Pink Saturday

The sweetest pink chandelier is hanging at SuzAnna's Antiques this week. Hurry over if you are anywhere near Raleigh, North Carolina!


I almost wish I had a little girl's room to redecorate. The chandelier has pink arms, pink and green roses and even pink ribbons, all delightfully illuminated by bunches of sparkling crystal beads.



Visit Beverly at How Sweet The Sound, our Pink Saturday hostess..................plenty of pink posts will be listed and awaiting your visit. Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Cushy cushions.............

Sometimes a little lazy, other times a tad disorganized. Me. I put this sewing job off far too long. Last year I bought this gold and brown fabric, 'Zoo Toile'. Printed with monkeys and elephants in vintage zoo cages, trees in the background, thought it would look good on the porch wicker chairs, and stashed it away in hopes the sewing machine would soon be cranked up. Somehow, along the way, the birds discovered my cushions and pecked their way through to the stuffing, pulling out pieces to line their nests in the early Spring. I really didn't mind though, I love having feathered friends visit the porch.

Surprise...............today the cushions are looking so smart and crisp dressed in their toile covers at last! I hired my wonderful friend Vanessa to sew for me. She's so handy when it comes to creating pretty things for the home. Perhaps I will have to hide them away come Spring when the nesting instinct takes over again!

When Vanessa delivered the cushions this morning we gulped down a quick coffee, a fresh-baked Trader Joe's croissant, and headed out to a couple of Raleigh's finest............Pirate's Chest and Revival Antiques for some treasure hunting. More on that another time.

October Morning

Today, no cockerel crowed to start my day, but I did awake to a clear, cooler, sunny morning. The newly seeded grass is soaking up the night time dew.......and the little sprinkling I gave it last evening. The brilliant green of tiny new blades, so beautiful. The new coolness in the air refreshes the spirit and energizes the body. Soon the mosquitoes will disappear and I can get out and work in the garden again. Lots of work ahead........Autumn is a busy season. Aren't they all in their own way?

Welcome beautiful October. Month of my birth. Time of the year I enjoy most. This October will mark my forty seventh year in this amazing country. I will celebrate by heading to the North Carolina mountains soon, where I'll meet some special blogging friends, and just enjoy the beauty of Nature dressed for Autumn.

Illustration by Edith Holden from 'The Country Diary of An Edwardian Lady'.

Don't you love tassels?

My lovely friend Vanessa knows exactly what I like........and what will look perfect in my home. Last week she handed me a pretty gift bag holding a bottle of sweet smelling linen spray and this beautiful French blue tassel. Thank you so much Vanessa.

I knew where it would look great at home. Off came the dowdy beige tassel which had been dangling from the nickel and crystal knob. You can see this blue one is quite elegant here on the sideboard in the dining room.

Tassels can be used in so many ways around your home, visit here for some great ideas.

The beauty of burlap!

I'm sure you've noticed that natural fibers have become extremely popular for home decor lately. I've had an ongoing love of linen fabrics since I started sewing as a teen.......a million years ago! Linen has now been joined by hemp, burlap, and hessian which is made from hemp and jute.

Hemp is the gorgeous one - the one the French grain sacks were made from, the sacks we all swoon over when made into cushion covers or used as upholstery for chairs and sofas......the most expensive one of course, but it's soft, non-scratchy and washable.

Natural burlap generously shared by friend Vanessa.

But don't pass up burlap. Very inexpensive, even comes in colors although I prefer the natural shade. The softer version is being used now for drapes. Small sewing projects such as table runners and place mats are easy - very Autumnal with pumpkins and gourds - you can even glue the edges if you don't sew. One of my weekend projects was recovering one of the dining room chair seats with natural burlap - love the country French look.
One important tip, don't ever try laundering burlap in your washing machine as Vanessa did! Like her, YOU will be picking tiny fibers out of your clothes for a long, long time! I'm considering trying hand-washing a piece...............anyone know if that works?

No pitcher, but what a bowl..........

Isn't this a delightful old bowl? Creamy white decorated with pale blue-gray dandelions. Even weeds can look beautiful on china! One small crack, a little crazing, just perfect!

If you collect antique or vintage china you may well have an old washbowl and pitcher set. I've never considered collecting these as they are large............don't forget, my home is a small cottage! My largest pieces were the collection of white soup tureens that fit perfectly on my shelves. However, last week when treasure hunting with my Brazilian friend, Vanessa, my heart thumped when I spied this bowl, without a pitcher, in one of those somewhat redundant second hand furniture shops. Among some ugly plaid sofas and blond wood frame futons, there were a few really nice treasures tucked away in china cabinets or sitting on fifties style tables. Old silver, a couple of framed French music sheets, sets of dinnerware and this lovely old wash bowl. Marked $15 but actually 'on sale' for just $12, what a great find!

My bowl fits in well on the dining room table.

One never knows what treasure will show up in an unexpected place. No identifying marks on the base so cannot date it - my guess would be early 1900's as the design is a single color transfer. Any ideas as to age would be welcomed.

Before 'ROYAL' Doulton

Visiting with a friend at the Pirates Chest, the antiques mall where I recently purchased the fabulous chandelier for the dining room, I discovered a little stack of plates. Imperfect, somewhat primitive transferware. A little crazed and stained, but not chipped, obviously old. Creamy white with the prettiest blue-gray chrysanthemums.

You know the feeling. You're drawn to something, leave it behind, then think about it so often you just have to go back in hopes it's still there. I was intrigued by the back stamp on the plates, Doulton's Chrysanthemum Burslem.

They were still there, the price firm due to their age. I purchased three - they would work fine for decorative purposes, not going to eat off them because I fear their age means possible lead paint.

The Internet, ever the amazing education tool, took a lot of searching to discover more about Doulton prior to receiving the Royal Warrant from King Edward VII in 1901. A crown was added to the British lion and the classic brand name, Royal Doulton, became synonymous with the finest English china throughout the world.

In 1877, founder John Doulton's son Henry had bought a factory at Burslem in Stoke-on-Trent, a city known as 'The Potteries' and the home of English bone china. Other famous potters there were Wedgwood, Minton, Beswick and Royal Adderly. Henry Doulton's early success came from earthenware decorated in the limited colors available from lead glaze at that time, and it was then that he expanded into tableware. These, I believe, are what my dishes are so that would date them between 1877-1884 as after that period Doulton tableware changed from earthenware to bone china.

How amazing that household items such as easily broken dishes can last 125 years or more. These plates crossed the pond in the hold of a rolling ship, adorned a table perhaps in Boston or New York, then were carefully wrapped and brought South by road or railroad, to be used again and again until they crazed from hot water and daily handling. The stains on two of them look as if they were then used to hold potted plants. Whatever the history it is wonderful that they have lasted this long.

Next time you'll see that I'm on a blue-gray china roll...........I found something else when treasure hunting with another friend on Thursday............and I just love it!!!