Taking Stock

It seems that I have a collected a lot in my travels over the summer. It all gets plopped down somewhere between trips. So my rooms heave a sigh when I finally get the time to organize, clear things away, and do some deliberate arranging for a change.

It's also time to bring out old favorites, like this antique woven cloth that I only use in fall.

It's nice and thick, with a wonderful weave and texture. And I guess I think of autumn as being more textured than other seasons.

More layered as well. I like a cleaner and sparer look for our rooms in summer, but our spaces take on layers, just like we do, as the summer comes to a close.

I added a couple of wooden spoons and utensils to the mix this season.

I don't know what took me so long!

I also fell in love with this transferware platter that I found in New England in July.

Those sweet looking cows had everything to do with it. But then the creamy color won me over too. It is an old Copeland pattern.

My collection of ironstone wash basins has grown too. I will pass some along eventually, but they are so useful for holding and displaying things, and are so easy to stack.

It seems the summer foraging has brought an abundance to mimic that of nature herself.

This tawny water pitcher seems to have been made for fall. It even seems fatter than most to me.

I have had this terry tablecloth for decades now, and use it mostly as an under layer on the table. It's nice and large, and can help absorb the inevitable spills of a family gathering. . . .

But there are always comforting stacks of tablecloths waiting in the wings in this room. 

The blue glass is helping me cross over from one season to the next. Keeping things light just yet.

But it's time for gathering up dried herb-y bundles, and interesting acorns.

I always fight with the light when trying to take pictures, but we love the big windows in here in any season. 

Baskets and weeds are just made for each other.

The dresser has gotten loaded down with this and that over the past few months too. Over time you find out what belongs and what doesn't. What was merely a passing fancy, and what will be invited to stay.

The hen house is also getting pretty full. But so cheery!

Even the silver has taken on an amber glow. But that little tray will soon get a seasonal polishing up! The pewter just holds its own.

Saying goodbye to another August.

Thankful for a safe home, and mindful of our friends and loved ones in harms way.

Jacqueline

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Between Naps on the Porch~Metamorphosis Monday

French Country Cottage~Feathered Nest Friday

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The Charm of Home~Home Sweet Home

Late Summer Changes

I've started a few changes to the mantel with the change in the weather. It will probably get too hot again, but for now the days are cooler with our afternoon rains. Low 80's are a rarity for us in August, and it leaves me feeling just a suggestion of fall.

I go fishing around for my favorite linens this time of year too. The rooms can take a little more accessorizing as I think a few more cozy thoughts.

But I also thought that the cloudy day and the eclipse might give me a better chance at taking pictures of the hardest room in the house to photograph. I think I was wrong! It was just as hard as ever.

Nothing stays put on my hearth for long. I like a change up here too often, and it's one of those handy spots to lay something while I'm thinking about its future.

The new Wolff pots found a place on top of the cupboard for now.

The living room is usually much too casual for taking pictures anyway. It is a hard use room. Full of plump and clutter.

But since I find myself here so often I want to be looking at something soothing. We keep the collections down, and color and pattern to a minimum. That's where a little texture comes in with linens. It's a way to add something interesting without fussiness.

The heavy linen underneath often gets laid on the coffee table where we sometimes eat. The one in the middle was on the mantel covering the dark wood all summer. The one on top will get featured on a chair or table at some point.

The inset lace is fashioned from rickrack.

A throw with a pale tan color and stripe is new to the room. Since it is all cotton it's a good between season weight. Wool will come much later.

I also love this heavy crochet throw that puts me in a French Nordic mood.

Maybe a tad early for the sheepskin, but the light color still works for late summer. We mostly use it to pad the bench nearby for extra seating. 

We still have short end-of-summer jaunts planned in the coming weeks, but it feels like time for settling in. I need to catch up on some reading, and the new shows will be starting on Netflix! This spot has us all ready for action.

So what did you do for the eclipse? I watched it on the weather channel while I did my tweaking and shooting. Ready for the next big thing...

Hope it's a great new week for you!

Happy Days!

Jacqueline

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The Charm of Home~Home Sweet Home

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

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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

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