Autumn Leaves

The falling leaves drift by the window,
The autumn leaves of red and gold.
I see your lips, the summer kisses,
The sunburned hands I used to hold.
Since you went away the days grow long, 
And soon I'll hear old winter's song.
But I miss you most of all my darling
When Autumn leaves start to fall.

-Autumn Leaves, lyrics by Johnny Mercer

"Autumn Leaves" is one of my favorite songs. It was written in 1945 by Joseph Kosma and Jacques Prevert (they original lyrics were in French - here's Yves Montand's version). It was originally written for a film, Les Portes de la nuit (Gates of the Night), and was sung by Irene Joachim. Johnny Mercer wrote the lyrics for the English version of the song, and it's been performed by many musicians over the years including Edith Piaf, Iggy Pop, and Paula Cole (for the excellent soundtrack to the mediocre move Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil), to name a few. Yes, Iggy Pop is singing in French. It's from his 2005 album Preliminaires, which is very good and includes very un-Iggy Pop songs. 

The song inspired today's piece. One of the best parts of the fall is the leaves. I'm also using today as a color test. The orange fabric is very bold, so I want to see what colors work before I start my trees in a week. 

Enjoy!

Details:
Stitches: satin, fishbone, straight, and back stitches
Thread palette: DMC 777 (2, 3 strands), 742, 3853, 632 (2 strands)
Inspired by the song "Autumn Leaves" by Johnny Mercer