November

Where did October go?  Here we are in November already, the time is just flying by.  Time to share The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady  and the Country Diary Book of Crafts.  They are two of my favourite books some of the paintings/drawings are exquisite and the poems and observations that go alongside are a real delight.

The Anglo-Saxon name for November was 'blot-monath;' (blood-month) the latter name probably alluding to the custom of slaughtering cattle about Martinmas for winter consumption.

 

November take flail,

Let no ships sail.'

 

'If there's ice in November that will bear a duck,

There'll be nothing after, but sludge and muck.'

 

The craft book shows some delightful dried flower arrangements and a stunning toadstool, a crochet pot holder which I love.  I actually intend to crochet a couple for gifts.

 

 

 

 

 

I love these two books and although a little dated some of the crafts are relevant today and can be adjusted for modern times the artistry is second to none a real pleasure to browse.  I hope you have enjoyed them as much as I have.

 

See you soon.

September

Where did August go?  September came in a blaze of sunshine and feels like a balmy summer day...Lets hope we are going to have an Indian summer after all.  My summer wreath has been taken down and packed away until next time and replaced with Autumn.  I love the Autumnal colours, rich with nature at its finest.

September according to The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady was the seventh month of the Roman calendar, but is the ninth according to our reckoning.  The Anglo-Saxons called it @gesrt-monath' Barley month. 

 

Some of the illustrations for September are delightful, the House Sparrows and oats is a particular favourite of mine.

There is also a beautiful illustration of a Goldfinch feeding on thistle seed.

The Country Diary Book of Crafts shows the same House Sparrow illustration stating:

     "September blows soft,-

     Till the fruits' in the loft."

 

It also shows a delightful knitted lacy sweater, Sundew.

There is also an embroidered picture, a tapestry drum stool and a crochet cushion cover and shelf edgings.

The patterns are a little old fashioned for todays tastes but the illustrations are still a real delight.

 

What a wonderful month...A big thank you for all your lovely comments, its wonderful to get to know you all.

 

See you soon.

 

 

August

Where did July go?  Here we are into August already, so time to share The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady.

This month received it's present name from the Emperor Augustus and was selected not as being his natal month, but because in it his greatest good fortune happened to him.  As July contained 31 days and August only 30, it was thought necessary to add another day to the latter month, in order that August-us might not be in any respect inferior to Julius.

 

The Country Diary book of crafts holds some real delights, a little dated for todays tastes but beautiful none the less.

 

My favourite is the Poppy tufted heart rug, I keep admiring it but that is as far as it goes.  Admiration from afar and then put back on the bookcase.  May be one day....

 

Thank you for all your lovely comments and suggestions on my last post about the Times magazine.  I have copied the pictures I want, I am now going to mount and frame them for my craft room.  The magazine is on its way back to America where it belongs as I have gifted it  to a dear blogging friendMichelle at www.finchrest.com.

 

See you soon.

June

We are well into June, the time just keeps on flying by.  According to The Country Diary Book of Crafts:

"Mist in May and heat in June
Bring all things into tune."

It really is a delightful book with some amazing illustrations and patterns.  June is the month for an embroidered album cover, an embroidered tablecloth with crochet edging and an embroidered teacosy.  The crochet edging is just beautiful, I intend to use the pattern to edge a couple of towels.

 

Clover fields and grass meadows just conjures up summer for me. 

 

See you soon. 

Horncastle Treasure

Got up this morning to rain, rain and more rain.  One of those really miserable days that was dark, overcast and unrelenting.  A car boot sale was therefore not on the agenda but we did need to get out of the house to blow a few cobwebs away and have a change of scenery.  So Horncastle it was, a perfect place to browse around on a rainy day, with the added bonus of lunch at the Café on the Bridge.

Horncastle is a market town in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, to the south of the Lincolnshire Wolds.  Many moons ago it was famous for its great Horse Fair, these days it is widely known as a centre for the antiques trade and dubbed "The Antiques Capital Of Lincolnshire".  As is normal for me I forgot to take the camera but take it from me it is quite a pretty place with some rather nice buildings.  We were actually looking for some chest of drawers for our guest bedroom but to no avail.  However I did manage to find a Singer tin, I think it is an old tool box.  It will make a welcome addition to my craft room.

My only other find was The Country Diary Book of Crafts, which is an absolute delight.  I have had this book before but it was in very poor condition so it was a dream to find it in perfect condition for just 50p.  A real treasure.

The water colours depicting each month are a sheer delight, along side patterns of crafts such as knitting, crochet, patchwork and quilting, dried flowers, lampshades, tatting, embroidery, tapestry, applique, dressmaking, rug making and toys.  The pictures shown are from the month of May and are exquisite.   The photographs do not do the book justice.

 

All in all, a very nice morning out with the added bonus of spending some lovely time with my dear Mum and a cream scone of course!