Angela Webster McRae's Blog, page 52

Fa la la la la … and fabric!

We were in Green Bay, Wisconsin, visiting family last week, and on Saturday, we stopped by their local Walmart for a few things. I like to check out all the Christmas needlework magazines, and this cute Hometown Christmas quilt caught my eye on the cover of the November/December 2022 issue of Love of Quilting.

Then I flipped over a few pages and saw this photo of a Tea Time table topper and knew I had to have this issue.

Later, once I started actually reading the magazine, I found a Coffee Time scrap quilt that I think would be lovely made with teatime fabrics as well.

And while this charming Tea Party quilt pattern wasn't featured in the magazine, I enjoyed reading about quilter Wendy Williams and her whimsical designs.

Now I rarely check the fabric aisle at Walmart, but I saw that the Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, now has a line of fabrics matching her pretty floral wares, and that display caught my eye (I'm still thinking about checking my local Walmart for some of these fabrics). Then I noticed they had a box of miscellaneous fat quarters nearby, and these Christmas ones caught my eye!

So if you're a crafter/quilter/needleworker of any sort, this magazine and/or this fabric may be something you want to look for before it gets snapped up this Christmas!

Delayed gratification … it's a good thing!

Many months ago, I was browsing at Hobby Lobby one day when I noticed that Sizzix had some new Tea Time dies featuring a teacup filled with flowers. Now ever since Hobby Lobby stopped offering a 40-percent-off coupon every week, if a product isn't on sale, it will usually be discounted the very next week, so I've gotten good at waiting for a desired item to be on sale, especially a fairly pricy set like this one, which was $22.99. This time, I apparently let so much time pass that these dies were even more on sale—75 percent off!

These were fun to use, but oh my, it's a lot of work for one little old card. Each of these pieces has to be die cut and punched out and affixed to the card. I made this pink one first.

Then I went for more of a fall palette with this teal-colored card, which was my favorite. I am a slow card maker, so each of these took me about an hour to make. Still, if you're into paper crafts and like this idea, you may want to check the clearance aisle at Hobby Lobby before these Sizzix Tea Time dies are all gone!

Yes, I've tried a cigar!

It's always fun when a new tea vendor reaches out, so I was most pleased when a package from Sri Lanka landed in my mailbox the other day!

Kaley Tea says that they "grow tea organically and regeneratively, amid a variety of spices and fruits. We handpick the finest tea leaves from this single garden and handcraft tea, as folklore has it, with the healing palms of our artisans." I received several nice samples, and the two I chose to try first were  the Green Tea Cigar and the Orange Sunshine Tea.

First, this Orange Sunshine Tea was a nice brisk black tea. I steeped it for three minutes and found it a little too brisk (but I do not like my tea as strong as some do). The tea can be resteeped, and when I steeped it for another two minutes, I liked it even more.

But what I was really eager to try was this Green Tea Cigar, which was definitely a new type of tea for me! It's rolled into a tiny little bundle, and you steep the whole thing.

Of course, I wasn't thinking and steeped it in my teacup instead of another vessel, so I had to strain the tea into another cup and pour it back in (because I wanted to use this newly thrifted teacup!).

I really liked the fresh, rich, slightly vegetal taste of this green tea. I don't recall having a green tea that resulted in such a golden brew before. It had only the merest hint of any astringency, and I quickly resteeped this tea and enjoyed several cups of it. The "cigar" is certainly a novel way to present tea, and I'm grateful to Kaley Tea for sharing these samples. Go here to learn more!

Santa mugs on a tea towel!

A blog reader in Toronto, Elaine, recently sent me an alert about a product she thought I might be interested in, and she was certainly right! It was this tea towel featuring vintage Santa mugs, designed by a Louise Pretzel (love her name) for Anthropologie!

I couldn't order this tea towel fast enough (and wish I'd had it to mention in The Vintage Christmas Cookbook). When it arrived, I noted it even had some metallic gold highlights, which is perfect for Christmas. In just a few more weeks, I'll have this out alongside my Santa mugs, from which I'll be sipping peppermint tea all season long.

When I visited the Anthropologie website, I found a few more items by this designer that I needed (or "needed") as well. Including wrapping paper—which I'll probably hoard like a priceless craft supply and use just bits of a time—and a stamp set.

And would you check out this lovely stamp set—with eleven Mr. and Mrs. Santa mug stamps, no less! I thought $24 for eleven stamps and two full-size ink pads was actually a great buy.

I can't decide which stamp I like best. This winking Mrs. Santa is awfully cute, isn't she?

But this guy looks like many of the vintage Santa mugs in my collection. I'd never heard of graphic designer Louise Pretzel before, but boy, has she made me happy. (Thanks again to Elaine for the heads-up!)

Santa muga_

A blog reader in Toronto, Elaine, recently sent me an alert about a product she thought I might be interested in, and she was certainly right! It was this tea towel featuring vintage Santa mugs, designed by a Louise Pretzel (love her name) for Anthropologie!

I couldn't order this tea towel fast enough (and wish I'd had it to mention in The Vintage Christmas Cookbook). When it arrived, I noted it even had some metallic gold highlights, which is perfect for Christmas. In just a few more weeks, I'll have this out alongside my Santa mugs, from which I'll be sipping peppermint tea all season long.

When I visited the Anthropologie website, I found a few more items by this designer that I needed (or "needed") as well. Including wrapping paper—which I'll probably hoard like a priceless craft supply and use just bits of a time—and a stamp set.

And would you check out this lovely stamp set—with eleven Mr. and Mrs. Santa mug stamps, no less! I thought $24 for eleven stamps and two full-size ink pads was actually a great buy.

