Monday Linen Days

An applique with embroidery pillow cover is pretty in pink.

A dish towel I found for 50cents at a garage/tag sale.
There was a note with it that said "Maggie " of the old
Maggie and Jiggs Comics.

A small table cloth with appliqued teapot and embroidery.
I like the applique butterfly on another dish towel.

An embroidered table cloth.

Embroidery shows up a lot on vintage linens. I think it must
have been a way women could be creative in their homes. It
was something easy to pick up when they had a few moments
to put some stitches to cloth. It colored their worlds.
I have been totally amazed at what I have found in my cupboards,
trunk, and linen drawer. Somethings I forgot I had.
I am so glad I decided to share them with you.
Don't forget there will be a linen give away announced on Sept. 14th;
so come back and visit me on two more Monday Linen Days.

Tasha Tudor's Birthday

Today is Tasha Tudor's birthday.
Clarice at Storybook Woods has begun celebrating
and I decided to join the celebration by sharing
one my favorite books about Tasha Tudor.
The book is Tasha Tudor's Heirloom Crafts.
In the book you will see and learn something of
Tasha's quilting, basketry, pottery,
herbs, dried flowers, soap and candle making,
canning, open-hearth cooking, cider making,
dyeing, weaving, lace making, sewing,
marionettes, making toys, and The Dollhouse.
The photography is just beautiful.
I have always loved heirloom crafts and
have treasured this signed copy for many years.
If you come across a copy, enjoy the joy that
Tasha Tudor had for heirloom crafts.

Marmalady's Tea Serving Mat

Announcing!
Marmalady's has just released a new sewing pattern for quilters that love tea.
It is a Tea Serving Mat.
It is an original design by me.
Fun to place under the teapot and cups for serving.
It can be found on marmaladys.etsy.com right now and in the near future on marmaladys.com

Apple Time

The days are becoming shorter,
there is a crispness to the morning air.
This is the time my mind reminds me
of apple harvest time.
The sun still is held in the ground,
as I run barefoot under the
heavy branches of the trees.
I search for the perfect apple and
pluck it from the tree.
The juice runs down my arms,
the flavor is so good.
These are the memories of my girlhood
taking in the sweet, crisp flavor of the apple.

Japanese Tea Ceremony

At the World Tea Expo this year there was an opportunity to participate in a Japanese Tea Ceremony. We were served a tea jelly as a palate cleaner to begin. The Tea Master served each of us individually after he brewed the tea at the end of the table.

The hostess and the Tea Master.

We drank Matcha Green Tea in bowls that were about 100 - 150 years old.

Another very old tea bowl, which I thought was beautiful.
Before the tea ceremony we had to remove jewelry; so that we would not chip the bowls.
Cameras were not allowed in the tea expo; so these were taken on my phone after we were told we could take them here only. Now not being very cell phone technical, I didn't know how to get them off my phone until now. Annie at In My Dreams called me and explained how to share my pictures with you. Thanks so much Annie! I have so much wanted to share the pictures from the Japanese Tea Ceremony.

Monday Linen Days

Today I open my trunk to more linens. You will see embroidery and some crochet.

Small card table size table cloths and large pieces that just drape over the table.

Applique and embroidery plus lots of yellow.

Round table cloths and a small organdy one too.
Decorative edges of crochet or tatting are fun.
Sorting through my linens I was amazed at what was there in
the cupboard and the trunk. There were doilies, tablecloths,
dresser scarves, pillowcases, tea cozies, and aprons.
What fun, I love them all.
Three more weeks to go of Monday Linen Days
and then there will be a special give away. I am not sure what it will be,
but it will be something special from the linen cupboard.

A Woman's Journey

On preparing to take a journey, I have been reading books.
The one just finished is Jenny Walton's Packing for a Woman's Journey
by Nancy Lindemeyer, the first Editor-in-Chief of Victoria Magazine.
You can visit Nancy at her blog: nancylindemeyer.blogspot.com
A paragraph that I enjoyed close to the end of the book:
"If our pages speak to the beauty of a woman's life through the artfulness of the things she has gathered about her, then we are dealing with intangibles that are not easy to quantify. When our country was settled, our foremothers took with them in those covered wagons moving west a teapot from home, candlesticks that had been in the family, a tablecloth embroidered by a great-grandmother in Europe. Holding on to these reminders of home and family gave them the courage to go on."

Have courage as we share together our journey.