Wet and Aggressive Corella challenges Magpie

Wet and Aggressive Corella challenges Magpie

Sunday 16 June 2013

Sunday Selections #125

Sunday Selections was originally brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, as an ongoing meme where participants could post previously unused photos languishing in their files. 

The meme is now continued by River at Drifting through life.  The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent.  Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to River.

Like River I generally run with a theme.  This week I am returning to one of my bigger obsessions - birds.  For a change though, I am not featuring the birds that visit us, but some of the birds that live in our home.


The first is our most recent acquisition.  We certainly don't need it, but it makes me smile.


The second is a piece of bobbin lace - designed and made by my mother.  She decided that she wanted to know how to make bobbin lace, and set about teaching herself.  Incredible.







An antique piece of embroidery I found at an auction.  It is over a hundred years old - and I love it.  And admire the skill.


This is one of the first counted cross stitches I ever did.



 

75 comments:

  1. Love love love your birds!

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  2. good finds. i especially love the pelican.

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    1. the wild magnolia: Welcome and thank you. The pelican has a a very soft spot in my heart - I love them, and it was given to me by a very dear friend.

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  3. I know a young woman who taught herself bobbin lace--because she wanted too. Like your mother, before the age of internet. A beautiful house of birds.

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    1. Joanne Noragon: I was awed watching mama's progress. She won best of show with a glorious tablecloth she made and made the Speaker's collars and cuffs for the opening of Parliament.

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    2. My goodness - obviously a very smart and talented craftsperson!

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  4. Adorable! Hard to believe someone could rival the number of items in my bird collection, but you just surpass me! It's near impossible to walk past a crafter's booth or antique store and NOT buy something bird related.

    I love your newest piece (all of them, really); it made me smile too!

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    1. Ms. CrankyPants: And there are more. Quite a lot more. The ambience of this house could perhaps be best described as cluttered (and dusty).

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  5. They're all so very nice...bright and cheerful.

    One would need to have lots of patience and an eye for dainty detail with the bobbin lace, I imagine. I have neither! I may have an eye for dainty detail, but I surely don't have the hands! ;)

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    1. And I meant to say...have a lovely Sunday, EC :)

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    2. Lee: Thank you - and a wonderful Sunday to you too. I can (and do) appreciate the lace, but have neither the hands nor the patience.

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  6. Your mom is very talented. I love the art, the first piece in particular. The best things, I find, aren't things we "need" but lovely bits that make life happier.

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    1. Riot Kitty: She was. And a mathematician, a gardener, a cook and a caring person too (before she drowned all of these people in alcohol).
      Our house is full of things we fell in love with - and I like it that way.

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  7. I'm not usually much on knick-knacks, but there are at least four of these that I would like to have (numbers five, two, one, and four, in that order, although it's really a toss as to whether I like number one or number two better (your mother really done good on that one).

    I still have the bird that I bought for you about three years ago, broke, and never glued back together to mail. I will though. I'm going glue that sucker and send you a picture, and you can let me know if you want it because if you don't, I do.

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  8. I think you have nearly as many birds inside as you do outside, and they're all just as beautiful and interesting and unique. Thank you for sharing your collection! I LOVE that plate in the first photo, so colorful! And all the different needlework ones (your mom's skill was most impressive, I don't think I could ever teach myself how to do needlework!) The last two interest me, what are their stories? I'm wondering what the pretty blue pair of birds is made of, and what the background on the tile(?) is - is it Aborigine? It almost looks like it could be from Native Americans in the American Southwest.

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    1. Laloofah: And there are more. Rather a lot more. The Ostrich tile was one I picked up in Argentina as a replica of precolumbian culture- I loved it.
      The pair of blue birds are ceramic and metal. I found them at a market before Christmas last year, fell in love and bought one from the artist to give to the smaller portion. Unbeknown to me, he had also seen them, and had bought one for me. Obviously meant, and they look good together.

