Just Resting

A striking male superb fairy wren (malurus cyaneus) and his more subtly coloured female friend rest on a barbed wire fence, surrounded by a field of long grass and pretty, white daisies.

Worked as slips, the detached elements are stitched separately onto quilter’s muslin then cut out and applied to the painted silk.

Fibre-fill is used to pad the plump bodies and the tails are supported with a wire outline stitched to the wrong side of the work, then attached to the fabric only at the base.

A length of cleverly made miniature barbed wire and real feathers complete this endearing image.