extends past the edge of the piece; I wove fabric threads back into the fabric to stabilize it.

I love to stitch at sunrise while listening to the birds’ morning song. So when I felt the piece needed something extra, I added birds—thus the name of this piece.