These cross-stitch birds are a delight to stitch, they don’t take too long either. Last time I posted about them I had stitched A B and C on holiday and I’d just started D.

Having finished my slot and tab book I’ve concentrated more on these birds. Over the last couple of weeks I finished C, which I think is a goldcrest. I’ve seen them very occasionally in the garden but I hear them a lot on the back lane behind us. They have a very high-pitched whistle. They are Britain’s smallest bird, so they’re not easy to spot.

I’ve also stitched the letter E which has a gorgeous swallow sitting on the letter. Seeing the first swallow of the year is a good sign that summer is well on the way. Many swallows migrate all the way the South Africa for the winter.

I’ve just started the letter F which has a chaffinch on it. The birds are all going in another book, I need to work out the final size of the pages of this book as I’m planning to make it by whip stitching the pages together so I need to do a back-stitch square round each letter. Obviously I don’t want to find I have 26 squares to do at the end!