The Latest Luscious Linens

Time for school again, and so I have my guest room "nursery" mostly to myself once more. It's sort of my think tank where I price shop stuff and manage my linens.

This room is long overdue for an update. But there will always be linens strewn around in here as well. 

I just finished soaking a small tub of linens and pressing them while they were damp. It leaves a crisp smooth finish similar to starching (which I never do). These two small towels I found on my recent travels for just a couple of dollars each. I am partial to all white linens with a crochet trim.

Look closely at the one on top for a butterfly worked in cross-stitch in an ivory thread.

I am crazy about this sort of detail.

This towel also has two different finishes on each end. 

I had mostly success with the soaking. Stains either went away or were much fainter after an overnight soak in Oxyclean and detergent, and a wash on the gentle or hand wash cycle. I never buy linens with terrible stains unless I plan to salvage parts. 

I was thrilled to find a pair of pillowcases with hand knit lace which is quite different from crochet. It is much more delicate, and hard to find in good condition. 

I found this pair of pillowcases with the deep lace trim in a local fleamarket.

You see them just as I found them with an ivory cast which will be lost at the first wash. They are in like-new condition having been carefully kept for at least fifty to seventy years. 

That's some of the latest for me! I haven't worked with linens for awhile. And this is just a small pile. But there are few greater pleasures in the world.

I hope you are getting in a few of your own pleasures as summer is winding down and we are transitioning to other things.

Happy Days!

Jacqueline

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Between Naps on the Porch~Metamorphosis Monday

Savvy Southern Style~Wow Us Wednesdays

New White Pots and a Few Other Finds

Today I'm showing a few of the lovely white pots I got from Guy Wolff pottery this summer. If you missed that post click here.

We've been gone so much the last few weeks that many things are still finding a place to land between trips. But I knew you would want to see some of what I found on my wanderings.

I found this little sugar bowl in town, but I don't think that I have shown it before. I can hardly pass up a piece of brown transferware! But anyway it rounds things out here with all its sweet details.

Mr. Rooster found his way home with me on my last flea foray a few days ago. Maybe someday his mate will turn up!

I mostly pick up linens on my travels because they are so easy to pack and also that I really can't help myself! Haha! This is an unusual net lace runner with white threads in the mix. Just so pretty!

I end up with wonderful snippets of things from here and there. Lace bits, grain sacks, and various handiwork.

You can hardly tell the pale pink in this wonderful hand-stitched quilt, but the star pattern in the stitches is plain to see. I got this somewhere deep in the heartland when I was passing through.

This wonderful crewel embroidery is from the Arts and Crafts Era that flourished between 1880 and 1920. It had a very small price tag because of its strange beauty. Not everyone's cup of tea, but highly valued to those who know its worth.

Hand done in silk yarn on a buff linen/cotton cloth.

The trim has metallic threads and is in perfect condition. It is suggestive of fall to me with its darker hues. I so much admire the beauty of the work and design.

I was lucky to find this crate and bottle together in a local market. There is no replicating the age of that wood!

The shutters were a local find as well. They will lend character to any display, but I might have a window they will fit for a farmhouse vibe.

Another short pot with a Greek Key design.

And a larger one with a pie crust edge. But don't you love the embossed crown marking? It will look sweet someday with a little rosemary or evergreen popped inside.

It sure is nice to be back Home Sweet Home for awhile, even though there is plenty of summer still waiting outside!

It always makes me a little sad to see school start up again. But I don't count summer over until September 22nd! So much left to do!

Happy Days ahead to you!

Have a great new week!

Jacqueline

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Between Naps on the Porch~Metamorphosis Monday

Savvy Southern Style~Wow Us Wednesdays

French Country Cottage~Feathered Nest Friday

The Gardens at White Flower Farm

The up side of our intense trek cross country was that it allowed me to stop at antiques markets along the way to my heart's content. At times I was giddy at the wonderful shops I found. But this day our destination was a bit farther down the road. 

At the pottery, Guy Wolff had directed us to this fabulous local nursery at Litchfield, CT that you may already be familiar with from their website and catalog. Here's a link to the website. White Flower Farm has everything you can imagine, but Guy wanted us to see a remarkable tree found on the property.

The little white garden cottage is where the purchases are made, as the wares are spread over several acres of rolling hills. The tree is up the hill on the way to an amazing flower garden display.

The Weeping European Beech tree, or 'Pendula,' is a local attraction. It's a living shaded tent that would capture the fancy of any child the way it captured mine. Have you ever seen a tree like this?

There is an entry opened up on the side that invites you in for a look.

It is spacious and amazingly cool underneath. 

The bare trunk towers above your head.

Another opening, and you  emerge into bright daylight again. . . . Amazing!

Here is a shot with a car to give you scale.

The Lloyd border is only one of the garden displays. I wish I could tell you the name of each flower shown. I know the most common, and a few others. But every variety was plainly marked.

The English garden design is named for the renown English gardener Christopher Lloyd. You get the feeling that you are standing in the middle of a beautiful painting.

 Sometimes colorways are grouped together. but a large variety of blooms make for a gorgeous mix. Makes me want to be a gardener!

Nice to have you along for the stroll!

More happy summer days ahead!

Jacqueline