Heather's Tea Cup Tuesday, Victorian Lace Knitting & Weldon's Practical Needlework

QUICK NOTE: Blogger was deleting my comments yesterday..when I was moderating them. Today, when I click on certain blog posts, I know you've written to me..but now the comments aren't visible under the blog post. So if it takes me awhile to respond to you forgive me...blogger is misbehaving in a major way!!! Please still leave me comments. I love reading them!!!!!



Happy Tuesday everyone.  Here are some Tuesday roses for you :) :) :)

Good afternoon....today's post is a long one..well, LOTS of photos...so sit back and enjoy!!!! I have some blogger friends who post lovely tea things on Tuesday. I haven't joined the group yet. I don't have lots of tea things...BUT what I do have, I love very, very much!!! I love it for it's simple beauty that brings joy to my heart. I love it for the special memories..like sipping chamomile tea from my grandmother's wedding china tea cup...or having her mother's homeade cinnamon rolls on a nice plate!!!  So I thought I'd share some of that with you, plus some other vintage goodies etc.  Here's just a part of my grandmother's wedding china from the early 1940s. It's genuine Wedgwood!!!!  Here is a photo of the tea pot with, creamer, sugar bowl with lid, tea cup and saucer!!!



Here's a close up of the white grapevine on white design that's on everything you see pictured above..I also have dessert plates, salad, plates, dinner plates, bread paltes, soup turine..gravy boat, and a deep dish which I think was for veggies or something..all with this same design with the shell edge!!!


Here's one of the stamps on the bottom of the tea pot.  These are real and I check them online!!! I'll have to do further research to find the actual date of production..


This is another date stamp on the bottom of the saucer.  These all mean something, but I'll have to research it online!!!...I know that my grandmother had replaced some pieces after she was married :) Oh, by the way, this whole set is what I use as everyday dishes. My grandmother did too!!! It's great!!! I decided a few years back that fine china is for single ladies, too. That's also a title of a great little book. I wasn't going to wait...nor do I have to wait till I'm married to enjoy nice things in my home!!! Nope, I'm going to enjoy them now!!!  Then maybe when I get married, my husband (lucky man) will love them too...

Okay, these next few photos are for my friend Linda over at Prairie Flower Farm.  Click on the title to go to her blog or look on my sidebar!!! All of you ladies might be interested in this too.  I found this book at a used bookstore for $9. I loved it because it's got the word "Victorian.." in the title and it's an interesting book with a really neat story and patterns. This book was published 1998 with Interweave Press. However, I believe the book is now out of print.  You can still find copies on Amazon.com...or better yet, try your local used bookstore. It'll probably be less expensive there...and you're supporting a local business at the same time :) :) :)


The book is comprised of patterns from the collection of Blanche Beau.  She never married and shared a house with her widowed sister, her sister's children and their mom!!  It's a really interesting story.  The author of this book was given Blanche's notebook as a gift from the sister of a man who had inherited some of Blanche's things after her death. At the time this book was printed, that notebook was just over 100 years old!!!


Here's a photo of Blanche Beau's notebook. What's really poignant is that her parents came from France. Her mother died when she was still just over a year old. She kept searching for the majority of her life for her mother's grave and was never able to find it. It makes my heart ache..that even in her older years, she was still longing for her mother.  This says "Note Book" in pretty scrolled handwriting on the cover.


Here's one of the pattern's found in Blanche Beau's notebook.  The first photo is the modern updated version with current knitting terms. The next photo is the original notebook with a sample of lace!!! Knitting terms have changed quite a bit from the Victorian era to today :) :) It's all still beautiful things, though!!! I can't get enough of it!!!

Here are a couple more of Blanche Beau's patterns that are featured in the book "Lace from the Attic" These are the updated version of Blanche's lace patterns.  From what I understand, it wasn't uncommon for a woman to keep a notebook of patterns that she liked or knit often. In fact, I'm going to do the same thing..although slightly different!!

Now this is another book, that I picked up at the same used bookstore.  Mary Schiffmann was born in Kobe, Japan on March 12th, 1908. She first learned to knit around 1914. Her and her family would knit garments for the troops. Her parents were missionaries. They returned to the States after WWI in 1919. She passed away on April 28th, 1996.  She was an avid collector of patterns and was only interested in unusual patterns that weren't printed often. That's what this book is comprised of...some her best unusual, beautiful patterns. Everything is useful and beautiful.  This book also has a lot of lace edgings and knitted lace doilies!!




Another great series of books, especially if you like Victorian needlework...is Weldon's Practical Needlework.  Weldon's would publish little booklets comprising about 12 patterns or so...from knitting to beadwork..and in the mid-1880s started publishing a years worth of patterns in a book.  You can purchase these online. I purchased mine at a local knitting shop. Piecework magazine publishes these. Some may now be out of print...but you can find them on Amazon.com. This is an exact reproduction of the original Weldon's Practical Needlework Volume 4.  It's really interesting to note the patterns and terminology used.  Oh, there weren't different pattern sizes. In all cases it was just the simple pattern..and it was up to the knitter to adjust it according to size.

Volume 4 had patterns on knitting, crochet, Mountmellick embroidery, smocking, tatting, decorative needlwork, beadwork and macrame lace.


Any of the Weldon's Practical Needlework volumes would be great gifts...just as true then as it is today!!!


Some of the popular patterns of the day. Now Volume 4 was published around 1889.  I have an actual chart that tells the dates of publication. I found it in another book, but have since misplaced it. When I find it, I'll make sure to update this post. This is a baby's spencer...

...a lady's vest...


..knitted Mulberry leaf square for a quilt...


..an antimacassar..not a word that most people would know today..but the picture says it all...it's like a chair back cozy!!!...


...some beautiful bags for young ladies...

There's my quick little tour.  I've actually knit one of Blanche Beau's lace edging patterns. One of these days I'll actually try reproducing one of the patterns out of my Weldon's Practical Needlework Book Volume 4.  Maybe I'll try the antimacassar? Who knows.

 I really enjoy crafts and handmade things. It reminds me of a gentler age somehow....sometimes I think I was born in the wrong era...but nope, God has me right where He wants me :) :) :)  It really brings joy to my heart to find other kindred spirits out there who enjoy lovely things like tea, handmade things etc.

I don't know if I can pinpoint exactly when I fell in love with things of the past or having a nice tea... I started reading the Anne of Green Gables books when I was 14. My mother's mother loved pink and all things Victorian.  My father's mother...had lots of photos and things from her childhood and that of her parents. She'd always tell me stories...and I just fell in love. I loved the style, the homes, the dishes...everything..everything looks better with something romantic, vintage, country, rustic, Victorian in it!!!  It makes the things of everyday life more regal somehow!!!  Oh, I also am a huge fan of the Anne of Green Gables movies and the tv series Road to Avonlea. I highly recommend watching both.  In any case, anything from the 1950s or earlier....beautiful!!!

That's the news from Oregon. Love and hugs, Heather :)