K is for Knife rest

It's almost Thursday once again (wow that week went by so fast) time to meet up with Mrs Matlock and the other participants for Alphabe- Thursday.

K is for Knife Rest

A set of 6 hand painted antique Nevers knife rests

"Knife Rests have been used for longer than most people think. 
In the early 18th Century and possibly the late 17th century the gentry and the ruling classes sat down to a meal that could have had anything up to 12 courses and apart from their hands probably only had one knife and fork per person. To save soiling the table, the knife and fork and tablecloth, if there was one, the utensils had to be put down onto something that kept them off the table. It was probably initially just a piece of wood in the times of Henry the eighth but from the eighteenth century we know that some enterprising person started to design what we now consider proper knife rests in pairs, sets of 4,6,12 and probably more."
Source: Antique Knife Rest Collection.

a set of 6 metal dachshund knife rests

Back in the noughties I sometimes offered French knife rests, portes couteaux, for sale on eBay.
Collectors loved them,

a pair of Montagnon, Nevers faience knife rests

 tablescapers loved them,

a cheeky pair of pottery dolphins

a 1950's pair of colouful fish shaped vintage knife rests

and I loved shipping them, so light and easy to pack!

Christofle cut glass knife rests

a selection of Quimper faience knife rests

a pair of silver plate "wishbone" knife rests

I must admit that I developed a fondness for these decorative table accessories, acquiring quite a selection to use whenever we entertain.
I'm always on the lookout to add to my private collection when mooching around brocantes, vide greniers and auction houses.
Click here  to read a knife rest post on the love quimper blog.
How about you, do you ever include knife rests in your table settings?

Alphabe- Thursday

Touring Blogland

Recently my dear friend Sarah invited me to join her on the Blogland Tour and featured me on her blog @Hyacinths For The Soul. 

Sarah and I have been friends since meeting at the Quimper Collectors Club’s second annual gathering in Washington D.C. in 2000. 

Sarah and I had a great day antiquing in Bayeux
when she & her husband came to visit in 2011.

As collectors of French faience in particular the pottery produced in the town of Quimper, Brittany, we always enjoy getting together with other Q collectors. I for one am counting down the days until we meet again next month in Nice, the jewel of the French Riviera.

plage Beau Rivage, Nice, France.
(photo from internet)

As part of the tour Sarah gave me 4 questions to answer.

What am I working on right now?

First of all with my Quimper Club Secretary’s hat on I’m working on preparing a report to present at the meeting next month. 

Mark Twain once said “there are two types of speakers, those that are nervous and those that are liars”. I know which type I am, addressing an audience is not something I am very comfortable with doing. Luckily I only have some statistics relating to the membership to report, so I think I’ll be o.k. 

Around the Presbytere I’m working on keeping everything “show home” ready as we never know when the Immobilier/ estate agent might call to arrange to bring a client over to view the house. 

My precious “me time” is spent in my attic craft room and it seems that lately I've been scrapping vacation memories.

L. Tulum, Mexico 1998
R. South Beach, HHI 2012

Some of my most recent pages.

L. Kos, Greece, 2013
R. HHI again with Dad & Joyce, 1992

How does my work differ from others in this genre?

Such a good question, but I’m not really sure that it does. I do have certain things that I like to include on my scrapbook pages, whether I’m following a sketch or a set of criteria set down in a challenge. I usually draw doodle a couple of lines around the edges to frame the layout. Tags! Almost every layout has to include tags wherever possible and I love to pile on embellishments in clusters and layers. These are my “signatures” I guess.

Why do I write or create what I do?

The simple answer is that I started my blog to share our life in Normandy. Our beautiful home, which we fell in love with the first time we saw it, is in a very small rural hamlet and there’s not a lot to do here if you’re not a farmer! 

In 2008 when I first started blogging I had no idea if anyone would be interested in my ramblings but just started chatting as if to a friend and went on from there.

 ice cream sundae, anyone?

I write about my garden, especially the potager, our pets, my husband, our little trips around the area and those to more faraway places. Blogging and scrap booking are the perfect hobbies for me.

How does your writing process actually work?

