As I Wait...

Brynwood Needleworks - Farmhouse Built-in Buffet

 

The trucks will be arriving with our belongings today, but won't be emptied until the weekend. As with the loading, we've hired Moving Staffers™ to handle moving our things into the farmhouse. While I wait for more boxes and furniture, I emptied a box that has been here since our last trip north.

The box contained some of my favorite pieces of English transferware, and more than a few antiques. In the upper shelf of the cabinet are a few of my antique Toby mugs. I have Toby teapots and Royal Doulton Toby jugs that will join these pieces soon.

Brynwood Needleworks - Antique Transferware

The bowl and pitcher set belonged to my mother-in-law. The pattern is "Reverie" from Alfred Meakin. Next to it is a large cheese keeper. The label/mark on the bottom is "Victoria Ware" Ironstone. It's actually quite large and heavy! 

Some of my Johnson Brothers "Old Britain Castles" bowls are in the upper cabinet, waiting for the rest of this set to arrive.

Brynwood Needleworks - Antique Duck Casserole

 

On the other end of the counter is my antique duck casserole. This one is also ironstone, but has no visible-to-me makers mark.

 

In the cabinet above on this end (temporarily) are my three dog plates...a black Labrador Retriever, a Pembroke Welsh Corgi and a yellow Labrador Retriever.  These will eventually hang, but I haven't yet decided where.

Once the truck is unloaded, I'll have more dishes to place, but the last - my much-loved Spode - is with Handsome. When he brings that with him, our farmhouse china cabinet will be complete.

Table Quilts and Toppings...

Part of the staging I've done toward selling our home extends to setting the tables. In addition to the teak dining set we have, we also have an antique oak table that Handsome and I have had since we were married.

It was refinished once about twenty years ago, but it could really use another spa session with a furniture refinisher. Lately, I've even contemplated painting it. Until I decide on its treatment, I'll continue to cover it with some of the lap size quilts I've made. I switch them out according to seasons or holidays.

In keeping with the Independence Day holiday, I set the table in some of my red, white and blue English and American transferware. (Appropriate, don't you think?) I don't have a red, white and blue quilt yet, but I'm going to make one very soon. I just love the color combination.

This is the patriotic quilt I'm going to be making. I first found it on Pinterest (this exact photo), and in a blog post HERE, I asked for help in finding out the name and designer of the pattern.

Thanks to two of my blog friends, I had the answer by the end of the day of that post. It's called "Patriotic Rose", by Janet Miller of The City Stitcher. © 2002. I had the pattern in my hot, little hands by the end of that week.

Not only is it pieced, but it also has beautiful applique', too. When the time comes to make this it, I'll make it larger so it's sure to cover our oak table. I'm thinking that I'll pull fabrics for this beauty very soon. Wouldn't it be nice to have it finished in time for Labor Day?

Blue and White Bliss...

After Thanksgiving, I gave you a little teaser about my latest acquisitions (here).
Although I promised more about it in that following week, I got a little sidetracked.
Better late(r) than never, right?

Just in time for my Birthday, I got a new set of Johnson Brothers china to add

to my collection of British transferware. I love this set which features castles!

It came with a lovely, little serving dish, too. If we're not using the American

"Memory Lane" everyday set, we'll be using these dishes. Any food looks good

on blue and white dishes...and blue and white fits perfectly with our decor.

I actually have another Johnson Brothers coordinating pattern for the soup and

fruit bowls, but just realized that I neglected to photograph them. I'll share those

in a random post in the future. I will say that they have acorns in the border!

I also found this antique British Staffordshire china covered serving dish. Whether 

using our blue and white Spode Wild Bird Hunt set or the blue and white Johnson 

Brothers set, this serving dish will be a standout complementary piece on our table.

The pattern on the inside of the dish also coordinates with our other patterns.

These pieces are all antiques that I've had for years (and the new

serving dish fits right in). They're on display shelves in our kitchen.

I love having them where I can see and enjoy them every day.

