A Springtime Tea

 The Calendar says it is spring.  But there are still some flurries in the forecast.  Each time the season changes it seems hard for it to take full control. So patience is necessary.  Meanwhile though the yard is beginning to look like it needs mowing.  That is a GOOD sign.

The following is a springtime tea I set up last year.  I decided I should share it again because I really liked it and I know many of you probably haven't seen it.   

The tea set itself is a pretty glass set of teapot, sugar and creamer. 

 This teapot is special because it includes the infuser for the loose tea...............................

I decided to use the pretty little hand painted Nippon plate for my sweets. 

And this Colclough hand painted cup and saucer.

 

 And finally, here is closeup my garden journal.  I like to fill it up to refer back to each year.

Thanks for joining me for tea today and hope you visit all the other Tea Time blogs as well.

I have joined with the following Tea Cup Tuesday Tea Parties.

Hope you will visit them too.

Some may not be there from week to week but be sure to check.

Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage *

 Martha at Martha's Favorites *

Bernideen's Tea-time Blog *
Ruth's Antiques and Teacups *

Spring is Here... and we are getting April showers a few days early.    As I drive around town I am enjoying seeing daffodils everywhere.  AND everywhere I look I see Forsythia in full bloom.
In addition I have noticed some of the flowering trees are doing their thing.  Down the road a bit are some VERY pretty Tulip (Magnolia) Trees.  It feels like they are a little early. But I am enjoying seeing them.

This week I am showing your a little Japanese Tea Cup and saucer I found at a local flea market a while ago.   I though it was very pretty.  Not my usual style so didn't buy it.  But you KNOW I had to take a couple of pictures just to show you of course.

I thought they were very pretty.

  Also here are a couple of pictures of things I saw when we when to a flea market a couple of weeks ago. (On one of those lovely March Days we get occasionally.)

The temperatures are beginning their subtle climb so hope we can back there again in another week or so.


I still didn't get to do ANY sewing this week as life continued to get in the way.  I  hope to get back to it in April. (wow that is just a few  days away!)  But by then the patterns for my block of the month quilt will be available. And I hope to get going on them.

I am joining with the following Tea Parties and blog parties.

  These may not be available every week so check to be sure.

Hope you will visit them too.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME 

 Martha at Martha's Favorites *

Bernideen's Tea-time Blog *
Ruth's Antiques  Teacups *

Share your cup  Thursday*

Spring

 

Spring is HERE and even though the weather folks were calling for a big snowstorm to welcome the season we were thankful it didn't materialize.  A drive around town yesterday let me see all the daffodils that are blooming in various sunny spots.  And the trees are budding.  Our grass has greened up so much it won't be long before we hear the sounds of lawnmowers.

Since it is Spring I decided I needed to find my prettiest spring like teacup and saucer to share with you today.  I love this pretty little tea cup and it definitely reminds me of spring.

 

I didn't get to do ANY sewing this week as life got in the way.  I imagine I probably won't be able to again until April.  But by then the new blocks for my block of the month quilt will be available.

I am joining with the following Tea Parties and blog parties.

  These may not be available every week so check to be sure.

Hope you will visit them too.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME 

 Martha at Martha's Favorites *

Bernideen's Tea-time Blog *
Ruth's Antiques  Teacups *

Share your cup  Thursday*

St. Patrick's Day Tea Party and some more quilting.

 

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 Happy St. Patrick's Day

Since I am married to an Irishman you KNOW we will celebrate the day one way or another.

He probably won't want a tea party but I will still have one for myself!!

I actually only have one cup and saucer set that is really suitable for St. Patrick's Day.  It is of course Royal Albert and called, appropriately enough, Shamrock.

But mixing it with a few other things I think it will work just fine!!

I started on the patterns for the second month of my current Block of the Month project called Simple Traditions Quilt along.   I decided I would enjoy seeing the "progress" so I made up a master background and am adding little pics of the squares as they are completed and placing them where they will go.  I did this on another quilt along a while ago and really loved seeing my progress.  By October this should be all filled in.

I am joining with the following Tea Parties and blog parties.

  These may not be available every week so check to be sure.

Hope you will visit them too.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME 

 Martha at Martha's Favorites *

Bernideen's Tea-time Blog *
Ruth's Antiques  Teacups *

Share your cup  Thursday*

How about a new take on Banana Bread for your teaparty

 

This week I stumbled across this recipe for Banana Bread at a favorite recipe site called

Just A Pinch.

I love Banana Bread and have been making it for years using the recipe in James Beard's cookbook..  On Bread.   I found this recipe which is a different take on Banana Bread and decided to try it.  So far my family is enjoying it.  I made two loaves the the first one was almost done on the first day.

The recipe is called..... Aunt Lynda's Cream Cheese filled banana bread.   You can find the recipe by clicking on the title.

It was a bit of work but so worth it.......

 

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For this week's tea party I am reprising a blog post I did two years ago featuring my personal collection of Riviera Dinnerware by Homer Laughlin.

