Sunday, May 11, 2008

Useful Beauty

Here's my newest little cross stitch creation. There are plans to make more. It was a gift for my mom on Mother's Day. (Done on a 4" hoop, for those inquiring minds.) I've always enjoyed the beauty of a peacock. The feathers... the extraordinary combination of colors... the "help" holler. What a strange bird! My little bird was inspired by the following pic located below and here.

I'm not the only one who's pondered peacocks. "Remember that the most beautiful things in the world are the most useless; peacocks and lilies, for example."--John Ruskin. (The Stones of Venice, I)

Having never heard of peacock soup or having seen a peacock rug, I'm not sure what sort of real purpose they serve, other than beauty. But, isn't that enough? One of God's creations for us to enjoy.

The Bible (Proverbs 31:30) says that "Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain..." but darned if I don't just love those peacock colors! And this isn't a woman, it's a bird. You can read the whole verse here. And mom deserves something pretty to look at, right?

Another mother's day gift given:

a simple handtowel, stitched with love.


Simple, useful and nice to look at... I've totally redeemed myself!

2 comments:

Mary Child said...

Very impressive; I think hand-made gifts are the best kind to get. It's a labor of love and a sacrifice of one's time... I'm sure the gifts were much appreciated.

And happy Mother's Day to you Diane! Hope it was great!

Anonymous said...

I know your Ma loved to make hand made gifts also. She always did at least one per person on Christmas. They are indeed a labor of love! Your Ma loves both, I know she does.They are both adorable and so what if some beauty is vain. God made beautiful "things" to be appreciated. Like Peacocks. Good job on both items!

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