Woodpecker

Woodpecker was woven at William Morris' works in Merton Abbey in 1885 - it was his first design for tapestry and the original is now in the William Morris Gallery at Walthamstow. Beth Russell's elegant needlepoint adaptation necessarily shortens the tree and omits the border and poetry. It is now a perfect size for a firescreen and sticks loyally to Morris' soft colouring. The two birds in the orange branches make charming miniature kits.