Tea Cup Tuesday-Porch Tea, Gifts and Giveaway!

Hello All!

Welcome to Tea Cup Tuesday!

We have 12 more days of summer to enjoy : )

My little balcony porch has been such a treat this year.

I will show you next week how it all looks now that 

I have added my new painted chairs (a sneak peek in this post...),

 table, flowers and cushions. 

There is something about porches in the summer

that awaken in me long forgotten memories of childhood.

It is in the smell of the breeze, 

and the warmth of the sun kissed pages of a loved book.

Candles at night flickering 

Crickets chirping and 

fireflies flitting... 

Friends and loved ones to chat with.

So priceless to me.

I am so blessed to have my friend Cheryl from England visiting this week. 

We have not seen each other for two years!

We had a little sit out on the balcony 

and these sweet biscuits she brought over

were a very nice treat...
and clotted cream fudge!
oh my!

Oh and she gave me a sweet cake plate I will share next week.

I am so grateful that she could come to stay. 

We have a really good time together.

(The little Bavarian tea pot)

Also today a parcel arrived in the mail from my friend

Dianne Buckley, who is also from England.

She is a watercolor artists, and creates cards as well as paintings.

This is such a lovely card!

And to my great surprise tucked neatly in the envelope was this

wonderful watercolor she painted!

See Emma and Betsy?

They really do look just like that!

And she was very kind to paint me so young! lol!

And put me in my favorite color shirt.

And...put me in Bertha...my tea tent!

I  was speechless other than repeating over and over 

to my family...

"Oh my!"....."Oh my!"

Thank you so much Dianne

Your honor me with your kindness.

 I appreciate both of my friends very much.

I also appreciate each of you!

I would like to take this opportunity to show my appreciation

with a giveaway that will begin today and be added to as we go along.

I love a good giveaway...

My first giveaway will be the sister match to the sweet rosey tea cup above!

 She is a new cup made by Grace Tea Ware, in China,

Many of us have Grace tea pots. 

This company creates beautiful patterns. 

This one is very vintage looking.

I just love it!

I hope you do too. 

If you do, just leave a comment that you would like to be entered 

into the drawing for the twin of the cup above.

This sweet little apple blossom tea pot was made in Bavaria,

I do not know much about this company and I hope one of you do?
I have had this dear little tea pot for about 18 years.

If you would like to join in Tea Cup Tuesday just link your tea cup

post below. Then Martha and I can come and see your tea cups too : )

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Hugs,

Terri

I am also joining Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage, 
As well Bernideen at her tea time blog

A Little of What I did on my Computer Vacation...

Hello All!

It is still summer for two more weeks,  and the weather here is lovely!

How are you faring in your corner of our beautiful planet?

Where ever you are, I wish you well.

August was a month of resting for me.

Truly, I rested more than I have in a long time

and it was good : )

There was time for sewing and learning some needlework...

I made this simple night gown...

 and practiced on it with inspiration  and instruction

from Karin Holmberg, through her lovely book...

Karin has also authored this book...

*Sigh*

There are a number of stitches I would love to learn,

I have begun on my nightie, just a simple beginner's stitch.

The material is very soft and I am enjoying wearing
these pajamas very much : )

I did get to work on my quilt, but so far I have chosen just to do

the simple lines before I start any getting fancy (lol! Like I know any 

fancy embroidery stitches!)

One day last month I was able to visit a local garden.

This is their newest pond.
So peaceful.
It is called the Virtue Peace Pond,
and it is at Sarah Duke Gardens.

I found this Lotus bud incredibly beautiful....

She is as large as my hand.
Here one of her sisters is
Opening gently...

And another sister opening to her fullest potential!
This trip was an delightful summer pleasure.

Next post I will share a little more of 

what I did on my time off.

Thank you so very much for stopping by!
I appreciated all your kind comemnts and
welcomes back.
Thank you all!
I am enjoying catching up with as many of your blogs that I can.
I am seeing some wonderful things.

Happy Friday night!

Hugs,
Terri

Tea Cup Tuesday-Tea on the Balcony

Hello All!

I am happy to be back online after my month long break....

and ready for the first Tea Cup Tuesday of September.

Yay!

I am hoping all of you had a really good August.
 

Mine was full of going slow...

resting....

Which is good : )

How about tea on the balcony this afternoon? 

