Folded gently and hanging over a polished wooden rack, in the far back corner of my favourite little antiques and other old-things shop, I found this most lovely afternoon tea cloth. I imagine many a cream tea with fresh scones, fruity jam and dollop-y cream would have been laid out upon this beautiful cloth.
Old, soft linen embroidered with dozens of twining strawberries. So many ruby red and pink fruits created with such tiny stitches. With its circle of berries, leaves and blossoms, it reminds me of botanical art that pays such close attention to the intricate detail of plants.
Strawberries for afternoon tea!
Old, soft linen embroidered with dozens of twining strawberries. So many ruby red and pink fruits created with such tiny stitches. With its circle of berries, leaves and blossoms, it reminds me of botanical art that pays such close attention to the intricate detail of plants.
So many tiny stitches.
I am looking forward to spreading out my strawberry cloth, over a table in the shade of our verandah, and having my very own little cream tea. I'll make sure to have strawberry jam for my scones as somehow I don't think apricot jam would be quite right. 🍓
Meg
That is beautiful! It looks so fresh and cheerful, delicate and timeless. What a lovely find. :)
ReplyDeleteI feel quite lucky to have found it, Stephanie. I know I will love using it and admiring all that amazing embroidery. Meg😊
DeleteThat is quite a find! Beautiful! And a lot of work that someone did! Andrea
ReplyDeleteThere is so much work in it, Andrea. I bought it for $12 and I think that is such a bargain given how much time it would have taken to stitch. Meg☺
DeleteHow pretty, Meg. I hope to see a photo of it in use. The detail is just beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI love to use my little collection of old linens, Stephenie. I plan to use my strawberry cloth the very next time I make scones. Meg:)
DeleteVery nice, Meg. Strawberries are certainly in the headlines at the moment too but for all the wrong reasons unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteYes, so sad what has happened to the strawberry industry here this season, Chel. I feel so sorry for the farmers who were firstly getting next to nothing for their crops with such low prices and then this deliberate contamination on top of that. ABC radio held their big Strawberry Sundae fundraiser yesterday in the city, my hubby said there were big crowds of people lining up to support the farmers by buying a sundae. I think that's all we can do, buy strawberries and chop them up to make sure there's nothing nasty lurking inside. Who'd be a farmer really? Meg:)
DeleteOne of the most loveliest cloths I have ever seen.
ReplyDeleteThank You for showing it 🍓
I couldn't quite believe my luck, Fiona, that someone else hadn't snaffled it up first! It's lovely to find a treasure like this. Meg☺
DeleteGoodness what a find! That embroidery is just stunning!
ReplyDeletexx
It was definitely my lucky day, Emma! I'm going to use it often...which probably means lots of scones:D
DeleteMeg
Oh it’s beautiful 😍
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed! I keep unfolding it just so I can look at it. Meg:)
DeleteWhat a treasure! And the refreshment you set out will be with it mutual decoration!
ReplyDeleteI think it is a real treasure, Gretchen Joanna. All that work! I would love to know the providence of it. I did ask the shop's proprietor but she couldn't tell me much about it. Just that she had bought it among a stack of other linens. Meg:)
DeleteGreat find. I too have a colection of old linens and tea cups and an afternoon tea with a cup to suit the individual is still going strong here at home.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a lovely afternoon tea tradition. I have a lovely cup, that was given to me by a beautiful friend, it has a butterfly on it and it is among my favourites. Meg:)
DeleteSo pretty. A lucky find. X
ReplyDeleteVery lucky! I think it's now my favourite. Meg:)
DeleteWhat beautiful embroidery. I think afternoon tea tastes so much better and is much more enjoyable when we take the time to make it special. It really doesn't take that much effort and yet it's something we don't do often enough, at least I don't. I may have to change that! xx Susan (enjoy your cream tea :)
ReplyDeleteHi Susan. We have afternoon tea every Sunday with my in-laws. I always bake something that morning and we sit down to share it together. Now I have this lovely strawberry cloth for the table and that will make it a bit more special too. Meg:)
DeleteI can remember my mum teaching me embroidery as a child, I decorated hankies. I love an old find, it does scream cream teas and bone china.
ReplyDeleteIt is quite lovely to find something like this, Marlene. I know I will really enjoy using it...the perfect excuse to have more cream teas! Meg☺
Deletenice find! I love the colour of the linen against the embroidery:-)
ReplyDeleteThe linen is just beautiful, Allison. It's old and soft and worn in a few places. Perfect!
DeleteMeg that is just so beautiful, I would have bought that, I am always on the look out for vintage linen but never seem to have any luck.
ReplyDeleteI think it is really beautiful too, Marlene. I have notbseen anything likeit before. I am glad I got to bring it home. Meg☺
DeleteI'm not real big on linen, in our home - oh white things, where did you go? I can't really bleach things, with our septic. But that's still a mighty fine table decoration. I hope the person who made it, got the same amount of satisfaction, as you have, when it was in their possession. I imagine, there's a bit of a story behind it. :)
ReplyDeleteI wish I knew the story behind it too, Chris. I'd love to know who made it as they put so much work into it. I can't imagine embroidering something like this! I don't usually buy bigger linens, for I'm afraid we don't have a white-friendly home either:D I mainly sort through all the little doilies and choose a couple to use for craft but I fell in love with this and already treasure it. I plan on using it often as I don't really believe in keeping things for "best". Meg:)
DeleteOh yes, it is definitely a sweet strawberry cloth. What a lovely find :)
ReplyDeletexTania
Isn't it just gorgeous! Meg Xx
DeleteThat is a beautiful tea cloth! Enjoy your afternoon tea on it. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's perfect for afternoon teas, Bless. It's now my firm favourite! Meg:)
DeleteWhat a beautiful find! The embroidery is so lovely. It's very hard to find things like that at the thrift stores in my area.
ReplyDeleteI was very lucky to find it, Nil. Surprised that someone didn't buy it before me. Meg:)
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