I was talking with Aunty Margaret recently and found out that we both

share a love for blue and white china. I never realized that, but was

happy to know. It seems the older I get, the more she and I have in 

common. The fact that we were both born in England was just the start.

It's time to say "goodbye" to all the Hull Brown Drip Ovenware

dishes and serving pieces I have. They're wonderful, and have been

a part of my life since I first moved out of the house at eighteen, 

but I'm looking forward to someone else enjoying them.

What's your favorite pattern or style?

I'd love to know!

Tea and Transferware...

Thanksgiving Day is over. The leftover turkey and trimmings are in the refrigerator. Dishes are washed and put away. Today, I'm going to sit with a cup of tea and contemplate the past year, as I plan my strategy for my annual Christmas projects. It's hard to believe that Christmas is less than a month away. I'd better get crackin' soon!

My original Wednesday post was going to tell you about my English transferware and my latest acquisitions, but that can wait for another day. I did manage to find this plate, which was on my "must have" list. I even found a second one (same pattern) in red/white to go with my Memory Lane (American) transferware set. (Thanks, Denise, for starting my Memory Lane set for me. We now have a service for 4 of that pattern with the lovely acorns and oak leaves to use everyday!)

This iconic image of John and Priscilla Alden graced our dinner table yesterday for the first time, and will now serve to remind me of Mom and my first Thanksgiving without her. Don't worry. It won't be a sad reminder, but one of happier days and times spent together.

So, I now have this piece to use with my beautiful, antique Spode set, but I also have other new-to-me pieces I'll save to show you next week. I need to take more photographs first. Today, I'll make that cup of tea, make my lists and count my blessings.

Look What I Won...

One of my favorite blogs to follow these days is Nancy's Daily Dish.

I love transferware and have two full (different) sets that I use all the time. 

This set  (Memory Lane with acorns and oak leaves) for everyday, and my 

blue and white Spode wedding set for Sunday dinners and special occasions.

Nancy's Daily Dish gives me that regular "fix" of beautiful dishes and I learn

more about transferware from her knowledge and ever-changing collections. (She

 also has a SHOP selling gorgeous pieces, sorted by color! Purple is stunning, btw.)

I happened to read her post about her current favorite treat in this post, and saw

 that she was offering an assortment of Almondina™ biscuits to her readers. 

It took me a while to get to the "giveaway" part because I spent a lot of little

time exploring the photos from a past Home Beautiful photo shoot she featured.

 All that blue and white, along with beautiful decor, sidetracked me again!

I got all the way down to the bottom of her post to find that I would be the first

commenter.  I know. Who ever wins if they have #1? In all the time I've been

blogging and offering giveaways, I think the Random Generator has only picked

 the #1 name once or twice. I left a comment anyway and hoped for the best.

  Well, I saw on Nancy's Facebook page that "Brynwood Needleworks" was picked! I hurried over to her blog to confirm that I'd really won. (here) and then I sent  her an email. I was tickled to try her treats and babbled away on her FB page. (BTW-If anyone knows where I can find a pilgrim plate like the first one in Nancy's post, please let me know! It would fit right in with my Spode set!)   I soon received an email from Frank Gelman at Almondina™ and my favorite UPS driver delivered my package late last week. I brought them inside, made a cup of tea and snapped a few photos so I could write this post for you. Then, I sat down and enjoyed my first taste of my Original recipe Almondina biscuits. They are biscotti, but guilt-free. They are tasty, thin biscuits loaded with  texture and flavor, and they're perfect for an afternoon tea break at Brynwood. In case you're interested in tasting Almondina biscuits for yourself, here's a link to their website. (I'm actually hoping that Frank reads this and sends me an email offering an assortment for my own giveaway for my Brynwood friends! I'm  actually raving about these delicious biscuits with no prompting or compensation!)   Thank you again, Nancy!  Thank you for your lovely, inspirational blog and for your delicious giveaway.   Take a minute or two to visit Nancy's blog (the bold-faced, italicized type words in my post are links.) Just know that you might get hooked like I did!