Octobers - Anne of Green Gables

I grew up loving Anne of Green Gables and I love this quote too. Found on Instagram.

Wonderful Gates with Squirrels

At the Brooklyn Public Library.

I love theis entrance to the Children's Library.

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Enjoying The Hammock

Jessie Willcox Smith is one of my favorite illustrator. Isn't this adorable? I don't recall ever having seen this one before. via

We are having a hot week in New Jersey but it cools off at night enough to turn off the central air and open bedroom windows. I can tolerate air conditioning during the day but dislike being sealed at night. I miss the sounds of outside too much. This arrangement works for me and I love waking up to birdsong in the morning. Stay cool. xo

Winnie the Pooh and The Queen

The Queen isn't the only one having a 90th birthday this year. She's sharing it with Winnie the Pooh who was also born in 1926 and a brand new tale is being released to mark the occasion. Prince George and Princess Charlotte will be happy about that! via People Magazine.

Beatrix Potter Mouse + Spinning Wheel

I have never seen this Beatrix Potter 1890 watercolor either. via So many images are surfacing that I've never seen. So glad.

Beatrix Potter 'Mouse with a Spinning Wheel' 1890 Helen Beatrix Potter (1866 – 1943) English author, illustrator, mycologist and conservationist ink and watercolour. From the collection of Caroline Isobel Emma Halpin (née Hutton) and thence by family descent. Sotheby's archives.

Beatrix Potter Carpet Bagger Bunny

This image is new to me. I wonder about the story behind this traveling bunny, don't you? via

BRAMBLY HEDGE BY JILL BARKLEM

I wish I were sitting in an easy chair before an open fire and someone was bringing me a pie. I think I deserve one too. I've been working outside almost full time for the past 3 days doing my fall cleanup. I mowed everything for the last time today and it's looking fabulous. So happy. Isn't this the sweetest room ever? I adore children's books with interior design by animals. via

The Joy of Books (and Coffee)

via Book Porn

Illustrations: Animals w/ Wanderlust

These two are my favorites. See more wonderful crafts and pictures from children's books showing animals with wanderlust here.

Guinea Pigs Gardening: Beatrix Potter

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These two Beatrix Potter watercolors are new to me. Have you ever seen them? These gardening guinea pigs are in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Books and Children

Illustration by Honor C. Appleton via

When I look at this I can hear my mother calling me to supper. I would always reply...I'll be there as soon as I finish this page but it usually turned out to be the chapter. Reading was a huge part of my childhood. Enjoy your evening. xo

Another New Beatrix Potter Watercolor

Appley Dapply - Beatrix Potter 1890 via

There is nothing in real life more frightening to me than a mouse in the kitchen. But when they are wearing clothes, they are fine. Now, more about this mouse. Beatrix Potter gathered material for a book of rhymes over many years. In 1917, when her publisher was in financial difficulties and needed her help, she suggested that Appley Dapply's Nursery Rhymes could be brought out quickly, using her existing collection of rhymes and drawings.

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The Snow Queen is Working Overtime

The Snow Queen by Gyula Talos

She visited my cottage again last night and left a big heavy mess. I'll post a couple of photos of the snow here at my cottage later. via

Winter Antiques Show in NYC. Will you be going?

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POTTER, Beatrix. The Tailor of Gloucester. Privately printed in London for the author, December, 1902. Original pictorial pink boards. Housed in a custom chemise and half morocco slipcase. Offered at $32,000. Read more.

Click here for the list of exhibitors.

Simpkin at the Tailor's Bedside - Beatrix Potter Watercolor

One of twenty-two original watercolors circa 1902 for The Tailor of Gloucester, Beatrix Potter's second and favorite book. The collection is in the Tate in London. via

Vintage Beatrix Potter TOM KITTEN Plush Toy Cat Circa 1973 For Sale on Ebay

I am selling this adorable Tom Kitten doll with no reserve on ebay. It isn't getting much interest so I thought it might be a good idea to blog about it again. Click here to see my no reserve auction. It ends on Sunday afternoon in case you want to bid. There are 12 photos posted for you to view so you can see him from all angles.