I always have my camera close by and anything such as my latest read, a beautiful sunrise, a bee on a lavender bush, a dog looking cute, white fluffy clouds or a new recipe can easily find its way onto the page. It’s almost always the photograph that dictates the post and inspires my words.

Lettuce soup, better than gazpacho!

Enough about me.

Time to introduce you to two ladies whose talents lie in quite a different direction to mine, you'll soon see why.

Lorrie @ Fabric, Paper & Thread is a blogging friend of many years who lives in Victoria, BC, Canada. 

On her blog you will find links to her Etsy store and Craftsy page where she says " I love to sew and create in a variety of mediums. Sewing, embroidery, paper crafts - you name it, I've probably tried it. But I always come back to my love of fabric and sewing! "

Another very talented lady is Sue @ I Sew Quilts. 

Sue and I met through the Quimper Club when we both attended the 2001 annual meeting in Quimper, Brittany. At that time she ran a very successful store aptly named “The Pumpkin Patch”. Sue’s blog is a feast for the eye, not only does she share with us the projects that she is currently working on but takes us travelling around the UK and the US, to the many museums and quilt shows that she visits with her quilting friends.

I’d like to thank Sarah for inviting me on the tour and you, too, for your company today. 

Please do visit Lorrie and Sue 

on Monday, the 18^th August 

for the next sequence of the Blog Land Tour.

Bargain hunting for Quimper and other treasures.............................

We're in the middle of a holiday weekend here in France, Monday is Bastille Day and many towns and villages in Calvados and Manche are holding antiques/brocante fairs, my local paper has pages and pages full of listings.

It's the summertime when everyone becomes a chineur (bargain hunter) enjoying the search for a vintage treasure or veritable antique piece.
On Friday we headed for one of the more upmarket antique fairs taking place over 4 days in the impossibly pretty village of Beuvron en Auge, in the heart of the Pays d'Auge and slap bang on the cider route of Normandy.

A longtime favourite with locals and tourists alike it has stunningly beautiful architecture, great restaurants and shopping.

statement chairs ?

I took masses of photographs around the village but this post is dedicated to chineurs everywhere, on y va!

I may have to go back for some of these as I've just spotted the embroidered SP in the bottom left.
These might just inspire the Senior Partner to help with the dishes!

Before we entered the chapiteau where the antique items were to be found I mooched around outside among the brocanteurs.

I'm on the lookout for a handmade wooden tuffet/stool (tabouret) after falling in love with the one in the sitting room of Button Cottage, our digs when visiting Derbyshire, UK in May.

Loved the look of this vintage enameled railway sign, a quirky display piece for any outdoor space such as a patio or hanging on the wall of your potting shed.

Great looking bench, table and chairs to place beside the potager, weary gardeners do need to rest from time to time.

Inside the tent I stopped to admire this beautiful display of Christofle and Lalique items.

Did you notice the sweet little pots au chocolat in the corner, bottom left? The vendor was willing to split the set which I thought was a shame, each pot was priced at 35 euro.

Beautiful serving platters, bowls, candlesticks, knife rests and so much flatware, what a feast for the eyes.
Turning a corner we were delighted to come across a longtime dealer acquaintance of ours, he once was our "go to" man when searching out exquisite Porquier Beau, HB and HR, Quimper faience.

The green on yellow acanthus/rinceaux border on this Porquier Beau jardiniere is a particular favourite of mine.

I'm quite partial to the green on white, too!

The detail on this large footed compote dish is exquisite, a classic Porquier Beau piece from the late 1800's.

Before heading back home the SP walked Mamselle Fleur down by the river whilst I went after one last shot, or three!

Beuvron en Auge, a picture postcard village with it's beautiful half timbered houses, one of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France.

à bientôt

Alphabe-Thursday. G is for Gavotte

It's been a while since I've shared pictures of beautiful antique and vintage pieces of Quimper faïence.
For this week's Alphabe-Thursday with Mrs Matlock @ Off On My Tangent I created a mosaic featuring two plates, a tall and slender jug, a bowl, and a two wall pockets, one shaped as an umbrella and the other in the form of a ladies slipper.

