Saturday 4 October 2008

my sister birds


Birds have been far too fashionable of late. Silhouettes, stencils, 3D, 2D, cards, clothing, everywhere!
But I love this fabric. Linen. Vintage. Manky green, teal blue and raspberry red. Yum.
And it's been made into cushions! And soon to be purses and bags. Gorgeous!
I thought maybe the birds needed to learn a bit of humility after all their popularity, so here is St Francis of Assisi's Sermon to the Birds- take it on my fine feathered friends, you got it easy!

"My sister birds, you owe much to God, and you must always and in everyplace give praise to Him (or Her); for He (or She) has given you freedom to wing through the sky and He (or She) has clothed you.... you neither sow nor reap, and God feeds you and gives you rivers and fountains for your thirst, and mountains and valleys for shelter, and tall trees for your nests. And although you neither know how to spin or weave, God dresses you and your children, for the Creator loves you greatly and He (or She) blesses you abundantly. Therefore...... always seek to praise God."

(I love that bit about not knowing how to spin or weave, I have this mental image of little birds at spinning wheels and looms. And of birds collecting wool from barb-wire fences to line their nests. And jackets and dresses made of feathers. You can tell St Francis was the son of a cloth merchant- 'dyed in the wool' as they say.)

By the way the cushions are in the shop today. Hey, I, too, am a merchant of the cloth!


4 comments:

  1. any chance of getting some of this fabric in my order?? please??

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  2. can I say i always think of Francis as the orginal Dr Dolittle? Thanks for this beautiful post Pen - made my weekend xxx Ramona

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  3. I love the story of Francis , as he lay dying, thanking his donkey for carrying him.

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  4. did you know st francis had a mouse phobia? couldn't stand them.
    and on his death bed he asked for cake - that's my sort of saint :)

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