With the addition of the yellow and white daisies I think it is quite springlike and spring is what we are waiting for............... This week the temps are starting to head upward which is welcome.

 

  Many of you are probably familiar with Fiesta.  But Homer Laughlin made other patterns at that time.  One was this one called Riviera using the plate design called Century.  It was available at JJ Newberry.  and The Murphy Co. (similar to Woolworths)

Riviera is available in the same colors as Fiesta....  but is a very different shape. We like it so much we have been collecting the green color for many years and as a result probably have almost every different item they sold.

(they made it in other colors and the blue one and the yellow one go nicely together.)

If I was going to have a tea party using this pattern these are the pieces I would probably use.

There was a teapot but that is one thing we have not found.   We have all sizes of plates and platters, bowls in several sizes, a large pitcher and a covered vegetable dish.  All in addition to the pieces I have shown above.

Sugar and Creamer

         Interestingly enough this sugar bowl is just a smaller version of their casserole dish.

cup and saucer

Fruit Bowl

2 tiered server

Be  sure to check in again next week.  I will be celebrating St. Patrick's Day and also have some more completed quilt squares to show you.

I am joining with the following Tea Parties and blog parties.

  These may not be available every week so check to be sure.

Hope you will visit them too.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME 

 Martha at Martha's Favorites *

Bernideen's Tea-time Blog *
Ruth's Antiques  Teacups *

Share your cup  Thursday*

Teapots and Quilts

Spring is due in March but it is still cold enough to REALLY enjoy a hot cup of tea.

 As my regular followers probably know I READ A LOT.  I almost always have a book handy.....  So when I saw this teapot available on ETSY I thought how much I would love to have it.  Unfortunately it is a big pricey for me but I do love it.  They also have a single cup style that is a bit more in my price range.  I wish I liked it as much as the first one. We shall have to see.  But meanwhile here are the two teapots I am talking about.  If you want to learn more about them and the seller click on the picture and it will take you to the sale page...........

 The classic authors tea pot...

The Poetry Books Teapot

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As February draws to a close I continue to be amazed at how fast time flies.  Must be having a LOT of fun as the saying goes.

This past week I started a new quilt project.  It is a Block of the Month style, ,(this one actually has 3 blocks a month.)  Because I am on the continuing mission to use up my stash of fabric this is a perfect one.   It will be comprised of 30 squares and I am making them "scrappy" to use up my existing fabric but they will have the one common denominator.....  a cream colored fabric I had bought a lot of awhile ago and never used. And various blues and reds.

Here are the first three blocks that I finished this past week.  Now I have to wait a few weeks before the next pattern arrives!   If you think this is something that might interest you, you can  check it out on Craftsy... (and, no, I am not getting any payment for mentioning this here.)  See below for the link for Craftsy.  (It is a relatively inexpensive project. (if you use fabrics from your stash!!!)  Just $2 USD a month for 10 months.  You will get the pattern for three blocks each month.

Here is a link.........   Simple Traditions BOM on Craftsy..........    And if you decide to do this.... you can join the facebook group to get lots of fun inspiration.        Simple Traditions Facebook Group.   You will have to join the group to read it but it has been worth it so far!!!

And here is a picture of a few of the bulbs coming up in one of my garden areas.  That means Spring MUST be near.........  And YES, I think that hole in upper right part of picture leads to the "home" of the resident chipmunk.  LOL

 

I am joining with the following Tea Parties and blog parties.

  These may not be available every week so check to be sure.

Hope you will visit them too.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME 

 Martha at Martha's Favorites *

Bernideen's Tea-time Blog *
Ruth's Antiques  Teacups *

Share your cup  Thursday*

And the heart beats on..................

As February marches along so do the hearts.  This is the Art Journal Page I did for the month of February.  I told you last week I would share it this week.

Our cold weather of last week disappeared for a bit and brought a LOT of rain.  And finally this rainbow.

This is was the scene across the road from our house after the storm.  It didn't last long but it was lovely while it lasted.


The day I started writing this post was not very nice so I stayed in and did some crafting and had some of this tea...  It is called cranberry autumn by Harney and Sons.  I found it at Barnes and Noble in the fall.  I only have it occasionally but always enjoy it when I do.

The mug I am using was made by Buffalo Pottery a LONG time ago.  You can see the mark below with a possible date.  Sometimes, when I need the tea for warmth I like to have it one of these heavy mugs.

 

Here is the mark.  It says 1911 but don't know exactly what they means.  It is for sure that the mug is old.   I am sorry the mark is a bit hard to read but that is the way it is printed on the mug.

 

 

I am joining with the following Tea Parties and blog parties.

  These may not be available every week so check to be sure.

Hope you will visit them too.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME 

 Martha at Martha's Favorites *

Bernideen's Tea-time Blog *
Ruth's Antiques  Teacups *

Share your cup  Thursday*