Selfishly Stitched in April

Sort of like an eclipse, a check-in point for two unrelated groups I play with have fallen on basically the same day. The work I do for these two groups overlap although the check-in days usually don't. One is a stitch along in which most of the participants are working on cross stitch projects. The other is Carla's Bee, Myself and I for selfish sewing. My selfish sewing is the handwork I enjoy doing but that tends to be neglected. This month there hasn't been anything wildly creative. I'm still working on filling in the background on my little bluebird needlepoint canvas.

This is where is was when you last saw it:

And this is where it is now:

I've got the highlight stitches in place. I'm going well beyond the indicated outline for the design so the finished canvas can be used as a small tote bag front or the pocket on a tote. As you can see, I haven't yet addressed the issue of the black paint shadowing through. I may try for a decorative stitch or some kind of embellishment to disguise the circular frame around the main image. What to do about the designer's signature in the lower left corner is another matter. Paint may be the only option. Someone else will have to do that for me. My body won't tolerate paint fumes. However, this project may go on the back burner between now and the next check-in day(s). The urge to do something with beads has cropped up again. ;- )

 I invite you to have a look at what the others have been working on with their needle and threads:
Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, Wendy, LucyAnn, Kate, Cathy, Jess, and Constanze.