I can't decide which stamp I like best. This winking Mrs. Santa is awfully cute, isn't she?

But this guy looks like many of the vintage Santa mugs in my collection. I'd never heard of graphic designer Louise Pretzel before, but boy, has she made me happy. (Thanks again to Elaine for the heads-up!)

The new issue of Tea Time and some fascinating political history!

Okay. Please turn to pages 87 and 88 in the November/December 2022 issue of Tea Time. Did you know about this bit of political history involving tea? I did not!

What? You don't subscribe? Or your issue hasn't arrived yet? Okay, well, here's the deal: There's an article titled "How Tea Swayed Voters in 1952," and it's all about how John F. Kennedy's Senate campaign had a grassroots effort to hold tea parties that would be attended by Kennedy or his family members. Katherine Ellis writes, "Elegant invitations were sent to women who 'made the list,' but if a woman who wished to attend wasn't initially invited, she could contact the Kennedy campaign office and be added to said list. The teas were held in private homes and hotels, often on Sundays, and women would dress to the nines to drink tea poured from silver urns and savor delicate finger foods with the opportunity to be graced with the presence of the illustrious family."

The article says the first Kennedy Tea was held at the Bancroft Hotel in Worcester, Massachusetts, and nearly 5,000 people showed up—4,000 more than they'd planned for—and all got to shake hands with a member of the Kennedy family. Some 33 of these teas were held.
And of course Kennedy would go on to win that Senate seat and later the presidency. I am just flabbergasted that I have never heard of these Kennedy Teas before. Have any of you? Do you know anyone who attended a Kennedy Tea? I am thoroughly fascinated by this bit of history!

'Tis the season …

One of the fun things about shopping for the holidays all year round is that I always have something new to play with when the actual holidays arrive. I recently found a few more 99-cent Santa mugs at Goodwill. These aren't vintage, but I thought they were cute and will blend well with my collection.

Did I say collection? Well, I've started a new one. I decided these amber-colored glass sherbet dishes sure would be fun to use at Thanksgiving. It's not my year to host (it's my sister's), but if I start now, I'll bet I can gather the 18 or so of these I'll need to serve something yummy in at Thanksgiving next year. I've started finding them for about a dollar, and that's about the max I'll pay. I want this to be a totally thrifted collection!

And here's another one.

While I had Thanksgiving on the brain, I bought a cute new Nordic Ware pan at Goodwill for just $1.49. 

I'm planning to use it to make "festive" shaped cornbread, as I don't really have the time to learn to decorate a pumpkin cake! Have you started any new collections, thrifted or otherwise?

A wedding celebration in the country

So back in March, my niece Cari eloped (!), and after we all got over the shock of that, we knew we wanted to have some sort of celebration in honor of her wedding. My sister, Rhonda, offered to host a reception for family and friends in the fall, and we couldn’t have had better weather for it than we had on Saturday! Here are Cari and Blake in the gazebo in front of my dad’s house (my sister lives next door to him).


Rhonda, who is an excellent cook, made the cake herself, and niece Madison ordered a personalized topper from Etsy, which I thought was perfect for this country-themed affair!


Rhonda also had a food tent erected, and since her family is very proud of their Texas roots (her in-laws are from Texas), we had a spread of make-your-own tacos and nachos and enchiladas and …


Sweet tea! I drank many cups of it that evening.


There were lots of photos, including Cari and her siblings …


And Cari and Blake with her siblings and their significant others!

The golden light filtering through the trees cast a magical glow on the whole celebration.


The pretty fall flowers my sister had gathered seemed perfect for this brief but gorgeous little window of just-right weather that we seem to have here in Georgia at this time of year.

And I do believe my country-loving niece and her husband (not to mention the guests) thoroughly enjoyed themselves!

A fall classic: Cranberry Autumn Tea from Harney & Sons

Of all the fall teas I've tried, the one I go back to time and time again is Cranberry Autumn from Harney & Sons. This black tea is flavored with cranberry and orange, and it's just not fall if I don't have a tin of this at hand!

I even like seeing a few dried cranberry bits when I open the tin.

With this order, I also got this little box of Pumpkin Spice Shortbread I'd wanted to try.

The shortbread had a great texture and light pumpkin spice flavor, a nice variation on the other pumpkin spice foods I've had so far this fall. I continue to be impressed that Harney still offers free shipping on *any* order! Do you have a favorite fall tea, from Harney & Sons or elsewhere?

A fun find from the Cotton Pickin' Fair

On Sunday, I made a quick visit to the Cotton Pickin' Fair in Gay, Georgia. I hadn't been to this fair in years, but fall is such a fun time to visit a country fair, and not surprisingly, I came home with a few goodies, including this fun piece of pottery in the shape of a teacup. It's about 3-1/4 inches inches high and 7-1/2 inches wide from lip to handle. Do you know what it is? 

Here's another photo with a better view of the lip.

I'd just finished scoring a vintage Christmas tablecloth when I saw this sign and knew I needed to check out the wares!

Do you like pottery? Although I'm obviously crazy about my fine bone china teacups and teapots, I also have a great appreciation for handmade pottery. So when I saw this colorful jewel-toned piece in the shape of a teacup, I had to have it, even though I didn't know quite what it was. So what is it? A berry juicer, according to the potter from Alabama! But she said some customers have used it as an African violet bowl since they can put the water in the rim. My thought? A yarn ball holder with the yarn coming out of one of those holes!

And I loved getting home and realizing the potter had signed my new multi-purpose piece. You can follow Sweet Tea Pottery on Facebook to see where else you might come across these lovely wares.