Tea and Panic

I love a good cup of tea.  I enjoy coffee, but LOVE tea.  To quote Jean-Luc Picard, "Earl Grey - HOT!" is a perfect way to start my day…..and I generally do.  Given my penchant for collecting things I love, tea themed things are one of them.

We have built-in oak shelves in one corner of our kitchen and I display some of my collection here.

 I painted the rose tea tray on the back left; the two little tea pots on the left are from a dear friend in CA; the Belleek coffee mug is from my best friend and the Lenox Irish Cottage tea pot was a gift from my mother.  Can you see a mini-Bella laying in front of the cottage?  And - LOOK! - there's Bitty Bear ready to serve tea.

I  painted the Limoges trembleuse (Trembleuse cups and saucers were specifically designed for a person who suffered from the trembles and were virtually "spill proof").  The Royal Albert "Old Country Roses" creamer and sugar was a gift from a dear friend, as was the book "If Teacups could Talk".  On the far right you'll see a mug purchased on my first trip to Ireland with my mother.  It was made at the Tara Bone China factory in Galway.  Sadly, it closed shortly after our visit.  It says "There is no fireside like your own fireside".  On the back is the same saying in seanfhocal or Old Irish.

There's more of my tea collection - but I don't want to bore you…..maybe more in a future post.

"Don't Panic!!" Well - easier said than done.  Here's the story - June 25th I read a post from Shirlee reminding us there were six months until Christmas.  First, I chuckled.  Then I panicked.

I have TWO needlepoint Christmas stocking to finish before November 1st.  One is for my grandson who will be 18 months old around Christmas.  The second is for my grandson-to-be due in October.  Not to mention the grand daughter-to-be due in August.  So I guess my math is a bit off - that's THREE.

AUGH!!!!

I have one started.  It's roughly 19 inches longs 12 inches wide.  Here's the front:

So you can tell how much I've gotten done, here's the back…..all the white "inside" the stocking is what I have left to do.  Did I mention it's 18 holes per inch?

What else can I say?

Keep yourself surrounded by stitches ~ Cheers