Dove Portrait in Needlepoint

I was away visiting my sister this weekend and was able to finish a needlepoint I have been working on for nearly a year. It is one of two patterns I designed after a a pair of paintings of mourning doves I had done. I've shown the second one is in progress because I always like to see how other's begin their projects! I just love charting out the crosstitch patterns on graph paper. It is tedious work but very satisfying when it is finished.

Red Dove Needlepoint in Progress

Original Dove Painting

Gentlemen Doves

For some reason I didn't post these in progress. Probably because they are a little different in style and I wanted to see where they were heading. I sketched these out over a year ago and even converted them into needlepoint charts which I'll probably be working on for the next year. The sketches have been hanging on my wall of ideas waiting for me to decide how I wanted to approach them and finally a few weeks ago I just dived in and began. I am very happy with them; they are a little whimsical but I think they convey the warmth and dignity of the humble mourning dove which is after all my favorite bird.