Marigold - A Goldcrest Lady in Liberty Lawn

 This is Marigold, a Goldcrest Lady, her name comes from the local nickname for Goldcrests which is Marigold Finch.  She is, of course, not a finch at all and is the UK's smallest bird.  With this in mind I reduced her pattern by ten per cent so she stands a little over eight inches, an inch and a half smaller than her sister bird dolls.

She is dressed in a lovely Liberty Lawn called Garden Trail from the 2016 collection The Garden of Dreams inspired by the beloved poems of Robert Louis Stevenson, ‘A Child’s Garden of Verses’.

‘the garden path trails and loops with excitement at every turn’

She is made from a delicate green Oakshott plain cotton with fly stitch, cross stitch and chain stitch to detail her plumage and she has a delicate yellow crown in chain stitch edged with black just like the female Goldcrest.  So small is she that even her little embroidered lavender sachet is less than an inch square.  It was harder to work so small but she has a satisfying delicacy to her that I really like.

She will be the last garden bird I make this year, I think, as I am now full steam ahead on Christmas presents including a Herring Gull in a sailor suit for my daughter. He will have yellow leather legs!