Crewel

This is a crewel pillow my mother did decades ago. It is sewn on lovely oatmeal linen with wool that makes me think of Spring.

This is a footstool with a crewel top. My mother started this and I finished it. This was a kit offered by Family Circle Magazine...it included the pattern on linen, the wool, and the little wooden stool. I bought it for my mother as a Christmas gift...decades ago.

A few months ago I went on a search for a good crewel kit and found this...

This is  a kit from The Crewel Work Company in England. Everything was included in the kit , except the frame. I was able to work on it a little bit on our recent trip...

It will work up quickly, and crewel is a forgiving medium...that's a plus. Now I just have to find the time.

Anyone else like crewel? I have a feeling it has been bumped from favor by many other needle arts.

                                                                    Enjoy the day,

                                                                        Robyn

Now that's a tree...

This live oak is a local landmark in Thomasville. It is over three hundred years old and as you can see...it is enormous. 

Saw one of these...an eagle...in a beautiful blue sky.

And went back to the nursery to pick up a few more lamb's ears...snapped some color for you.

 Heading home today...

                                             Enjoy the day,
                                                  Robyn

Thomasville, Georgia

...sky blue chair

Today my daughter and I drove to Thomasville, Georgia...a wonderful town forty two miles north of Tallahassee. At one time, Thomasville was a vacation destination for well to do Northerners. These part time residents built large Victorian estates in town, and plantation homes outside of town. Many of these old Victorians are now bed and breakfast inns, while the plantations have been turned into hunting lodges.
The town retains it's small town charm and it's main street is busy, in a slow Southern way. We come here every January. The best little store in town is Firefly...an eclectic mix of Southern antiques and new goodies you are not likely to see in any chain store.
Donwstairs...the antique pieces are used for displaying all sorts of wonders for sale. Upstairs...you will find true early Southern pieces, many from the plantations in the area.
Enjoy a stroll through Firefly...built from red Georgia clay bricks in the 1880's...the heart pine floors are wonderful!

...blue green plantation desk

...heart pine step back cupboard

                          

...gorgeous  inlay hutch dated 1818

...with initials

...oyster white table

Think I can strap this to the roof of the car?

...scalloped hutch

Now upstairs for a look at some Southern high country pieces...

blue chair...green table

...red table

...gorgeous blue desk

...red trunk

...the very best huntboard

When I see a piece like this it reminds me of pieces in Mary Emmerling's book Country South...this is a very Southern piece from a plantation and was called "Grandaddy" by the family that owned it for generations.

This little guy came home with us...he's the only thing we could afford...no, he's not real, but he sure looks like he is...doesn't he?

Enjoy the evening,

Robyn

Tallahassee

We are in Tallahassee for a few days. We come up once a year and I look forward to it all year. Tallahassee is, of course, the capital of Florida...and home to Florida State University. It is an old Southern city...part of the real old South. It is said that you have to go north in Florida to get to the South...and that is so very true.

 Because of the mild winter weather this year, many of the flowers and trees are already in bloom. The photo above...taken from a moving car...shows azaleas blooming in a city park. The beautiful live oak in the background is draped with Spanish Moss.

This is a photo of the old Capitol building...again taken from the car and of very poor quality. However, the best part of the building...to me...is the candy striped awnings and here you can see them very well. How cool is that? I will try to get a better photo for you...I'll post more about this great city tomorrow.

Go 'Noles!!!

Enjoy the evening,

Robyn

Calico

My dolly has a new dress...well, not new...very old...from the mid 1800's. It is a lovely brown calico with "red"...and polka dots. It's hand sewn...and wonderful. 

So now this very early doll, has a very early calico dress...see her smile?

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

Nest

White tulips...after red, they're my favorite. I love my tulips and when they are available I can't leave the market without a bunch.

This is my "nest"...the place where I spend most of my down time. This is where I blog, read all of you, watch t.v., knit...command central for me. I'm on the left...Mr Mugwump's on the right. This is the sunroom that is always bright and cheery with sunshine.

These...these are the chaise lounges from hell! I ordered these lounges...a left arm and a right arm...with the intention of pushing them together to make a comfy, cuddly space for our family...the three of us.

We ordered them and the chaises arrived very quickly...nine months later the slipcovers arrived. Who would have thought I grew a human being in less amount of time than it took a retail chain to sew together a pair of slipcovers that actually matched? Yep, nine months...that's how long it took. (my daughter was a preemie...eight months). My blood pressure is rising as I recall this ordeal...set after set delivered and returned because nothing matched. They drew lots in Customer Service, somewhere in Ohio, to see who could withstand the rants of...what I am sure they called me.."that crazy woman down in Florida" again. They sent me a mismatched pair "free of charge" after I told them I could not look at "naked" chaises anymore. Finally, they made a "custom" set...all the fabric off one bolt instead of all rights off one, and all lefts off a different bolt...the origin of the problem..duh!

The regional manager told me that corporate changed their whole system of making slipcovers because of my "input"...I'll bet they did. I taught junior high my first year out of college...nuf said?

Whew...anyway, we do enjoy them...they are comfy. Next time...I'll be going to Pottery Barn.

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

Steeples, Finials and Weathervanes

Cow Weathervane

Let me begin by saying I am not a photographer...I'm a tourist. These photos were taken on the fly, and at the time I had no idea I'd be sharing...but they do show the beauty of our country...the beauty of the small things that are around us every day..the simple beauty of a simple subject. To see more detail, enlarge the photos.

Rooster Finial on steeple shown above

When I travel I take a lot of photos. There are a few things I search out when I go to a new place...one is cemeteries...I've shared a bit of my love of old tombstones in an earlier post. Another thing I like to take photos of are church steeples and finials. Here are some of the many wonderful church steeples,  finials and weathervanes I've photographed...mostly in New England.

One of the added pleasures of taking pictures while looking up...beautiful skies.

Nantucket Whale Ship

Horse

Trotter

The three following gold domes are similar, but appear on three different churches. The most well know is the cricket atop Faneuil Hall in Boston. For some reason when I look at these I think of wedding cakes!

Faneuil Hall Cricket   Boston

When you are out and about today...look up!

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

Afternoon light and shadows

I took this photo in the late afternoon as the setting sun cast shadows in our entry way. This old canon crock looks better and better with age. It is rough to the touch and is a lovely, mottled grey and brown.

Every page in this old store ledger bears the date 1883...sales for the entire year are recorded in this beautiful, flowing script. Several names are repeated many times throughout the pages...regular customers...no doubt.

I remember these wonderful leather ladies gloves from my childhood. They were displayed on my grandmother's desk, much the same as they are here. Somewhere in time she gifted them to me. They are a beautiful parchment tan in color, and are so narrow, only the smallest of hands could have worn them. Amazingly, they sport all of their original buttons.

The love of "old" is something I grew up with and never out-grew. Both of my grandmothers had antiques...things that were later passed to my parents, and have since been passed on to me. I love these pieces of old...not for any monetary value they might have...but because they have been part of my life for such a long time.  The loved ones who treasured them might be gone, but I see their faces and hear their voices...every afternoon...in the light, among the shadows.

Enjoy the day,

Robyn