I have a song running through my head. It goes something like this:

If you love peacocks like I love peacocks… and then there’s something like Oh, what a gal! and some other stuff. I know the tune and I know about a dozen words, and the rest of the song is filled with something, something, something.

I’m pretty sure the song is about a gal named Susie. And I’m pretty sure it has nothing to do with peacocks.

But I do love peacocks, and it fits the tune of the song, so why not?

I especially love peacocks in embroidery. They are a Prime Target for the embroiderer. They beg to be rendered in thread, with their glorious colors and fabulous plumage.

So, needless to say, when Canevas Folies came out with Blue Peacock, I was twitterpated. Let me show you the kit, so you can be twitterpated, too.

Luscious, to say the least!

Canevas Folies is a Swiss embroidery company, and they make gorgeous, exuberant – yet small and manageable – designs and kits for hand embroidery. This is one of their latest.

Blue Peacock is only 4 x 6″, so it’s not a huge embroidery project. This (in my mind) makes it doubly desirable. Because of its size, you know it’s a project that you can reasonably finish in a reasonable amount of time!

The kit is pretty basic: it comes with a cover sporting a finished picture of the design…

…a natural colored linen fabric, with the design printed on it (which is super nice, considering that such a busy design would take an age to transfer!)…

…and very basic instructions which include a color guide and stitch layout.

There’s not much in the way of stitch instructions, with the exception of diagrams for two stitches. The kit assumes you know some embroidery.

The stitches in the piece include stem stitch, chain stitch, French knot, blanket stitch, backstitch, straight stitch, bullion knots, satin stitch, cretan stitch, long & short stitch, detached buttonhole, and double cast-on stitch.

You can find step-by-step or video instruction for all of them right here on Needle ‘n Thread, or in any good stitch dictionary.

The kit also comes with the House of Embroidery specialty threads that are used in the design. A few DMC colors are used as well, and they’re listed in the instructions. You can pick those up locally.

It’s a lovely kit!

I think it would be challenging for beginners – I’d recommend it more for intermediate embroiderers. It has a nice variety of stitches, it makes use of a fantastic color scheme, and it’s small enough to finish it in a short time and have fun the whole while!

So, if you love peacocks like I love peacocks, look it up!

In the US, you can find Blue Peacock through The French Needle. In Europe, you can find it directly through Canevas Folies in Switzerland.

I really want to work this kit.

So many projects. So little time.

*Sigh*

I should have been an octopus.