Red Rose Tea

I was introduced to Red Rose Tea many years ago while visiting with my husband's family in New Brunswick, Canada.  It is a very popular brand of tea in Canada.  (Should I admit here that I prefer the Canadian brand called King Cole Tea ?????.)

But back to the Red Rose Tea.  There is a wikipedia entry about Red Rose Tea where you can learn lots about the brand.     (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Rose_Tea)

Red Rose tea is probably best known, after the tea itself, for all the premiums they offered in their boxes.

 Here is a picture showing some of the nursery rhyme characters that were offered in one of the early series. They offered many animals as well.   They now give out the little figurines in US tea but they aren't nearly is nice in my humble opinion.  Mostly because they don't have any hand painting like the ones given out in Canada.


The reason I am mentioning this now is because I wanted to show you an interesting cup and saucer that was also a premium they offered a while ago.  Actually it was a set of three tea cups and I only have one but you will get the idea. The set was three cups and apparently there was a little booklet that told how to read the leaves.  I don't have any of that but here is the cup and saucer I do have.

I am certainly not into tea leaf reading however I think it is an interesting idea to see the cups to use.  I might add that in Canada the normal Red Rose tea is in little gauze bags called "sachets." Unlike our cheap paper tea bags.  Also the gauze bag generally is good for up three cups of tea(depending on how strong you like it.) Because of this there are no loose tea leaves so no leaves to read.  

After you visit my post today be sure to check out  these other tea posts.

http://www.marthasfavorites.com/

or http://artfulaffirmations.blogspot.com

                                                            ALSO: Rose Chintz Cottage

Two quilt projects FINISHED!

Last night I finished up the binding on a table runner I just made.  And a couple of days before that I put some binding on a wall hanging I made a while back.

I am only just learning the proper way to bind quilts and this is my second and third attempt.  I showed you the first one a week or two ago.

The first quilt I finished this week is one I actually finished making awhile ago but since I didn't know how to put the binding on the right way I had been putting it off.  After my binding class a couple of weeks ago I now have pretty much the required confidence to do it.  It isn't hard but you need to know the correct technique to do it properly.
Here is a picture of the wall hanging quilt.  The center section was a pre-printed panel.  I added the two inner borders and pieced the small quares on the outer border.  I think this will look nice up on the bedroom wall for the summer.

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   The next picture is of the table runner I made.  This one proved a challenge in two ways.  I had never done much machine applique so had to go slowly as I learned.  And the second thing was the binding.  Most quilts have 90degree corners like the one in the picture above so putting on the binding is pretty straight forward.
The one below here has 135 degree corners so I had some learning to do.  I was ale to find a great site on the internet where I could learn how to do it.  So now I have even more confidence in putting on a border. 
 Below I have listed the two links to locations I used in these projects.

To make a standard 90 degree quilt binding:
 http://heatherbailey.typepad.com/photos/continuous_quiltbinding/index.html

And to make the border I did on the table runner:
   http://ankastreasures.wordpress.com/2011/01/03/binding-odd-angles/

I wonder what new thing I will have to learn on my next project.

Blue and White

 A blogging friend of mine at Garden of Daisies recently wrote about the blue and white dishes called Liberty Blue which were given out in grocery stores in honor of our Bicentennial.   I thought I would expand on the blue and white theme to share a few pics of some of my collection.

I have been using Blue Willow for many years since I was able to get it free from the Shop and Save grocery stores up in Maine, back in the early 80s. Since then I have added to the collection at yard sales, auctions and flea markets.   It is the standard blue willow pattern  but made to last a lot longer than the blue willow you can find from Japan which is often thin and somewhat fragile.

I use that too though. If it is blue and white I probably have a piece of two of it.

It really all started when a Canadian cousin of ours, Helen, gave me an Antique blue and white plate.

 You really can't tell the difference in this picture between new and old Blue Willow but here is the mark on the plate.

 The cup and saucer in the picture are from Japan in the Occupied era.  So that puts it in the late 40s.  I like the way it has the design in the cup too.  Newer ones do not.

 I decided right then and there I would start looking for blue and white dishes to display in a new (actually very old antique) cupboard we had purchases. (The cabinet was purchased in a group shop in Michigan on a trip to the Midwest.) At first I didn't have much luck but then the grocery store started giving these dishes out and I was set.

Because I own an antique shop and must constantly be on the lookout for inventory I am now able to find a lot more than I did back then (before shop).  Because all the plates and cup and saucers look pretty much the same I won't show them but here are a few other things I have.