It took me a week to forget about the computer,

the first few days I continually thought of things

I needed to look up on the computer..

and then had to forgo.

I missed you all here too....

Eventually though,

I relaxed, and remembered what it was like before...

and it was truly freeing to not even think of my

computer all day long. 

The days grew longer,

I had time to just sit and talk with my family,

able to really linger and listen.

What a delight!

Taking time for tea this past month has been relaxing and 

definitely a part of slowing down. 

Usually we have very high temperatures all summer,

but this entire summer has been rainy.

Great for tea!

Yay!

 This lovely cup I am using was manufactured by 

Paragon. 

I love this company's designs!

I have chosen a mix of chamomile, lavender, mint and rose
for my tea time today....

and a delicious fresh summer pear for dessert....

Fall begins September the 22nd.

We still have 3 weeks of summer! 

Yay!

I forsee more tea on the balcony,

and if the rain stops long enough, 

I will get Bertha out again and 

have tea in the tent.

Thank you so much for stopping by!

I am so glad to "see" you all!

I will be posting soon some of the creative fun I was able to have...

I am off to visit Martha at Martha's Favorites. 

See you there!

Hugs,

Terri

If you would like to join in the blog hop and share your tea cups and tea time,

just link your tea cup post up below.

Then Martha and I can come and see you too : )

Tea Cup Tuesday-Summertime Tea

 Hello All

Welcome to Tea Cup Tuesday
It is summertime...
and I am still enjoying hot tea in the afternoon.

The daily (practically!) rains have kept our temps down,

and the ground too soggy for Bertha.

So indoors it is, for a relaxing, soothing, aromatic cup of herbal tea...

ahhhhh........

I have been using this elegant berry cup lately. 

Many of you have seen me share her in the past. 

I find her profusion of flowers and fruit 

delightful to include in my summer time tea.

I do love the berries!

And her high footed pedestal.

Lovely blossoms and berries inside this cup too.

Do you think the pink flowers are apple blossoms? 

Or could they be Rosa Rugosa?

Then there is plenty of power around here in Bloglandia,

You all inspire me so much!

She is manufactured by one of my all time favorite potteries,
Paragon China...

another Stoke on Trent, England pottery.

I find the shape of their tea cups just right for me.

I am always pleased with their artwork and attention to detail.

They often include fancy gold filigree trims...

something I really admire in a cup!

 I hope you enjoyed seeing my little tea today. 

I look forward to visiting each of you today as well.

MY ANNOUNCEMENT....

I am taking a computer break for ALL of August!

Yay!

And I am calling it...

You can read about my vacation from electronics

in my previous post HERE. if you are interested : )
I mention a few of the projects I hope to do.

Do  you think I can do it? 

Take an entire month away from the computer,

after 4 long years of not missing a beat???

Yikes!

I am going to keep a journal about what it feels like...

to not turn on my laptop first thing in the morning...

or all day long...

day after day.....

Hmmmm 

Wish me luck!

Martha has kindly offered to take care of T.T. each week,

so please visit her at her lovely newly beautified blog Martha's Favorites.
Thank you dear Martha
You know Martha is a good soul...
really, truly, really.
She is amazing. 

As I said in my previous post, 

I will miss you all very much.

I shall see you in September

with plenty to share!

Hugs,

Terri

Awe-Inspiring August! Computer Vacation!

Hello All!

 (copywrited by Smith & Anthony Stove Co. 1889, found repinned on Pinterest)

 This lovely lady is sitting in a garden enjoying a cup of  tea.

She wears a fresh rose and there is a hint of

summer foliage and flowers in the background.

July is almost over...

where did the time go?

When I think of summer, 

I think of doing things like this...

Tea outdoors...

visiting the seaside...

reading a good book in the morning...

visiting a museum I have not experienced before...

Also

playing in my art room...

(it has been neglected)

getting my hands all colored up

with dye from a happy afternoon of fabric magic.

I know I will be doing more of this in August....

  I did these pieces a few weeks ago.

 Delicate shades of blue....

Deeper with a touch of green...

Some rich purples...

And delicate pinks.

Lovely things to use for collage art.

I enjoy making banners, and I have a few more ready to hand sew.

And...

I hope to begin quilting on the quilt I began....oh

say a year and a half ago???

Lol!

Frieda at Frieda Quilter

has been inspiring me for ages and ages with her 

 beautiful and expressive quilts...