What these beautiful pieces all have in common is the hand painted motif of a young Breton couple, captured mid-step whilst dancing a country folk dance called a Gavotte.
These pieces have all been part of our collection at some time but sadly all belong in other collections now!
The Gavotte remains popular in Brittany to this day and you will often see it demonstrated during the many wonderful festivals held throughout Brittany during the summer months.

Beautiful costumes
Festival de Cornouaille  July 2002

Click here to visit the Festival de Cornouaille 2012 website.
If you are planning a trip to Brittany this year you shouldn't miss this wonderful event.

Daily daffodil

Blogging again and having fun with friends!

Such a lot has been happening since my last post almost 2 weeks ago that I'm only now able to catch my breath.
I'll be posting about where we went and what we got up to during our wonderful break back "home" in the UK very soon, but first I want to share with you the two visits which we have had since our return.
On Wednesday my very good blogging friend Jenny, & her husband Enno, (Two Tumbleweeds) from Holland came for tea.
It was the first time we had met face to face but you would never have known it, as we hit it off right from the start.

Jenny & Enno
just two tumbleweeds!

Jenny & Enno are both talented artists click here to go to Jenny's new painting blog.
The Senior Partner and I were thrilled when Jenny presented us with one of her artworks which she had painted during their time spent close to Monet's Garden at Giverny.

We spent a lovely afternoon together chatting over tea and scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam.

As they left Jenny told me that she felt we could be related, well, all I know is that we're family now!
On Thursday afternoon my dear friend Sarah (aka Hyacinths For The Soul) and her husband Mr HFTS came to stay for the weekend.

Sarah, Mr Ben & me

Sarah and I met over 10 years ago, through our love of Quimper pottery, at the Quimper Club meeting in Washington, DC and have met almost every year, since then, at the same annual event.

Monogrammed napkins from Roundtop,
gingerbread from Dijon & graines de moutarde de Bourgogne,
French nougat, quince,thyme & rosemary preserves,
 and
pretty notecards

Mr B & I were in the UK whilst the club was meeting this year in Brittany but Sarah soon brought me up to date on all the latest Q news and I felt as if I'd almost been there myself!
She also brought delightful gifts for us both, we did feel spoilt.

Hyacinth in Bayeux!

Sarah & I drove to Bayeux on Friday for a little flea marketing, a visit to the Bayeux Tapestry and the Cathedral, followed by crepes for lunch.
If that girl lived here we could get up to all sorts of mischief!

experiencing my local epicerie

The "husbands" were happy to sit in the sunshine and have lunch in the garden putting the world to rights, until Sarah & I arrived home with one or two "treasures" found at the Depot Vente.

Hidden in a pile of plates I discovered this special piece. Number 50 of 300.
It was produced in 1990 to celebrate the "Trois siècles de faïences", Keraluc, Quimper.

The price?
 Just 2€ -  the thriftiest find I've ever had!

Joining Bunny Hop Wednesday at Bunny Jeans Decor & More

 French Inspiration Thursday @ The French Cupboard
and

Vintage Thingies Thursday with the Colorado Lady

Click on the links to see who else is participating in these great meme's this week.

Fresh Cut Friday with Rose Vignettes

I think I spoke too soon, those gorgeous blue skies are nowhere to be seen today, the rain came back with a vengeance during the night and it's grey and overcast once more.

White hydrangea, pink roses and blue hibiscus

Luckily I picked these colourful blooms from the garden earlier in the week and arranged them quite simply in a Quimper faience vase decorated in the same colours.

The decoration on the vase is known as broderie and is made up of tiny little dots of coloured glaze which are applied to the surface with the aid of a small tool known as a "poire", it's a bit like icing a cake!

Many different designs can be found on broderie pieces, they mimic the elaborate embroideries which we see decorating traditional Breton costumes such as the one that the Bretonne, featured on the front of the vase, is wearing.

The back of the vase is just as decorative.

I find that the coloured glazes contrast beautifully against the dark cobalt blue background.

Joining Liz @ Rose Vignettes for Fresh Cut Friday

 where everything is blooming wonderfully.