Happy Teacup Tuesday Ladies!
I am really excited to show this humble little tea set I got from a very strong lady named Evelyn Beauchemin who passed away last year at 104 years old.
She was the aunt of a dear friend of mine and lived all of her life in Dannemora New York, a stone's throw from the prison where her husband worked all his life. She was a very organized and opinionated lady who took no nonsense from anyone.
For a short period of time I had the privilege of spending 6 hours on Saturday and 6 on Sunday keeping her company and making her meals.
When she left us I was given a set of dishes (Evelyn's first "good" set) as a reminder of my time with her.

I was thrilled! This is part of that set which sadly does not include a teapot, but that doesn't bother me at all.

As you can see it has a cream colored finish with lovely simple roses and a silver edge to all the pieces.
I arranged it on a doily that belonged to my grandmother and added a few of my paper roses for fun.

Not all pieces are marked but those that are say "Homer Laughlin, Virginia Rose, made in USA, E44N8"

I will treasure it always as a remembrance of a lady who feared very little even though she lived through some tumultuous times and faced everything with grace and a broom and dustbin!

May we all be as strong!

Early Frida

Well I finally decided to finish this painting this morning and I like it as it is so I forced myself to stop fussing and fannying about with it and call it done!
This was inspired by one of her early self portraits which I love the best because she portrayed herself in a softer way than later images that are more harsh. 
So at last I am off to list it on Ebay and then start working on some cloth and clay dolls I have had pending for a few weeks. With all the rain this weekend it is the perfect time for sitting quietly and hand sewing.
Have a lovely weekend!

One of Mom's

My mom was a huge lover of tea cups and saucers and over the years we (her children) gave her many sets as gifts for special holidays or just "because". Being children we could not always afford anything expensive but she always loved and treasured each one we presented her with. This is one I gave her when I was about 16.

It says on the bottom that it is Paragon Fine Bone China, made in England by appointment to her Majesty The Queen. Well at 16 that was good enough for me! Add to that the fact that it has carnations (one of mom's favorites) and a touch of gold and it was perfect as far as I could see.

Since she left us in 1983 I have been so thankful that I held onto a few of her cups and take them out on occasion for a good polishing and admiring and I was so happy to find "Tea Cup Tuesday" and have the opportunity to share a few of the cups and saucers I have stored for years.      *sorry for the "not so great" pictures but a photographer I am not! I am trying to learn but it has been a very slow go...my apologies.

Vintage Love Affair

When I was 18 my great uncle Joesph died and left his country home and all in contents to my mother and my aunt. There was much ado about the antique furnishings collected over many years by my great grandmother Catherine Lenore and my great aunt Maude both of whom shared Joe's home for many years. To say these 2 ladies did handiwork is an understatement. There were storage rooms filled with quilts and crochet or embroidered home decor items.
From the moment we began sorting through the shelves of stored goods I was enraptured by the vintage laces and delicately sewn garments I found. Since neither my mother nor aunt was interested in those items they became mine by default. Packed in boxes for many years and through many moves I really couldn't remember what I had saved all those years ago. Recently though inspired by all the lovely photos posted here on so many blogs I decided to open some of those boxes and take a few things out to photograph and post over the course of this summer.

Here then are a few pictures of one of the camisoles I had in one box. I am not sure what the fabric is but it feels silky, batiste maybe? Note the little white buttons which feature a small star in their centers.
I hope you enjoy seeing them!

Digging Out the Past

This lovely lady's name was Marianne Celanise Bouchard and she was my grandmother. She spent all of her life in Quebec Canada and had a very interesting life that included having two daughters, my mother Marguerite and my aunt Suzanne (both sadly gone now and sorely missed).
My grandmother was a homemaker extraordinaire, who made sure with her sewing and millinery skills  that her 2 daughters were very well dressed even during the Depression. She modeled most of their clothing after the little "Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret" of England as they were approximately the same age as my mother and aunt and my grandmother thought their clothing was just what she wanted her little princesses to wear. I have many family pictures of them as children dressed in the most beautiful outfits that were indeed fit for little princesses, all made by hand by my beloved grandmother! Her skill with a needle is to this day a family legend. In future posts I will be putting up pictures of some of her creations which I hope you will enjoy seeing.

Well it is raining, and very gray outside and although I should be working on finishing a painting or the doll I have been working on I have decided to treat myself to watching 2 new DVDs I picked up on Friday.
While I am watching these delicious little treats I will concede at least to crochet a tiny lace bonnet for the doll, there now maybe I can enjoy these movies guilt free! Once in awhile I just love to drown in lavishness don't you? :)
And is it not fascinating  the level of opulence some people lived with as a matter of course...*sigh*