Finally - an addition to my collection!

I've had a few people drop into my other blogs and ask if I'd closed this blog because nothing had been posted for so long. No, I haven't closed it - I just haven't found any more embroidered peacocks! Until last week, and I found this little cushion cover at Savers Thrift Store. I think it should have cost $2.99, but there was no price tag, and the girl at the register was in a rush because there was a queue behind me, so she just glanced at it and said "Oh, fifty cents".
Thank you, darling!

Fabulous embroidered peacock!

This arrived from the USA today (eBay purchase). If you've been reading this blog since it's inception, you will have read the following words before, so I apologise if I'm sounding like a broken record! This embroidery has to be the most beautiful and perfectly stitched peacock I've ever seen. It is on a large piece of fine material that is big enough to make a cushion cover of it, but I won't be doing that. I'd rather frame it, but as I have so many other things I'd like to get framed one day, I'm going to run out of wall space!

A beautiful website about real Peacocks.

My husband was searching for something on the Net the other week, and stumbled on this website. He sent it over to me, and after reading it from start to finish, I decided to put a link to it on my blog, as I know the people who visit this blog not only love embroidered peacocks, but the real ones as well. Go here for a big heap of peacock eye candy!

Another blog for lovers of embroidered peacocks!

Whilst surfing the Land of Blogs last night, I happened to find a blog which features finished works of art as well as works in progress - all embroidered Peacocks - beautiful! Some of the people who read my blog already know about the other, but for those of you who don't, the link is on my sidebar. But to save you the trouble of moving your cursor over there, you can click here.

Peacock Beaded Shawl

My friend LeeAnn gave me this stunning vintage beaded shawl for my 60th birthday, and although I posted this pic on my other blog, I forgot to put it here as well! Well, it IS a peacock, so this is where it belongs!

A pair of matching doilies and a little notebook.

These two doilies arrived from the USA last week. You've heard/read it here before, but this will be the last lot of embroidered peacocks I buy for a while. I have an enormous collection, and I'm finding that most of what I see on eBay now is a duplicate or very similar to what I already have, or a design that is so way out it doesn't appeal to me. As well as that, after our trip away this week, I'll need to reign in my spending (again) for a while. The only exception to all this is if I find something really special in an opshop in Darwin, and I think that is highly unlikely!





Now for something different. My friend Val had a very busy blog for a year or so, but got a bit 'blogged down', so she has discontinued her blog activities for a while. But we have stayed in touch, and sometimes meet up for a coffee at the library, or go for a walk and picnic on a nice day. One of Val's many hobbies is paper-making and other paper-related crafts. Last week she presented me with this little notebook she'd made just for me, cutting a peacock motif from pretty paper and sticking it on the front. Inside is a blank pad and pencil. What a beaut gift! I love notepads - I've got several, and they all have a separate purpose.

Another Table runner.

This is one end of a lovely runner that arrived from the USA today. The seller has just created a blog of her own collection after seeing my blog - go here to see Vintage Linen Treasures!

Two little doilies.

Surprise, surprise! These are from here in Oz, not from the USA!

Four matching doilies.

I couldn't resist bidding for these doilies; they match something else in my collection. Without pulling everything out and checking, I can't remember if it was a tablecloth or table runner/centrepiece, but I know I've got this pattern somewhere.

Slightly better picture - after they had been ironed!

ANOTHER Peacock table runner.

Arrived from the USA today. This is a real beauty, with the same design at each end of the runner, but in partially varying colours. In pristine condition, beautifully stitched, and hand crocheted around the edge.

Egg on my face...

I don't know if it is just a coincidence, or if my husband has a photographic memory, but he was right about the peacock design on the runner I've just received. I do have another one very similar! But the other is on a pillowcase, and the colours are slightly different, so I still feel justified in keeping both.

I have two more peacocks on the way - another table runner which looks superb on the eBay photo! And a set of four napkins or doilies, which match a tablecloth I bought last year from a different seller. Watch this space!!

Table runner from the USA.

This arrived yesterday. Ken remarked "It looks the same as all the others you've got". Well, peacocks look like peacocks, of course, but I guess he doesn't appreciate the subtle differences between embroidered designs and the real thing. However, I must admit even to me they are starting to look similar. I think it's about time I took the whole lot out of storage, laid them all out on the floor and made sure they are all different!

Stunning stitchery on this centrepiece!!

I must sound like a broken record sometimes, but again, this is a very special piece I'm sure you'll agree - and for once it is 'home-grown' - not from the USA! Ebay of course - from N.S.W.

Finally - some more stitched peacocks!

Gosh, I didn't realise it had been so long since I posted any photos here! I think I'd better do a stock take of my peacock embroideries; I'm sure I had more than this since last October.
In the meantime, these two arrived today from the USA via eBay:


This is what Americans call a scarf, although whether or not they mean a head scarf is unclear to me. It could also be a table centrepiece, or a cushion cover...whatever it was supposed to be, it is in very good condition.



This is a fairly large table runner; quite old I think, but in pretty good condition, apart from some dye run where it has been washed inappropriately. One of our Guild members has advised me on how to fix that, so I'll give it a go someday.

White Peacock photos: "Giant Snowflake"!

Barb over at Woof Nanny emailed these images to me, and as she says "Must share - too beautiful to stop with me!" Thanks Barb!



THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN VERY OFTEN... HE LOOKS LIKE A GIANT SNOWFLAKE!!!
Gina's comment: I wonder if he was hosed down with White King? He is so perfectly white! I've seen white peacocks before, but never as pristine as this.

Cushion cover.

This eBay auction win arrived from the USA today. This picture does not do the stitching justice - the colour and the work is absolutely beautiful.

Another machine embroidered peacock.

This is a pillowcase which I won on eBay from a lady in Australia, but I don't know if it was actually made here, or imported from the USA at some stage. Machine embroidered, as you can see, but such a lovely and unusual colour scheme, it had to join my others!

Beautiful supper cloth.

Nobody can imagine how excited I was to win this auction. A few years ago, a similar cloth was listed on eBay, and I bid for it along with many other people. I was unsuccessful that time, and very disappointed, as I didn't think I would see another one like it again. So I was delighted to see this appear two weeks ago, and I was determined not to miss out on it! I placed a ridiculously high bid on it and sure enough, I won the cloth at a price way below my maximum bid!


Ken said "they don't look like peacocks", so I had to try to explain that an artist's impression of something is not always a photographic image; they have what is called artistic licence...he still didn't get it!



The eBay seller claimed this was the loveliest embroidery she had seen for a long time. I agree 100% - the traditional test (to look at the back) came up trumps - almost as good on the back as on the front.

More pillowcases.

Another pair of Pillowcases arrived from the USA today. These are machine embroidered, and I don't usually collect that kind of stitching, but these are so beautiful I just couldn't resist them - could you have?

Hand towel or tea towel?

On eBay, this was titled "Hand/tea towel". It could be either as it is stitched on huckabuck fabric, but I would be reluctant to wipe either hands or dishes on it! From the USA as usual.