L is for Lavender and Lounging with Tea & Scones

L is for Lavender

Provencal Lavender Fields, original oil on board by Karen Tual

If you've ever seen fields of lavender in bloom, then you know the beauty of this remarkable plant. Lavender has been used in cultures for over 2500 years and first came to this continent with the Pilgrims in the 1600s.

Lavender is a delightful addition to a sunny garden spot. It grows in clumps and likes a sandy, well drained soil.

Spring and summer yields the joy of delicate lavender blooms.

A soothing bath with lavender salts is the perfect ending to a long day. It's a wonderful way to relax, rejuvenate, and revitalize.

Lavender baths are healing. The delicious sent of lavender is the perfect aromatherapy.

After my shower I like to soothe my skin with Pandora Balthazar's lavender foot cream and body butter.

Lavender is also a wonderful fragrance to use around the home. Not only does it make everything smell fresh, it also helps get rid of bugs.

Long ago lavender wands were often given to young women to protect trousseaus and use to perfume linens stored in closets or drawers. Today, many of us like to use lavender sachets in our drawers and closets.

Lavender sprinkled about a closet is a good way to keep one's clothes smelling fresh.

Lavender flowers, stems, and leaves have long been used for culinary purposes.

Lavender tea is a perfect morning pick-me-up or a late afternoon treat. Fresh lavender leaves are best used as an herb for savory dishes. Lavender flowers, both fresh or dried, offer beautiful color and flavor to a variety of dishes. Use only lavender that is clean, pesticide free, and grown for culinary purposes.

Today I've made lavender scones for you . . .

and brewed you a pot of lavender tea.

The teapot is old Sheffield plate. It was a find from a vendor at the Round Top Antique shows several years ago.

The vintage silver-plate cream and sugar are from my mother. She gave these to me for my playhouse when I was a young child. They are marked "Made in Japan". Most of the silver is now worn off, and the copper is showing through in some places. They are very sentimental pieces for me, but I also like the sweet shapes, the pebble texture, and the floral details.

I've set it all out on a tea tray so you can enjoy your lavender treats out on the sun porch.

I've filled a petite Quimper cornet with lavender sprigs and a few fresh flowers from the garden. It is unmarked, but most likely produced by Adolphe and Arthur Porquier, 1875-1903. The croisillé of this piece is one of my favorites. This decor was very time intensive and expensive to produce, so it was not often used in production after WW II.

A pair of sweet vintage linen napkin were a recent gift from Mary @ Across the Pond. You can read about this and the other delights she sent me here. I was the fortunate winner of her celebration of her 800th post give away. Thank you again, Mary! I'm definitely enjoying my gifts.

Your cup of tea and lavender scone are served on pieces of Quimper from my collection. The larger wand of lavender was purchased in Santa Fe last summer. A street vendor would make these on the spot and embellish them with a fresh rose bud and other flowers. The lavender is now dried, but I add fresh blooms now and again to perk it up.

The cups and saucers are early HB Quimper. They were a purchase during my first visit to Quimper, France. They have the softest blue glaze, and the painting on the cups is unusually detailed and fine.

The saucers are deep and painted with a simple border of floral sprays. The petite plate holding the scone is unmarked. It repeats the delicate croisillé decor of the AP cornet.

Since I'm serving tea and sharing about lavender today, I thought it appropriate to include this pair of hand appliquéd and embroidered tea towels. The little lady on the left is dressed in her lavender best.

The tea towels are the skillful handwork of my mother many years ago, and they've now been handed down to me.

So happy you stopped by today. I'm linking this post to Mrs. Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday for "Letter L" today, but I've also linked up to some other weekly memes this week. Click the links below to visit these great blogs for lots of interesting posts.

Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday

Colorado Lady's Vintage Thingie Thursday

Laurie's A Few of My Favorite Things Saturday

Gypsy Fish Journal - Silver Sunday

Rhondi @ Rose Colored Glasses - Tea Party Tuesday

Lady Katherine's Tea Parlor - Tea Time Tuesday

Tea Towel Treasures

It seems amazing that we are already into 2010. Feels like only yesterday that we were celebrating the new millennium in 2000. I'm happy you joined me today. I'm linking this post to Blue Monday hosted by Smiling Sally, Mosaic Monday hosted by Little Red House, and Three or More Tuesday hosted by The Gypsy's Corner. Thank you to each of these ladies for hosting these fun events each week.

The week between Christmas and New Year's Day, I received a package from a dear friend who lives in France.

The little package on the left saying "Merry Christmas" contained this fabulous red and white tea towel. It's made of the finest linen. Feels so elegant to the touch! And it is woven with bands of red along the edges. So French!

This mosaic shows you the details of this beauty which features the Arc de Triomphe, L' Opera, and Tour d Eiffel. Judy knows The City of Light is my all time favorite city. I have a thing about the Eiffel Tower. She also knows that I adore tea towels as much as I adore pottery. Both are works of art as far as I'm concerned.

The other package on the right and saying " . . . and a Happy New Year" appropriately held this 2010 calendar tea towel. Judy lives in Brittany and is a friend I met through the Quimper Club. This blue tea towel features my favorite motifs found on Quimper pottery. Click on the photo to enlarge and you can see the details of the Breton people and the French coqs.

Here is the month for January, my favorite. It's my birth month!

I have some other tea towels from Brittany. Want to see them?

This is one that features the work of Quimper artist François Le Villec.

This Corentine de Quimper towel features the pieces of a faience tea service. Doesn't it make you want to heat up the water and enjoy a cup of tea? These French tea towels are larger and make great little accent cloths on a small table. A table set for tea perhaps?

Take a look at this lovely pair! The towels are made from natural linen and chain stitched to portray a Breton couple, he on one and she on the other. The embroidery is done in a cherry red, not the pinkish color that shows in the photo. These were an unexpected, but most appreciated gift from Fran, another Quimper friend. Thank you, dear Fran! I absolutely LOVE these!

And look how well they go with the linen Christmas towel Judy sent to me last Christmas. I might add that these towels are large. They measure a generous 20"x 30". Definitely NO dirty hands are going to be allowed to touch these beauties. Rather I'm going to come up with a safe creative use for this pair.

The darling towels above were Christmas gifts. I have a neighbor who shares my affinity for MacKenzie-Childs Courtly Check. She gave me the towel on the left with the topiary poinsettia in the CC inspired cache pot. Pretty cute! Thanks, Shannon!

This beautifully wrapped gift arrived this fall. It was a thank you from Laurie @ Bargain Hunting and Chatting with Laurie. You see I'm one of the lucky ones who got to "chat live" with Laurie. You can read about our visit here. Laurie, Thank You Again for these thoughtful gifts. It was such a treat to meet you!

The pink polka dot package contained a sweet personal note from Laurie, a little French dish with an A no less, and a darling tea towel. Wow! I guess Laurie knows a little bit about me. The little dish sits on my desk beside my computer and holds clips, and pens, and stuff.

The tea towel gets to hang about, but I don't let anyone actually use it. LOL It is too wonderful! The detailed work on this is amazing. The teapot is pieced as if it were from a quilt square, is embellished with beautiful embroidery, and appliqued to white cotton. It was made by Cupcakes and Cartwheels. The name is as cute as the towel itself.

This little waffle tea towel was a gift from my sister. She spent 6 weeks in Provence last January to be present for the birth of her grandson. It's special to me because it reminds me of what a special time my sister had while there and how excited our family was to welcome Beau Hubbard into our family.

I've lots more delightful little tea towel art to share, but I'll save it for a future post. I know you want to get back to visiting more posts for Mosaic Monday, Blue Monday, and Three or More Tuesday. Thanks for stopping by. Please leave me a comment. It will make my day!