All that's Glitter is not gold! But WOW!

I ran away from home today but didn't go farther than the dining table... I did NO housework, didn't even answer the phone...  just stitched. And it was Janet's goldwork block I was working on.

Unfortunately it's hard to capture with the camera how opulent the gold is.  I have 6 different trims framing the silkie and they will be further embellished with beading..
It is so beautiful...and the stitching is great fun.

I am using all my inexpensive trims and sulky gold thread for couching.  The more colors of gold I use, the richer it looks..

The biggest part of my stitching day was couching the outline of her Christmas cardinal... I did a lot of experimenting and redoing but I'm happy with him now and will start filling in with satin stitch now.. The color of the thread is just about the color of the silk...

Biggest lesson today was "not easy" to turn sharp corner like the beak.  Much better to stop and start at that point...

Although I am doing him in satin stitch, it would be great filled in with beads also... I will try the finest edmar I have that is the right color because I would like it glossy but it may not be fine enough.. more trial and error...