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    2. What a great story about the adorable pair of bird figurines! O Henry would have approved - though not quite the same, it made me think a little of "The Gift of the Magi!" Always nice when we're on the same wavelength as our partner.

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    3. Laloofah: And better than The Gift of the Magi in that we can both enjoy them... In many ways we are very different, and then things like this remind us of just why we spend our lives together.

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  9. You and your mother are clearly very talented. Gorgeous pieces of work!

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    1. Wendy aka Quillfeather: Thank you. My mother was an artist with a needle - and with her bobbins too.

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  10. A wonderful look at some of your lovely birds! I covet the two embroidery pieces :)

    I do counted cross stitches too - although at the moment I don't have one on the go, which is unusual for me.

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    1. Alexia: My hands won't let me do counted cross stitch any more. Frustrating. I really need to find something that I can do. I could probably manage long stitch embroidery - but don't like them.
      I love the antique embroidery and mama's lace is very, very beautiful.

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  11. The flowers in that first bowl are so bright and beautiful, I almost didn't see the bird in the centre. I like all your birds, but they're not something I'd have in my home. Most of my walls are covered with photos of family instead.

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    1. River: Thank you. Decorations is a very individual thing isn't it.

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  12. You have some wonderful bird bits, I like the blue wrens the best, I would love them in my garden,
    Merle.......

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    1. Merlesworld: She also makes some wonderful magpies. I haven't been back - at least in part because I am likely to weaken.

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  13. Yes, I've arrived. Just a bobbin over from my blog. I really do like all the bird stuff in your home. Very pretty, indeed. Do Jazz n' Jewel ever get kinda' close to the birds that live in your home?

    Enjoy your Sunday afternoon. I think I've got that right at the time of this typing....

    Gary :)

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    1. klahanie: Thank you Gary. It is still (just) Sunday morning here. Jazz n Jewel leave the ornamental birds alone but lust after (and chitter at) the ones outside. Jewel is ambitious and would like a cockatoo, even though they are probably bigger than she is and have an impressive beak.

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  14. It's lovely to see all of these, EC. And it's lovely to think about your mom and her ability to teach herself something like that. You come from some very special ancestry, it's obvious. And all these pictures are just a joy to look at! :-)

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    1. DJan: Thank you. And my father taught himself jewellery making. The creative genes were pretty much used up by the time I came along.

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  15. Marvelous! I think the cross-stitched penguins are my favorite, but they're all wonderful.

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    1. Paper Chipmunk (aka Ellen): Thank you. Flattery.

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  16. So many lovely, lovely birds!

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  17. I do love your mother's Phoenix. I never thought about birds around the home. I have quite a few too. Might follow your example and work them into a post sometime.
    Have you been to Antarctica and seen the Emperor penguins?

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    1. Arija: I didn't get far enough inland while at Antarctica to see the Emperor Penguins. Loved the Kings, the Magellans, the Chin-Straps, the Gentoo, the Adelie and the Rockhoppers though. Loved all of Antarctica.
      I would love to see a post on your interior birds.

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  18. Oh, EC, they are wonderful, each one so unique and lovely!

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  19. Lovely treasures! It is so important to surround oneself with things that make us smile. I LOVE the pellie!

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    1. Karen: Aren't pelicans incredible birds? For some reason until I went to Antarctica I called them albatrosses. I knew it was wrong as it was coming out of my mouth, but I did it repeatedly. No more.

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  20. the cross stitch is amazing as are the birds and pottery

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  21. You do have a lovely collection. Love the colours on that first plate.

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    1. ladyfi: It makes me smile every time I see it - which more than justifies its acquisition.

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  22. They are all so beautiful and that bobbin lace by your mother is unbelievable. Some people are so talented. I did lots of counted cross stitch before my hands refused to hold a needle for long but no birds. I too think pelicans are fantastic creatures.

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    1. Mimsie: Some people hog talent don't they? What sort of cross stitches did you work on? I would love to know.