And I won't bore you with the Blue Willow legend behind the designs... there are plenty of places on the Internet to learn about that.

I think that the clean crisp look of Blue and White is probably what appeals to folks and I have found that food looks pretty appetizing on the plates though some might not agree.

As I mentioned Liberty Blue was given out in grocery stores at the time of our Bicentennial.
 Here is an example.

And then Blue Willow in the 80s.  Another set of dishes was also given out in the area I live in now,(in Pennsylvania)and it was called Shakespeare Country.  I have been able to find a LOT of that to sell in my shop since it was given out in this area.  It probably was in other areas as well but I can't say for sure.
    

In addition I know there is another set of dishes called Shakespeare country manufactured by a favorite maker of mine...  Homer Laughlin (who made Fiesta among MANY other patterns.) I don't particularly care for this version of Shakespeare Country and unfortunately  I don't have any examples of it at the moment.  The other one... by Royal Essex is so much prettier to my eyes.

Blue and White china seems to be the most prolific of this type of china.  However the transfer ware is also done in  green, brown, red and even a few in black.  And of course they very pretty purple I showed you last week.  And there are a number of the brown and white versions that have some added color as well such as the Friendly Village pattern.   I will save that for another day.
 
I hope you enjoyed this very brief looks at my blue and white china.

After you visit my post today be sure to check out  these other tea posts today.

http://www.marthasfavorites.com/

or http://artfulaffirmations.blogspot.com

                                                                                    ALSO: Rose Chintz Cottage

No Teacup Tuesday for me today

Sorry to say I did not get my tea cup Tuesday post ready for today.  Just too much going on here.  I did start one and by next week it will be finished.

My husband did an antique show the weekend before last and when he returned instead of just putting everything where ever we decided to redo the whole downstairs level of the shop.  It is still a work in progress but looks SO MUCH better. 

In addition to that I have been working on a quilt project, a small runner.  It is ready for the machine quilting now.

So.......  no teacups for me today.  But do check back next week.

Some little quilting projects finally finished.

Last week I attended a class at my local quilt shop and FINALLY learned the really proper way to bind a quilt.  Now mind you I didn't take a big project to the class.  Just this small runner.  But I learned, it is done and I am happy with it.  The project itself took me in a lot of directions.  I saw one like this last summer when I was in Maine.  Someone had made a sample runner with a similar look and it was on display in the fabric dept.  of  Marden's department store in Brewer. Maine.  I loved the idea but they didn't have any patterns.  So I had to figure it out myself.

I did buy the fabric from Mardens to make it and once I got home I started my plan.  Here is the finished project and after you see that I will explain what I did.  Click on it to see it bigger.

 The original one had oak leaves that sort of left the edges so I decided to do the same thing.  I had to find a pattern so I went to google and found a picture which I enlarged and printed out to use as the pattern.
I decided to just machine applique them onto the base and did so using variegated threads to make it a bit more interesting.  I included the batting before I did the stitching so it was actually being quilted at the same time as I was appliquing.

 If you click on the picture to see the image better you will have an idea of what I did.  I used a different stitch to make the stems on the leaves and used a light brown so it would show up as a stem.

By doing this I also cut back on quilting I might need to do.

Finally I knew I needed to "fill up" some of the open spaces so decided to use a pattern for an acorn.  I printed that one out from Google Images as well.  And I found a decorative stitch that I think looked almost like the edge off an acorn would look.  So this is the result.  I am happy with it.

  

 And it is finished, bound and waiting for the fall to go on my dining room table,

In addition to that project, I also started and finished this little mat.  I had seen some place mats like it and I wanted to see two things.  1.  Could I make it  and 2.  Would I like them if I did in my own colors.

 I don't know why the colors look so different in the two pictures.  If you click on this close up one you can better see the little stitches I did.  They serve as quilting but also are nicely decorative I think.

I decided to use some fabric I already had and figured out how to make my own pattern.  Finally after sewing together all the parts I looked through my stitches and found one that I thought would look good.  So here is the end result.  I don't think I will make anymore but I am glad I tried it.  And our phone now has a mat to sit on.

Well, not to just sit back and rest I am now working on a couple more projects I hope to be able to show
you in the next few weeks.  More table runners....  I like them because they aren't such a big project and they are also easier to quilt.

Be sure to come back to visit next Tuesday for Tea Cup Tuesday.  Not sure what I will have to show you yet.  But I have a lot to choose from so it should be good.

Tea Cup Tuesday, first in May

Suddenly it is May.  Time for all the flowers that are supposed to follow after April Showers.  I have planted some pansies to start.  Hope to be able to put out more in the next couple of weeks.

