It was only a matter of time before I was going to have to tackle one of the British Birds of Prey.  There features are so strong and following on from the success of my Barn Owl I wanted to stretch myself.

Rummaging through my large fabric stash there were  a lot of brown batiks, their patterns and colours seemed to lend themselves to the colours and textures of the feathers of a large bird.

Flicking through my numerous Bird books and magazines, the juvenile Peregrine seemed to meet the brief.  I drew a basic outline and started selecting fabrics and threads.

Although I had a great selection, sometimes you just do not have the exact fabric for an area.  This is when you have to improvise!  Reaching into an old pile of fabric paints that the girls had used to design T-Shirts I found a black that was going to have to be the solution.

Using a heat removable pen I drew where the marks needed to be and started painting small areas of chest feathers with a reasonably fine brush.

There were moments that I thought I had done the wrong thing but, using a dry brush and very little paint I achieved the result I had hoped for.

This was the stage where I realised I would have to go shopping…..

I have a large assortment of threads but I had seen at Midsomer Quilting a large selection of Hand-Dyed machine threads, with subtle colour changes running through them.  These Oliver Twist threads were perfect.

Feathers are not flat and dull, they have texture and almost reflect light.  This fabrics helped bring the bird to life.  I am slowly buying all the colour combinations on sale.  Money very well spent….

This piece has been challenging but so enjoyable.  I think my love affair with the British Bird of Prey may be blossoming.

A limited edition Giclee print of ‘Young Pretender’ is available from my Website shop , please click here to view.

‘Young Pretender’