Wethersfield, CT Antique Show

Isn't this a charming entrance to the show? This late November show is in an historic area SW of Hartford called Wethersfield. A great place to visit historic houses if you are here in the summer.

I'm just posting  a few of my favorite booths at this very pretty show. Here is Steve Cirillo, The Paisley Pineapple Antique. Nice cupboard, no?

Another favorite, Jan and John Maggs, www.jmaggs.com That little joint stool could sure go home with me.

This great booth belongs to Carol Wojtkun www.carolsearlyamericanantiques.com  Amongst all the great stuff, I admire the way she made a group of all the same variety stone fruit in her compote, just as if you just came home from the market.

I don't know if I'd pick the highboy or the QA mirror, too many nice choices. This is the booth of Brian Bartizek, South Windham CT.

Isn't this just the best? I love the way they even decorate the ladies for the show. Makes a necessity a pleasure.

Wish I had time to picture everyone at the show, it was all great. If you can next November, come and enjoy.

CHS Needlework Exhibit Part 2

Here's the rest of the enchanting needlework exhibit at the Connecticut Historical Society. Above is a charming sampler by Lydia Church. What a needleworker she was! I love the black border, and the naive figures.

Look at her parasol!

And look at these flowers, just sweet little bundles of thread.

Here's another favorite. It was made by Frederic William Tuttle, a man's name if you will notice. It also says, " made in the 45th year of our nation's independence".

Here are 2 remarkable embroidered pictorial scenes. I like the lady blowing the flute to the cows in the lake. Do they like music?

This is another embroidered picture. It shows the three stages of life, the baby in the cradle, the woman embroidering, and the coffin. I wish you could have seen all the delicate stitches, and I love the harmony of the colors.

 I will finish with these magnificent bed hangings. Look at the detail of the parrot. Just breath taking. Boy, I could take these right home!

Anyhow, I recommend you find the time to check out this great exhibit at the Connecticut Historical Society, www.chs.org

CHS Needlework Exhibit Part #1

What a treat! For a birthday present Cy and I went to the Connecticut Historical Society's new needlework exhibit. It's about the amazing needlework done by CT women in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Those of you who know me know I JUST LOVE early needlework, especially 17th and 18th century embroidery. I have a bit in my house, I try to have some for sale on my website. Just love it!
The image above it in the entry of the show, a dramatic bed rug from the mid 18th C. CT. I have seen a few bed rugs, and they've all been hooked, kind of like hooked rugs. This one was embroidered, with darning and couching stitches, and probably others I don't know the name of.

 

Another unbelievable bed rug, again embroidered.

 On the detail pic you can see the darning stitches in the brown background. Above the large central flower was a name and date, about 1768 if I remember right.

Here's the third bed rug, this one is hooked with what looked like wool thread through a wool back.

A great calamanco in just mint condition. I wish you could see how crispy it still was. Yes, I peeked, the back was butternut linsey.

Just look at the detail!

One of few known 18th C. petticoats embroidered in crewel. Made here in CT! By a very persistent lady I'd say.

Here is a detail. So fine and delicate, the wood threads look like spiderweb. And its amazing the colors are still so strong.

I will finish today's edition with this man's wallet, John Storrs, 1754, in fact. It's quite rare to see a landscape on a wallet. Usually they are geometric designs, and rarely crewel flowers, so really really rarely landscapes.

I'll post the rest tomorrow.

If you are in Connecticut any time between now and March 26, 2011, I highly recommend this exhibit. Check out www.chs.org for more info, and there's a great book with pictures of all the exhibits you can buy also.

Dogs, moss and more, just a perfect day.

We've had such an outstanding week of weather here in CT, we've really enjoyed our time outdoors. Don't these dogs look happy. Just imagine the waggy tails!

Here's our excuse, Cy is cutting up firewood. We found this old dead tree at the back of our property, and hopefully we'll get 2 cords of wood out of it, hickory we think. So the dogs and I are "helping", well really running around, and trying to help haul wood back up the hill.

 

Look at the pretty creek with the mossy ledge.

And of course after all that work you just have to jump in the water.

Look what Lucy found!

Oh, its a home for Leprechans, all carpeted in velvet moss!

Moss heaven

Ever since I've moved to CT, I've just fallen in love with the terrain out here. The damper climate allows all kinds of mosses and lichens to grow, something I never saw much of in Minnesota. Here are a few pics from my garden. Look at the pillow of bright green moss on this old granite step, and look at the gray lichens on the step above.

Here's a view of the end of the stone wall. Look at the pillows of moss growing right on the rocks. I've been reading up, and apparently moss has little or no roots, and gets most of its water and nutrition from the air and rain.

