Cockerel Glory

Rummaging through florals there came a golden glow from the depths. Marie-Magali was scrunched up and forgotten among dark prints and unloved discarded textiles.

I was speechless at the beauty of this piece of fabric. I loved the detailing of the feathers on the bird's tail and the simplistic illustration of the ferns around. The colour palette was also what drew mew in, the golden yellow background with earthy browns and greens and just a splash of pinky rouge.

In all honesty I'm not sure what kind of bird this is. I'd be keen to know your views. From the tail i'd say it was a cockerel, however it seems too short, with a chunky neck and a flat head. Similarly this also crosses out a pheasant. Perhaps this is an exotic bird not local to Europe.

I'm not sure how to date this fabric at all. I would take a guess at the 1950's or 60's. However, the fabric has already been cut into, cut around so I would have been missing much of the original item. Again at a guess I would say the fabric was originally a circular table cloth, as the print had a central fern. It's just a plain shot in the dark.

In any case, the cockerel's stance and colours are beautiful, there is almost a painted aesthetic quality to the printed illustration. Only a handful of colours have been used but shadows depict his movements and how he is puffing out his neck feathers.

The bottom striped fabric, was also a lucky find. A box of lace and random ribbon came into my possession. Most of the pieces I had no idea what they would have been from and also what I could do with them. My guess would be that it was a wide ribbon for medals as there were similar ribbons with medals on. But it does seem a little too wide. This striped band was very sumptuous but I simply couldn't find a project to include it in.

The Marie-Magali cockerel came along and the colours just merged. I also felt it finished the square cushion well. Added a little something different and interesting. The two were a match made in textile heaven. The creams matched the golden glows of the cotton cockerel background and the pink-rouge also was a match.

The Marie-Magali cushion now looks very much French inspired. I can see it in a rustic French cottage, or perhaps as an outdoor seating cushion, or even in a kitchen, perhaps with similar cockerel prints.

Marie-Magali is looking for a loving home, so be sure to welcome this cushion to your sofa, chair or cushion corner.

Marie-Magali is a cushion cover, but you can also purchase the inner cushion on the Marie V site to fill up Marie-Magali.

If you have any insight on the Marie-Magali fabrics then please leave your comments as I'm keen to know more!

Thanks

Marie V

I'm a little blue bird...

I have been given the most beautiful printed fabric in shades of blue and cream. I fell in-love immediately, almost rivalling how much I like Mr M, but let's not mention that to him.

The gorgeous illustrated birds in flight amidst exotic flowers has been hand illustrated with 4 or 5 different shades of blue depicting the detail. The birds, in various motions, are simply illustrated, with the various shades detailing their feathers.

The blues gradually lighten and darken making shadows amidst the petals and the birds wings. The larger leaves look almost like bamboo or willow, alongside the blue colour palette, I'm sure the print has been inspired by the orient.

I would date this fabric back to the 1910's or 1920's. It unfortunately has suffered through the years, but it is clear it has been displayed for people's enjoyment. And after all that is what printed fabrics are created for. The cotton has been woven, and unfortunately in certain areas this has worn thin.

I've had the fabric a little while. It was found at the bottom of a trunk and had clearly been folded away several years. Unfortunately there are a few fold lines across the print.

I wanted to use the blue bird print fabric for something extra special, where the fabric could be seen everyday and bring joy to the users, myself and Mr M.

Mr M. and I have recently had our living room decorated in pale eau de nil, by Laura Ashley. Its a fresh blue and green colour, welcoming and warm. This colour would have been popular around the Victorian era but probably not used in a living room but more likely in a bedroom or bathroom.

Fittingly, the blue bird fabric was perfect to sit in the room. There was not much of the fabric, so it had to be used sparingly. I had just enough to make two cushions for our sofa and a little left over for Marie-Reine. 

Our sofa is our pride and joy in the living room. It took us almost six months to choose the perfect sofa. Although it usually isn't such an ordeal for most people, it really was for us. We're rather particular about comfort and height.

After having sampled most sofa's across London, old and new, we ended up splashing out for a rather expensive sofa. However, it's deep enough to curl your legs up, and low enough for my extremely short legs!

I decided against piping around the edges to keep the cushion simple and focus attention on the print itself. The original lining fabric, in cream, the blue bird fabric was attached to was used as the backing fabric. This may have been a mistake as it is extremely thin and frail and has already worn thin. We'll call it character!

Marie V

Marie V in Egypt

Through all the stress of getting Marie V back online Mr M decided it would be good to take time off from everything and take a trip somewhere exotic, or in his words 'anywhere but London'.

I wanted somewhere hot and he wanted activity. We found an amazing bargain, a cruise on the Nile in Egypt. We never considered a cruise, but this deal offered a beautiful cabin and a full schedule of excursions and obviously forty degree heat.

We packed our linens and straw hats and braved the cool British weather in time to make our flight to Luxor.

The cruise was splendid as was the dry and 'warm' weather. The cabin was luxurious and the excursions were well explained by eager Egyptologists. We enjoyed Solo Wist card games with some keen card players.

I myself was taken ill very early into our trip, missing on half of the excursions and the fabled Valley of The Kings, this promises another trip very soon! However, I did have a chance to browse the Egyptian textiles.

Unfortunately most textiles in Egypt, like most souvenirs, are actually made in China. Even 'Egyptian Cotton' is manufactured in China, which is rather disappointing. Aside from this dismay, the printed textiles are superb, regardless of whether it's manufactured in Egypt, China or further afield.

I was very impressed in the colour palettes and the prints across fashion and interior pieces. In particular table cloth and napkin sets with beautiful lotus flower and birds flying prints.

Salesmen would take their boats out to our sailing ship and, cunningly, throw onto the boat samples of their products. A great ploy to make the women purchase their pieces. The sample was passed around the ship and the salesman would have several demands. The worry was how to get the money down to him and not into the water!

Egyptian art and print, whether modern or from 3000years BC, is so unique. I enjoy the basic designs which are en-richened by colour.

Mr M was keen to bring back as much of the excursions to me, back on the boat, as possible. Not only was he snapping 100 images an hour but brought me sand, sacred scarab gems and more. He got involved with a local seller and bought the Eye of Horus, a print, on Papyrus.

The Eye of Horus is an ancient symbol for good health and protection. This sumptuous print is stunning, surrounded by gold gilt, the deep blue colours really brings out the shape and character of this symbol.

I thoroughly recommend visiting Egypt as soon as possible. The revolutions earlier this year have meant that there are less tourists. This is fantastic for us as tourists, low prices and fewer tourist groups, but negative for the Egyptian economy.

Go visit!