Barn Owl Pincushion

One of my very first pincushions had an owl on it and I haven't made any other owl ones since but recently I decided to work on another one in a different design.  I did my drawings as usual using my bird book for reference.  This is a barred owl which seems to me to be the owl shape that everyone thinks of when you say "owl".  

I cut out all the felt pieces and stitched the branch and then put it down and left it because it just didn't feel right.  When I came back to it a few days later I realized that it was the owl that was bothering me and I went back to the bird book and found myself drawn to the barn owl.  

I see barn owls sometimes.  I live in a town but there are hills, farmland and wild open spaces all around the town.  I've even seen barn owls late at night flying across the road near a piece of open land in the middle of town.  It is pretty startling to catch one in your headlights.  My daughter works at a horse barn out in the countryside and in the Fall and Winter I see lots of owls when I drive to pick her up in the dark evenings.  It always feels like a privilege, like they've allowed themselves to be seen.  

As soon as I made the decision to switch to a barn owl, the stitching came together smoothly. 

I've made a few of these now and they sell as soon as I list them.  I need to make some more.  Sometimes it would be nice to have just a few more hours in each day!