Look at the moss and lichens on my ancient twisty apple tree. Under here is where I want to have a real moss garden, like in Japan. OK, no goofy statues and stuff, just a soft carpet of various shades of soft cushiony moss. I've been "grooming" the area, raking off leaves and stuff, which prevents the moss from getting air and water. Now I go out every nice day and hand pull out some grass. Maybe someday I can walk barefoot on my beautiful moss garden.

Here's my new favorite book:

Native Mosses Ferns and Grasses by William Cullina of the New England Wildflower Society

Shelburne Museum Part 2

Here is the second part of our tour of Shelburne Museum in VT. Hope you enjoy!

Here are some very pretty herb gardens and fruit trees.

Just a simple corner of the country house, love the old bucket and lid, next to the elegant tea table.

One of my favorite views, this simple country bedroom. I could move right in!

Another herb garden back by the barns, more country in spirit.

Here is the world famous hat box collection, what a treat.

I love the top left blue one, "A view of the moon".

Another country house, love the built in shelves next to the fireplace.

Something you don't often see in restorations, snowshoes. But in snow country you know they had to have them to get around.

Here is my absolute favorite area. I am trying, without any success at all, to rebuild some of the stone walls that are on our property. Here they showed several styles of stone walls found in NE, and tips on how they are built. Now all I need is a class or 2 (wish there was such a thing!) and a stronger back. Stone walls are not for wimps.

This wall is called a "lace wall". It is only one layer of stones in thickness, stacked one on the other with little holes here and there, like lace. Oh, if only I could!

Shelburne Museum Part #1

Last weekend we went up to the Shelburne Museum in VT, while we were up in VT shopping the cluster of VT antiques shows that occur during the leaf season. Wow, what an experience. The museum has a group of restored and furnished antique buildings as well as fabulous hand carved circus of over 1000 figures, a steam paddle boat for the wealthy from the early 1900's, and so much more. An afternoon was not enough to see it all. I am going to post some pics I took of the old houses, as those were my favorite. Please know I only had my phone to use for a camera, so the pics are not the best.

The pics here are of the Katherine Murphy Prentice house, my favorite. Apparently she was a wealthy collector of the old days who contributed to a number of museums, and she must have liked all the things I like. If I was wealthy, my house would look just like this! Anyhow, above is the buttery. The house has been recently redone, so all the paintwork was redone. The kitchen and buttery are a beautiful deep green. I love all the treen and early redware. Such a great collection.

Here is another view of that buttery.

Here is a fragment mirror in the kitchen, such a large size, and just perfect color and condition.

Here is the dining room, probably my favorite. I love the tiny Pilgrim chest, and look at the white delft lobed dish, and the early iron and brass lighting, and look at the huge wide brimmed pewter platter on the wall.

Another view of the dining room, more great delft. Look at the huge white candlestick on the table. I begged the tour guide to look the other way so I could slip in in my purse, but no, she just laughed. Apparently its not the first suggestion of this type she's heard. The flamestitch was rewoven to exactly match the fabrics she chose when the house was originally done.

Another view of the dining room. Look at the tiny court cupboard from the 17th C, and all the delft posset pots lined up on the top. I guess posset was a hot drink of booze and barley, and you sipped it out of the spouts on the front of the pot, and passed it around, yummy!

17th C. embroidery in perfect condition.

Oh, I would kill for this wallbox. Look at the early chip carving, and the heart, and the lollipops along the top. Not to mention the great surface, the rosehead nails. Oh why wasn't I born rich and brave, to collect these early things when everyone else liked porcelain, and dainty stuff like that.

I wish you could see better the great carving on the base of the armchair, has to be William and Mary. And look at the mirror, it's a courting mirror, which you do see fairly often, but then it is put in a wood surround with fabulous carved crest with a heart. I wish I could have gotten closer for you to see it , but it was all roped off, as it should be. I think it's good to keep these old treasures safe.

Look at the beautiful bedroom upstairs. One of the local societies hand embroidered the curtains for the bed, I wish I could remember their name.

Here's the back of the beehive oven upstairs.

Here's the outside view of the house.

Look at the sconces! Aren't they just the best you've ever seen? And there's a pair. Look also at the tiny carved and decorated and dated desk box. This is in the borning room.

Here is a view of the kitchen. Look at the washboard with the huge carved knuckles, and the heart. He must have been really in love.

One more thing, here is a wrought iron blanket crane. I've never seen one before. This one is very delicate, and about 5' long.

That's all for now, I'll post the other half of the tour in a day or so.