The Lost Days…
“This was your Mother’s spoon, and when you have finished your breakfast and fed the hens, I will give you a book which was also your Mother’s…”
Hens, stupid as usual and just as greedy, fouling their water and fighting for scraps the purity of the delicate coloured eggs always a surprise, a gift among the squalor.
Fifteen in the basket, washed and laid in a china bowl on the marble larder shelf, cakes to make later with golden honey and creamy oats… Coffee now, and no rushing her grandmother or asking for the book; she poured from the heavy silver pot and waited, lifting the heavy jug of thick cream, stillness of face hiding churning of heart.
I have kept this for you until you are ready to know things which will grieve you; the book will be an awakening, the start of a long journey which you must make with your grandfather. Will you open it here with me or by your own in the orchard?
There were delicately coloured buttons, with the sheen of seashells; blue, rose, ivory, and small fragments of fabrics, quite unlike the fabric of their life in the farmhouse. They were fine, delicate, smooth, there were bits of beautiful dancing floral prints, rose-spun like in the orchard, soft woven linen and spools of soft twisted threads of subtle hue…she never saw blue roses but these were so fat and pretty…there was lace, with flowers and birds captured in its creamy loveliness.
These were from your Mother’s workbox…
The a rusty frail key, not course and fat like the stable key, but again, curly, reminded her of the lace, of the candlestick of the spoon handle, was her Mother’s world a different place, finer, ornate? Where was that world? Her thoughts blurred as her fingers took the key.
She turned her eyes full of questions to her Grandmother but she was sleeping again, and the key cool in closed hand would have to wait…
11 beautiful rich- coloured fat quarters to launch your creativity, 10 of them French General, and a soft quarter of stone coloured Peppered Cotton…Dream…
Dream some more, with a froth of treasured hand-made lace, and a rusty key…
2 separate half metres from the French General’s store, tied and buttoned together for you to unwrap, smooth out, and make your plans…
5 x 100 metre spools of pure cotton from Gutermann, for hand stitching, or machine stitching.
Here is a flurry of hearts and circles, rosy red French General prints with some interesting textural additions to bring them to life. The shapes are die cut and already backed with Bondaweb, ready for you to peel the back of and start some gorgeous applique…
I bring you a lovely soft and much loved piece of table linen which once graced a lady’s dressing table, embroidered with cut-work butterflies. And on top a sprinkle of buttons, claret, cream, neutral. How will you use all these things?
A needle-case and matching pincushion with 4 pearly pins in it…and a tiny bird, bonded ready to sew, enjoy!
Here you have an 18cm piece of French General Fleur de Lys fabric, a metre of beautifully buttoned, cream Essex linen which is a linen cotton blend, there is 53 cm of French General dotty fabric, and some old treasure – some opulent woven brocade from the General a few years ago…
What a funny day, I revisited an old sketch of a story and pulled it together to make hopefully a unique and beautiful product which will go online for sale as soon as I work out how to do it! Who would think that taking pictures and editing them and doing the text and so on could make you ache so! But it does, and I feel the sun is now well over the yard arm (What is a yard arm, by the way?!) and I deserve a reward! The light has not been great for photography today, must change the tubes in the Sunflower Fabrics Cabin to the whiter LED ones….Another day! I hope this inspires your creativity…
Comments 8
Oh dearest Maggie, I long to know more xxx such a beautiful tale, a feel I have peeked into a gentler world xxx I’m afraid I am having problems accessing the blog properly though xxx
Thank you Angie, so glad you enjoyed it, maybe I should do another chapter! Could you tell me on FB what was the problem? We can’t seem to fix it…
Lovely, lovely, lovely Maggie – aaahh……….so nostalgic, it awakens a longing for things of long ago, another era perhaps or was it another, kinder life?……… Bless you, I now where your heart is.
Glad you enjoyed my nonsense Anne…if only you would move nearer and stop being so unreasonable! xxx
Ah, what a journey…dreamlike, meandering and yet sumptuously decorated with colour, pattern, texture and the promise of a story to be finished with the turn of a rusty filigree key and the wield of fine thread and needle upon lace and cotton.
A yardarm is part of a ship – the horizontal part of the upper mast spar. I’m told that once the late morning sun has risen above these mast spars the forenoon ‘stand easy’ is issued and officers go below to enjoy the first rum tot of the day.
Of course, we gentlewomen folk would ne’er partake of a tot of rum, for tis the drink of our sailor men, but for sure, there’s room for a wee sup of sweet sherry while we sit, the low autumn sun illuminating our mid-day hours and our fine needlework still for a while under rested fingers.
Yes it was a nice little stroll wasn’t it?! Thank you for contributing and making my day! x
Just picked up this lovely story as I rest on my head on thepillow with sleepy eyes in the farmhouse at my sister-in-laws. Such a lovely bedtime story Maggie. Thank you – I look forward to the next chapter. And what a beautiful ‘book’ of goodies to inspire us too.
Thank you Trish, so much to do and enjoy! Love to do the blogs, but don’t really know where it’s going if anywhere…