This is an old picture from an 2009 blog post about him.

He is sitting in one of my favorite antique side chairs.

I used to have him on the high chair shown in the first picture along with two antique teddy bears until Webster grabbed him one day and started giving him puppy love bites. He managed to rip one side of the little jacket before I could get Tom away from him. I mended it on the reverse side with light blue iron-on tape that I luckily had in my sewing basket. 

I just took this photo of him leaning on a pillow on my living room sofa. I forgot to position his tail so you could see it.

He's all dressed up and ready to go to a loving home. Thanks for helping me say goodbye to this adorable character doll. The Tale of Tom Kitten is a children's book, written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter. It was released by Frederick Warne & Co. in September 1907. The tale is about manners and how children react to them. Tabitha Twitchit, a cat, invites friends for tea. She washes and dresses her three kittens for the party, but within moments the kittens have soiled and lost their clothes while scampering about the garden. Tabitha is "affronted". She sends the kittens to bed, and tells her friends the kittens have the measles. Once the tea party is underway however, its "dignity and repose" are disturbed by the kittens romping overhead and leaving a bedroom in disorder.

Potter's career as a children's author and illustrator was launched in 1902 with the release of The Tale of Peter Rabbit. She continued to publish, and, in 1905, bought Hill Top, a farm in Lancashire, with the sales profits from her books and a small legacy from an aunt. Her tales were also inspired by the farm, its woodland surroundings, and nearby villages. Work began on Tom Kitten in 1906 and its setting became the Hill Top farmhouse. Illustrations depict the interior of the house and the gardens, paths, and gate at the front of the house.

Twenty thousand copies of the book were released in September 1907 and another 12,500 the following December. Potter composed a few miniature letters for child friends as if from the characters in the tale, and, in 1917, she released a painting book under Tom Kitten's name. In 1935, two books of piano pieces and piano duets for children were published with one piece inspired by Tom Kitten and another by the Puddle-Ducks. Tom and other characters in the book have become the subjects of a variety of merchandise over the years including porcelain figurines and plush toys. The tale is still in print, and has been translated and published in several languages.

Beatrix Potter Original Watercolors "This Pig Went to Market"

Sotheby's London, English Literature, History, Children's Books and Illustrations, 10 July 2012. Potter, Beatrix, Complete Set of Four Watercolours (on Three Sheets) for 'This Pig Went to Market,' £61,250.

I keep finding more and more unknown Beatrix Potter artwork. I'm happy about that and hope you are too.

The illustrations were originally published in "Cecily Parsley's Nursery Rhymes," published in 1922. The first drawings shows a colonial looking pig riding a horse and cart to the market while another pig lounges on the fence with the intent of staying home. To accompany the text "This Pig had a bit of Meat; This Pig had none," the second illustration shows a grandmotherly pig frying meat (we're hoping it's not pork), while another pig-companion peels potatoes. A third drawing brings the rhyme to a close, depicting an adorable weeping pig who can't find its way home.

Images and text found here.

View full-size images at the Sotheby's site here - use arrow > to see all three.

You are welcome.

xo

Beatrix Potter Bunnies in Winter

I found another snow scene with Peter Rabbit that I haven't seen before. We can never get enough images by Beatrix Potter, can we? via

Doing Winter Chores - Beatrix Potter

Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny by Beatrix Potter "Preparing for cold weather." via

Beatrix Potter Rabbits' Christmas Party - The Departure

I'm so excited that I found another watercolor I haven't seen before illustrating the Rabbits' Christmas Party by Beatrix Potter.

This one shows a big rabbit lighting the way with a lit candle as the guests put on their coats and depart.

See all the other illustrations for the Rabbits' Christmas Party in my 2009 original blog post about it here. I am so happy to see the end of the party. Somehow, Beatrix Potter and Christmas are perfect together. Enjoy! xo