Tea With Friends and Teacup Thursday # 80

My dear friend Natalie moved into her home about a year ago. It is her first home and she has been wanting me to visit. She invited me to tea on Monday. I picked up my other dear friend Ann on the way which gave us even more time to chat and catch up. Natalie loves fall almost as much as I do and went all out with her tea menu. Isn't the plate just lovely?

Ann is wearing red and Natalie is wearing fall colors. I had to quickly take the picture as Natalie doesn't like to have her picture taken. We had a great time talking and talking and talking!

Then she brought out the desserts and oh my! We had to take a break and come back for the sweets later. Everything was yummy and so beautiful. Ann looks pretty serious her surveying the treats!

I missed Miss Spenser's Teacup Thursday last week. This week, as fall slips away and Thanksgiving will soon be here, I am featuring my favorite turkey teacup. It's by my beloved Johnson Brothers. I love the busy border and the rich brown colors of this pattern. I have the plates and some serving pieces that match.My most cherished piece is the large turkey platter.

It's called Wild Turkeys Native American-Windsor Ware Johnson Brothers...Made in England.

I know that the Christmas season is almost here and I will be packing up my fall decorations soon. I get sad when I have to say good bye to my autumn things as fall really is my favorite season. Some of you have shared that you are tired of the fall colors. It was a gorgeous day here in Oregon, so I went outside this afternoon to snap a few pictures of some of my flowers that are still blooming...just for those of you who are tired of fall. Enjoy.......

Oh So Much Fun!

I arrived at the Canby Retreat Center on Monday about noon! The sign was all set up showing us quilters the way to hours of fun! We stayed in the Riverfront  Lodge, a lovely two story building. We were very spoiled to have our own room complete with our own bathroom! The only hard part was dragging all our our "stuff" upstairs! Have you ever seen how much"stuff" quilters take to retreats?

This was the view out the huge window looking out over the Mollala River. The leaves were falling and it was just so pretty.

Everyone settled in and got to work. The room had great lighting and we all had plenty of room. We had 12 quilters in the group.

Our meals were cooked by a chef who is beginning a culinary school at the center. We had to walk a short distance to a nice dining room-decorated for fall.

On of our quilters, Jan, is scheduled for knee surgery next Monday, so she needed a ride back and forth!

After dinner it was back to work, some chatting and some treats!

Christy brought her snowman quilt to share! She just got it back from the long arm quilter.

Linda was so generous and brought 4 nice bottles of wine to share with us. This is how quilters relax!
Roberta and her cousin Nancy and Ina are having a great time.

Everyone jumped right in again the next day. Lots of creative ladies. It's always fun to see what others are working on.

Nancy was working on a great project using vintage blocks that her mother had done years ago.

The camp manager's son Seth was helping and came in to visit with all of us ladies! What a hoot! He was so funny ad looked at each project. He's talking with Ina here. Yes, he had LOTS to say. This is Ina's quilt.

This is my good friend Nancy-my bible study buddy. She's an excellent quilter and we stayed up way too late every night talking and sewing.

More Christmas projects! Have to get those finished.....not much time left! Here's a few pictures of my project. I was able to get the whole quilt top done.

It's quite large and I could get a full picture of the quilt top. It's nice a cozy. Hope I can get it long armed before Christmas.

Time to relax, so some binding and  look at some new magazines for that next quilt or project!

Jodi and her mother-in-law Stephanie were working on the most amazing quilt. They were making a wedding quilt for a family member. I took pictures from the balcony as the quilt progressed. It really was something.

Off to a Quilting Retreat

Off to a quilting retreat with some friends for a few days. I'm going to be working on this flannel quilt for my dad. He loves blue and I am hoping to make the pattern above with the really pretty fabrics shown in the first photo.
It's all cut out and ready to go. If you look carefully, its says "quick"and "fast" so let's hope that's true!

Projects ready to go! You have to take half of your home when you go on a retreat! Ha ha ha! I am really in the mood to do some sewing and am looking forward to this retreat.

Wishing You a Restful Sunday

Wishing you a restful Sunday! God gave us a day each week to worship Him and regroup. I know I don't always do that in my busy busy world.

I love vintage postcards and use them in my holiday decorating. Don't you adore the lovely home in the background of this one? There are so many wonderful Thanksgiving postcards. I think it was an occasion when people remembered their loved ones and friends. I know I find myself thinking of the special people in my life at this time of the year. I am giving thanks today for my friends. I so enjoy all my blogging friends! I never dreamed I would meet so many wonderful friends via blogging. What a joy!

Tasha Tudor First Friday Book Review

A new month, the lovely month of November, and time for another First Friday Tasha Tudor book review! November is one of my favorite months of the year. Once again, it's time for a cozy fire, a cup of tea or cocoa, time for planning for the holidays and time for family celebrations. I guess that's why I love this little book-AROUND THE YEAR. I love the seasons and the holidays and this book

features it all. It's a very sweet look at the months of the year in typical Tasha fashion. The art work is delightfully framed, always a Tasha trademark.

You can see it in her art work on her original book cover. I think  it's interesting that she originally used a different bird for each month as shown on this cover.
So, what is this book all about? It's a simple story, done in rhyme, walking through each month of the year. It showcases the changing seasons and all the holidays we enjoy. It's a very country approach with lots of drawings of children having a grand time. It is a combination of black and white drawing with her  colorful color watercolors. Here's a few samples....

And of course the month we all love~December! It will soon be here too. Are you getting ready?

The book was originally published in 1957 by Henry Walck, NewYork, NY. Tasaha became a partner with Mrs. David Mathers of Mooresville, Indiana in the Jenny Wren Press in 1989. In 1994, AROUND THE YEAR was reprinted and that is the copy of the book that I own. That book cover is the first one shown today. It was reprinted in 2001 by Simon and Schuster, New York, NY. The world of Tasha Tudor continues....the book was released on June 26, 2012 in eBook form! I love it. This is how the current reprint cover looks like.

Quite a difference in the three book jackets over the years. I like the one from the Jenny Wren reprint the best.

For those of you who live on the East Coast, you have a wonderful treat. This is the photo of the Fenimore Art Museum in Coopertown, New York. An exhibit is currently on loan from the Norman Rockwell Museum of Stockbridge MA all about this book. It began Oct 1st and runs through Dec 31st.
Oh, I am green with envy. This exhibit will charm you with some of Tasha's original art work, manuscripts, childhood drawings, miniature doll cards, hand decorated boxes and Easter eggs.
To make it all more exciting, the co-curator Jeanette Chandler Knazek, will give a free talk on November 27th from 7-8:30 PM on the book, the changing seasons, especially the winter seasons and holiday. I'm sure that will be a magical evening event.

This is an often used photo of Tasha Tudor and one of my favorites. I just had to end my review with this lovely picture.

Do you have a favorite season? Do you have a favorite holiday? Do you have any information to share about this book? I'd love to hear from you.