Yellow Bird

Yellow Bird (after Jill McDonald)

Has it really been three weeks since my last post? Sorry about that. It's been a busy time of thesis writing lately, but I've earned a couple of relaxing sewing days after completing my epic 12 part, 30,000 word chapter on Rita Angus's Goddess paintings.

The sassy young bird that you see above is made from a nice piece of yellow silk that I found at the oppie with hand embroidered detailing on the chest and a comb and wings made from upholstery fabric. The design was loosely inspired by this illustration by Jill McDonald:

Jill McDonald illustration for The Wind Between the Stars

by Margaret Mahy School Journal, 1966.

Next up I'll be making a pair of tuis (after Anne McCahon) - they should be a heck of a lot easier to make because the birds are in flight, so I won't have to make any legs, which are by far the fiddliest part of the birds involving a complex system of pipe-cleaners and rods encased in felt tubes...