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  23. I do love that you have clutter and dust. I specialise in that. Love your birds. Just looking around I have quite a few too, which rather surprises me. I need to look around with new eyes...

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    1. Carol: Clutter and dust seem to be very natural to some of us. Minimalism is just not for me... I was a little surprised at how many birds have found a home within our home. And there are many more than I have pictured here. Perhaps you could join Arija and post pictures of yours? I would really like to see them.

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  24. The last one looks like a Zuni roadrunner!

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    1. Carol Kilgore: You do get the impression of speed don't you?

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    2. Yes, and the sign is almost like the Zuni Indian sun sign.

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    3. Carol Kilgore: I find cross-cultural similarities fascinating. I am going to have to find out more about the Zuni - thank you.

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  25. Ahhh, it's amazing how the creatures we love so, find their ways into our hearts and our homes.

    There was a period of time when, for years, all I painted were birds - especially the wee Blue Wren. We had large families of them living around our country cottage and I was SO enamoured!

    You have some very fine examples EC. Love the penguin cross stitch as well as your mother's bobbin lace - incredible.
    And, that antique piece is so lovely - what a find!

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    1. Vicki: I am always surprised by how much room there is in my heart, my home (and in the garden). Just when I think that I cannot squeeze anything more in, a place is found.
      I suspect that if I could paint birds would be high on my list. I can well understand your fascination.

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    1. Molly: Thank you. A big and varied flock as well.

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  27. You have an amazing collection, they would make me smile every day.

    Denise
    An English Girl Rambles

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    1. DeniseinVA: Thank you - we smile. Rather a lot.

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  28. EC, I love the boddin lace your Mother made.
    my thinks your a bird-lover inside and out ~:>)

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    1. Pam =): Thank you. She did an amazing job didn't she?

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  29. The old bird sampler is lovely
    A real delight

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    1. John Gray: I was really pleased to find it - and better pleased that no-one bid against me for it.

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  30. LOOoOooOVE!
    Now I know what to look for at second hand stores for you, S! Xxx Do your kitty cats like your birdies?

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    1. My Inner Chick: Jazz n Jewel know the difference between ornamental and real birds. They (mostly) ignore the ones inside, but lust after those outside.

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  31. I love all of your treasures. It looks like your home is very much like ours. We don't care about monetary value, but we're absolute suckers for things with a sentimental significance, or for things that simply make us smile. As we always say... 'Suits us!"

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    1. Susan: Monetary value isn't relevant is it? The things we care about are worth more than dollars - even when they are worth no dollars.

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  32. Dear EC, thank you for sharing these lovely pieces of art--from cross stitch to ceramic. Years ago, actually in 1946, my aunt Dorothy gave me a ceramic mallard "made in occupied Japan." That began my love affair with ducks and geese. The mallard was perfect for 63 years--its colors vibrant-- and then in my move to Missouri, it's neck cracked from the rest of the body. Glue fixed it and it remains a cherished treasure.

    Since 1946, I've added a few other geese as well as a small collection of giraffes and lions. Most of these figurines however are not displayed because Matthew, one of the cats with whom I live, loves to race through the house, leaping over furniture, bureaus, and end tables. In his exuberance, he topples things to the floor. Before I put everything away, he broke several things. And so they are now in drawers and hutches. But still they give me great pleasure. Peace.

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    1. Dee: I also have a much loved goose figurine. And an overly exuberant cat who breaks things. In Jazz's case it is mostly fridge magnets. I love that your treasured odds and sods also give you joy.

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  33. #6 is so adorable! Like the most unexpected family reunion.

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    1. John Wiswell: It was a truly amazing sight. While I took photos I also stood there in awe and wonder.

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  34. I popped in to visit your real birds, which I thoroughly enjoyed, but lingered longer with your lovely 'house birds'. Now you've got me wondering how many house birds I have :)

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    1. kim: Welcome and thank you. I suspect you will find that there are a LOT of house birds. I was suprised at just how many we have. This is not even 'most' of them. Which is one way of knowing they are an obsession...

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