And recently while visiting her blog, I finally got a vision of how

I want to stitch my quilt together.

Thank you Frieda!

Wish me luck with this project,

I will share how far I get...

I have other hopeful project ideas.

I have more pins in Pinterest then I could ever do...

but I would like to try a few : )

Do you know what I mean? 

This August seems very special to me...

for various reasons,

And I don't want to miss a minute of it.

I need some rest too : )

So I am planning a lot more of that!

Lol!

So....

I have decided to take a computer vacation for August...

And I am calling it 

Awe-Inspiring August!

Yay!

It is my promise to myself to....

Turn my laptop off on July 31st...

and leave it off. 

And to allow the Inspiration and relaxation in!

I enjoy being with all of you here in Bloglandia, 

And I will miss connecting each week.

(you all have inspired me so much,

I want to go and play!)

I will miss Tea Cup Tuesday...oh my!

In fact, I am wondering if I can do it???

Gak!

Have any of you taken a month off?

(do any of you feel you need to?)

 

 6 days and counting....!

Do you have special August plans?

Hugs,

Terri

Tea Cup Tuesday-Christmas in July

 Hello All!

Welcome to Tea Cup Tuesday!

Today, I am joining in with Sandi's fun 

and sharing a little Christmas tea. 

 Is it ever too early to think about Christmas?

Even though it is hot and humid here,

a Christmas tea would cool me off I am sure : )

How about this lovely tea set today?
I think it suits the "holiday season" nicely.

Last year my kind MIL took me to a thrift shop near her home. 

I found four place settings of this lovely vintage thistle pattern! 

Thrilling  really : )

The luncheon plates are oval shaped with a silver rim.
I just recently noticed some matching bowls on eBay!

I found this Cranberry Orange scone at Whole Foods...

It looks delicious doesn't it?

Cranberries remind me of Christmas and my favorite cookie recipe.

Another favorite of mine through the holidays is spiced chai tea...

MMMMMmmmmm, yes it is soooo good!

This set was manufactured by the Johnson Bros, in England. 

It seems the pattern is White Thistle # JB517.

I have found it in two places on the net, both confirm each others pattern number.

Now that I am in the Christmas spirit

I am thinking of a new Jane Austen ornament 

for my Jane Austen Christmas tree.

Are you working on your Christmas list yet?

Thank you Sandi for hosting this festive tea hop!

If you would like to participate in Tea Cup Tuesday with dear Martha and myself,
just go and create a post with the tea cup in it you would like to share, or
share a tea party you had, or a favorite tea you love to drink. Anything to do with tea cups and tea.
Then come back here and link up below.
Yay!

 Have a great week! Hugs,

Terri

Listen To Your Own Dear Heart

Hello All!

This has been a lovely summer, despite the challenges. 

Each day is an opportunity.

I have been sharing some of my fun dying fabric in previous posts.... 

and today I would like to share my first attempt at
what  I call  Suzy Style fabric collage : )

Suzy from Suziques Threadworks.

She inspired me with her lovely gift.
(see my side bar for her giveaway!)

I dyed old linens, ribbon, and lace,
and enjoyed ironing them all afterwards....
I had an idea for the theme or thought,
about listening to ones own inner wisdom
 and I laid out my pieces.

******

And here is how it turned out once I finished sewing it all together

and added the final embellishments.
I found it challenging to try to keep everything where I initially wanted it to go,
and that the design changed somewhat.
And that is o.k. with me.

I made some spectacular mistakes along the way....
hopefully learning...

The first panel....
the hardest part for me was not being symmetrical
with all the odd shaped pieces of lace.
I used to be a very tidy crafter
and everything had to be lined up and straight!

And that is o.k. too,
but I wanted to let go... 

The middle one....
It is pretty wonky!
Each panel is backed, and this one is open
behind the heart...
so the light shines through when I hang it outdoors.

The third one...

Sewing each one was challenging,
I broke my first needle and then switched to a jeans needle.
Suzy very kindly has given me advice to do that,
and having her gorgeous art here with me to
use as a reference, I managed to finish my project.

I hope to hang it outdoors on my second floor balcony,
Where I had my tea two Tuesdays ago.

 Thank you Suzy for inspiring me!

How is your weekend?

Thank you so much for coming by to visit!
Hugs,
Terri

Hugs,
Terri