This week I am going to share with you a set of dishes I recently obtained to sell in my shop.  I personally think they are stunning.  And with the color Purple, the transfer ware is not your run of the mill.  Usually you see blue, sometimes green or brown or red but not often Purple.

This set is called Charlotte and is by Royal Staffordshire.   

I have had a hard time learning the full tie in with Clarise Cliff and the Staffordshire China.
I did learn that The Royal Staffordshire Charlotte pattern was designed by Clarice Cliff, from an  engraving produced from original drawings by J. Gotts designer ca 1830.

Clarise Cliff seems to be far more known for her pottery from the 1920s and 30s.  If you want to learn more about that part of her work you can learn more at the Clarise Cliff Collectors Club...
 http://www.claricecliff.com/.   It tells about her more unconventional work of the Art Deco period.  I think that after looking at that work it explains a bit of my confusion on this design.
 I knew of her designs of that type before I found this set.


But no matter.  It is a beautiful set. 

 



After you visit my post today be sure to check out  these other tea posts today.

http://www.marthasfavorites.com/

or http://artfulaffirmations.blogspot.com

                                                                                    ALSO: Rose Chintz Cottage

Fourth Tea Cup Tuesday in April

Another Tuesday, another Tea Cup,  well, three actually.

While visiting my daughter for Easter we found a couple of yard sales to visit on the Saturday we were there.
AND I found some Cup and Saucers to buy.  I was very interested in these because they are from Canada.  My husbands family is from New Brunswick so we always enjoy finding things that represent that area.

This group represents the Canadian Provinces.  The first cup and saucer is one by Paragon that shows all the Provinces and their coat of arms and emblems. This shows the 10 provinces but doesn't mention the three territories.  Maybe they don't have emblems and coat of arms.

Since we have a lot of family in New Brunswick I will show the cup and saucer from the province of New Brunswick first.  It is a Royal Albert teacup and saucer, always a favorite of mine.

I noticed, on the bottom of the New Brunswick cup and saucer,  the mention of "The Loomcrofters."  They are the company that created this particular tartan.  I can't tell you a whole lot about it however I have visited the Loomcrofters.  They are located in a small town called Gagetown that is located on the St. John River.  Just up the road a bit from where my husband's family is from.  We have visited Gagetown many times and visited the Loomcrofters on a couple of different occasions. I know bought a couple of things from them but it was a long time ago and don't remember exactly what but I do remember doing it. 

I found this information on CanadianTartans.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NEW BRUNSWICK
New Brunswick was named in honour of King George III, who was from the House of Brunswick. Designed by the Loomcrofters company in Gagetown - a village on the Saint John River - the tartan was adopted as the official tartan by a provincial Order in Council in 1959. The tartan is registered at the Court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms of Scotland.
The colours are forest green for the lumbering; meadow green for agriculture; blue for the coastal and inland waters; and an interweaving of gold, symbol of the province's potential wealth. The red blocks signify the loyalty and devotion of the early Loyalist settlers and the New Brunswick Regiment.
The brown band commemorates the 'beaver' from Lord Beaverbrook, the press baron who commissioned the first weaving. Although not born there, he published his first newspaper in the province at the age of 13 and always regarded it as home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 I found one for Cape Breton where I have never been. (It is an island off the coast of Nova Scotia and a part of that Province.)  I already had this little tray to match.  I think I bought it in Canada on our last visit.  It is a different maker but the design is identical. The cup and saucer is Royal Albert, once again, a favorite of mine. 

  And the little tray is made by Adderley.

And here is the information, again from CanadianTartans.com about this Tartan.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CAPE BRETON
Cape Breton Island lies off the southeast shore of the province of Nova Scotia, and is a part of that province. But like most Easterners, Cape Bretoners are an independent lot who take pride in their unique heritage.
In 1907, Mrs. Lillian Crewe Walsh, of Glace Bay, Cape Breton, wrote a poem in praise of Cape Breton. She gave that poem to a Mrs.Grant in 1957 who designed a tartan that reflected the poem.
Grey for our Cape Breton Steel
Gold for the golden sunsets shining bright on the lakes of Bras D'or
Green for our lofty mountains,our valleys and our fields
To show us, God's hand has lingered
To Bless Cape Breton's shores.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope you have enjoyed seeing the items I had to show you today.  

After you visit my post   be sure to check out  these other tea posts today.  And please come back again next week!

http://www.marthasfavorites.com/

or http://artfulaffirmations.blogspot.com

   ALSO: Rose Chintz Cottage