Peacock Bag

Some time last summer I discovered this design of nine funky peacocks on Pinterest.  I had a heck of time finding the original source pattern as often happens with those pins, but I put on my x-stitch detective hat and kept looking.  I finally found it in an on-line only magazine,  Antique Sampler Stitcher  Issue 8, August/September 2009.  I had never heard of this magazine before. It has very homegrown amateur feel about it.  They sell back issues pretty cheap so I took a chance and ordered it.  I received the .pdf file in a wink so I'm at least one customer who can vouch for the site in case you see anything you like there.

This design was earmarked to become a sling bag at that time.  But somehow, I kept getting interrupted to stitch other things.  I'm usually a one-project-at-a-time stitcher so I don't exactly know how it got delayed.  Anyway I finally got around to completing the stitching and managed to take a slice of time to finish the sewing.  I used the suggested DMC colors, but the finish is much paler than the model in the magazine.  At first I was disappointed, but now I've come to appreciate the subtlety.  I mean who wants to scream "Peacocks!"  wherever they go.

The fabric is 36 ct Edinburgh Summer Khaki linen.  This one uses iron-on fusible craft fleece for stability and it came out with just the right amount of stiffness. Sometimes I have trouble getting that stuff to adhere properly to the fabric, but this time it worked out fine.  I think I may not have had my steam iron set hot enough on some previous attempts.  Final size is about 7"x8", perfect for most of my needs.