Found

It appears I've been dreaming in the same colours lately.

Ecru, shades of tea- stained cream, touches of black and gold, as seen in the vintage vanity tray on my dresser.

Hunting for vintage fabric for my winter project, I stumbled upon this gorgeous turn of the century outfit at Granny's Boot, one of the best sources for antiques in our area. Madge, the owner is one of a kind...energetic, charismatic and generous.  When she saw the look on my face, she gifted me this exquisite little treasue.

Look at the silk ruching and beautiful, perfectly stained fabric flower, with a black bonnet pin attached.

...... small, hand made silk rosettes.....

.....and gorgeous, silk lining, which is virtually unavailable today.

......more lovely details to savour in the waist length jacket....

I already have something in mind for the lining, perhaps a pin cushion, in the shape of a pear...

sitting on a tarnished silver candlestick base????

I started this needle case early this spring...

The design is a Jacobian inspired flower.  I used silk seam binding for the stems and other little interesting bits I found in my stash, lace, buttons, and old eyelet stained with tea.

The two sides, inner and outer, before they were assemled.

I stitched like a crazy woman, till I finished it, I was so in love with the colour palette!

I soaked and scrunched and pressed the black satin ribbon with my steam iron, so it would look old and shabby.

You can see the beautiful Arte Pura tag, exquisite in itself, which I received after I made a purchase. This was a result of my reading the Trouvais blog, a treasure trove of inspiration and ideas.

Which lead me to Beadboard Upcountry.

Don't you just love how blogging finds you and you find others!

The little touches of black add interest.

The finished needle case, harking back to what I have planned for winter work.

I took this photo in la Pharmacia Santa Maria Novella, Florence. The famous 

apothecary shop is full of inspiration for me.  I will do a later post on it.

More of what I am using these days to fuel my inspiration and keep my hands occupied for the months ahead.

Today the sun is shining and I'm heading back into the garden to save some ferns before the frost.
Have a wonderful weekend.