HAPPY EASTER

 

TIME FOR VIOLETS

About the time the calendar said spring was here,

we got a freeze which really damaged my garden.  

The lilacs had started to have buds and leaves and

now those parts are quite brown so this year who

knows....we just take it as it comes.  In the meantime

we will cover the table with violets:

I have loved violets all my life.

Because I have such a fondness for old vintage linens I decided to set my table with an old

1950-60's violet tablecloth, an embroidered

topper, etc.

 

Someone very sweet must of made that

little violet doily above.  I love it.

I hope your springtime brings some violets!

BEATRIX POTTER FIGURINES

In the springtime I find myself always thinking

 about Beatrix Potter.  I loved that sweet movie

that came out years ago, "Miss Potter".  I

love so many different types of people from

the past:  Beatrix Potter, Tasha Tudor,

Jane Austen,  L. M. Montgomery, the

Bronte Sisters and Edith Holden.  It's not

 that I like every single thing about them but

 rather I choose to focus on the characteristics

I like best.  

We have been watching the Road to

Avonlea series recently and we just love it.

But we have our favorites episodes and our

 favorite characters.  I think what we love is

the idea of "community" - people who know

their neighbors and support one another.

Back to Beatrix Potter:

We have some daffodils and hellebores and

pussy willows so I did my first little bouquet.

I have been so excited to see some of the earliest

bulbs appear.  I do know that winter isn't over

 and tomorrow for example, is supposed to

 be ugly!

In Iowa maybe a blizzard - oh boy!

Doing this post,  I have pulled out these little

figurines which I collected many years ago.

This doll has stirred up memories for me

as I have a friend who is turning 80 years

old soon.  I met her when I was 17 and we

were both attending a small Iowa Bible

College.  During the 1980's she lived

in Toronto, Canada and we went for

several visits there to see her family and 

on one of the visits we went to a gal's

farmhouse who sold antiques and vintage

items and I 

purchased

this doll from her.

Beatrix Potter certainly left a wonderful

legacy which so many celebrate today.

I hope your springtime

comes very soon!

GREEN TRANSFERWARE FOR SPRING

 When March arrives we know that spring is soon

to arrive and we get so excited.  One of the things

I like about living in Missouri is that winter is

a brief season.  There are actually four different

seasons and spring is definitely a favorite one.

To me, this green transferware marks the

upcoming arrival of spring.

I recently had cataract surgery on both eyes so my

second surgery (they do one at a time with 2 weeks in

between) was this week.  I can already see so much better

so I am thrilled about that and looking forward to

seeing my garden come to life.

Over the years I have shared this green embroidered table-

cloth my Grandmother did for me when I got married.

It is a small topper and a tablecloth which I put

over an old Quaker lace larger tablecloth.  There

are napkins to match and I cut up one years back

to make a tea cosy.

Do you collect any English transferware?

This pattern is called "The Florentine" by Johnson

Brothers and is hard to find.  Many date it to around

1913 which means it is very old.  I have 5 saucers and I am

always looking for the needed 5 cups to finish

them as a set.  In the meantime, I have some mix and

match.

 How do you spell the word "cosy or cozy"?

I have recently started spelling it "cosy" because

Etsy seems to want me to spell it that way.  

As you can see there are other types of green

English transferware.  I love them all.

These dishes are brighter green but there is also quite

a lot of darker green and teal green to collect.  I

only collect the spring green.

I don't know if this has ever happened to you but

I was enfluenced many years ago as I saw Carolyn

Aiken share on her blog about her love for transferware. 

 You can find her on Instagram which by the way, I enjoy 

Instagram immensely.

VALENTINES DAY MAKES FOR FUN TABLE SETTING!

 

If you enjoy doing table settings you might have a similar

problem as I do.  Without thinking, it's easy to do it the same

the way next time!  I noticed that before so I decided to grab

a different table cloth this year and start there for this 

Valentine

table setting.

Last year I put out the plates that I now have above in

my armoire so I purposefully chose differently this time.

The little Valentine angel is a Nicol Sayre creation.

I have these little heart shaped plates from the

90's that are fun with Victorian style clip art and

 I mixed them with some USA red transferware

called "English Abbey".  The white plates from

are from Czechoslovakia with a pattern name 

"Bernadotte".

I had made the tea cosy last year.  The fabric

is by Cynthia Hart The Gifted Line.  The plates inside

the armoire are Victorian images of romantic

couples that are by Adams and are English.

I think I got the fabric for this tablecloth on Ebay.

I also made a runner for the buffet.

I also want to say you might not like my style of things

and I am ok with that! I don't ever remember a time when 

there were so many different styles.

Here are some Cupid vintage napkins I found a year

or 2 ago:

As a senior, I really enjoy table setting even if I

am not having anyone for dinner.  I go from season

to season or holiday and especially love that I have

flowers in the garden to enjoy making bouquets for

the table.  Do you enjoy table setting?