From My Little Hole in the Wall

Friday, July 14, 2023

Cissy's Green Tea Summer

I'm a tea drinker. I used to be a confirmed coffee lover and dutifully made a small pot each morning in one of those tiny, 4 cup Mr. Coffee coffee makers. But sometime, a very long time ago, I switched to tea and now rarely touch the bean. Oh, I can be spotted knocking back a shot of espresso in a small cup of coffee once a year, maybe, if I'm out with a friend. But it's rare. I have a funny story for you.

I was at a UFDC doll convention with a dear friend of mine, and I was meeting up with her at the hotel's coffee spot. She knew I drank tea and ordered me a huge cup of green tea while I was on my way down. When I sat at our table, she went to retrieve our order and set down this iced ice creamy coffee drink that looked to die for and my jaw dropped open. "What?! You get to have a desserty ice creamy coffee and I get stuck with an old cup of green tea?!" We laughed, and quickly fixed that little problem, and I drank BOTH! But, yes, I'm a tea drinker.

My favorite happens to be Tetley's for its dark richness, and I do not have caffeine issues. I wish I did. Nothing wakes me up faster in the morning than taking my dog out for a hike or finding I'm about to miss out on ordering the latest Ruby Red Galleria offering!

The tea plant Camellia sinensis is native to East Asia having originated in the borderlands of southwestern China. The Chinese have been drinking tea for thousands of years. The earliest evidence of tea consumption in China dates back to the Han dynasty as early as 2nd century BC. People of the Han dynasty used tea, or steeped herbs, for medicinal purposes. Before the mid-8th C. Tang Dynasty, tea drinking was primarily a southern Chinese practice. It became widely popular after this and spread to other countries.

Laozi, the Chinese philosopher, was said to describe tea as "the froth of liquid jade" and named it the indispensable ingredient.

to the elixir of life. Ancient tea production came in the form of little bricks and could be used for barter or currency. Loose leaf tea wasn't produced until the Song dynasty, which was to preserve the delicate character favored by court society.

The original teapot also has its origins in China, and dates back to the Ming dynasty (1368 -1644). Their design was based on the Chinese wine ewer which can be seen in the photo above. Clay teapots came into production around 1500, but the first teapots in early China were produced from cast iron.

Then of course, you have a large variety of beautifully hand-crafted and decorated tea caddies. This early one to the left features stamped tin containers for loose-leaf tea. The decorative cap is separate from a second cap that features a knob on the top.

I'd been finishing up Lisa See's latest novel, Lady Tan's Circle of Women, when I began Cissy's Green Tea Summer. The novel is the story of China's first woman doctor; a "reimagining of the life of a woman who was remarkable in the Ming dynasty", who would "go on to treat women of every level of society and lead a life of such importance that many of her remedies are still used five centuries later". There were always midwives, but how women were diagnosed and treated for conditions during these centuries was jaw-dropping. As there were only male doctors, and they weren't allowed to touch women, a go-between woman sat with the patient, and the male physician sat behind a screen and only asked questions. Brewed concoctions and teas were prescribed to cure every illness - and of course many women died. Women needed women doctors.

Three easily recognizable herbs that are still used medicinally today are cinnamon, ginger and licorice root. Two of the other top five herbs are astragulus, known to support kidney and heart

health, and schisandra berry which can benefit women with osteoporosis. And then there's green tea. Among the benefits of green tea are improved brain function, fat burning (yay!), its high in antioxidants, and it may help prevent type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

Are you still with me? Well, I find this all fascinating.

I had this beautiful piece of fabric with a delicate design of genteel life among Chinese women and I longed to make Cissy a dress from it. I just wanted something to do to pass the time. And wanted something light and breezy for Cissy to wear this summer.

I created for her a belt of black satin cord with a jewelry finding center of red cinnabar carved into a Double Happiness symbol. The dress was so simplistic in design that the accessories became the focus of this project. And I love making accessories.

Cissy's hair is very difficult to pin up and seldom stays in place, but here she's wearing the best I could style for a French Twist.

Detail of the back of her dress and belt closure.

It was the hat and the tea green color of the Swiss straw, that finally gave Cissy's outfit a name and story.

This simple style of crownless hat was popular in the 1950's. To me its a take off on the Chinese cone or sun hat. Minus the point. Overnight as I was contemplating is simplicity, I came up with the idea to decorate with a black cotton grosgrain band and two black tassels.

The real fun was in her handbag.

I found a section in the fabric used for her dress of a single elegant figure, and made that the centerpiece of the bag's design.

Its a small oval bag completely lined and detailed with leather and a macrame cord handle. This is pure "jewelry making" techniques. I haven't make a handbag this detailed in a long time and I need to do it now and then to keep the process fresh in my mind. Guess I need more green tea!

Detail of top.

Detail of lined interior.

I'd finished See's book, along with one of Elin Hildebrand's Nantucket summer reads, and Cissy's outfit all about the same time. I was lucky to have a pair of green heels that matched the hat and bag to pull this all together. She has a large gold bracelet of Chinese symbols and a black crystal bead bracelet as well to compliment the details of the hat and belt. Cissy's Green Tea Summer.

I had a wonderful time researching the history of tea, teapots and finding a selection of gorgeous teapots, tins and vintage miniature Chinese teas sets to share with you. I may as well add that I caved and purchased the "wine ewer" teapot from a seller in Israel. This teapot just took my breath away!

As I've mentioned before, summer is slow time for me creatively. On purpose. I took my kayak out on the lake this morning and the surface of the water was like glass. I read continually. I try new recipes and the next one is grilled Filipino Chicken in banana ketchup marinade. I love to try new things and different cuisines.

I hope you're enjoying the days of July. Let's make this a beauutiful and gentle summer together.

A salute to tea! Melissa

Precious dragon tin.

Tea or ginger jar.

Williams and Sonoma must have.

Vintage Chinese teapot

Example of early design in clay.

Isn't this a fun teapot?!

Vintage miniature for a child.

My tea drawer.

Jasmine and ginger tea tins.

Vintage tin.

Love this kind of repeating design!

Detail of the fabric.

Commemorative ornaments.

Vintage miniature.

Cissy antique shops and finds a ewer design.

Sunday, June 11, 2023

Esme in the Forest

When I was first on my very own, living in my own tiny apartment in Sunnyvale, California, I had absolutely no sense of decorating style. I was only 20 but had a good job that afforded me a studio apartment and I loved the independence it allowed me. This was back in 1977 and the latter half of the 70's had a special kind of kitsch. With little to spend on frivolities, I decorated with themes such as piano keys, Popeye, Betty Boop, and maybe even Garfield, the cat. Merchandise of every kind was created with these motifs, and everyone enjoyed them.

Not too long after that, in 1981, the Smurfs hit the Saturday morning cartoon circuit and I watched the silly, squeaky voiced children's cartoon while drinking my adult coffee. And I bought a few Smurf related items to add to the eclectic array of dust collectors.

One of the things the Smurfs were known for, aside from being little blue humanoids, was that they lived in red capped mushroom homes. They even lived under the threat of an antagonistic cat named Azreal, who was owned by the evil wizard, Gargamel. But it was the merchandise of Smurfs that really bumped up the enjoyment of the cartoon, and homes were once again strewn with red capped mushroom decor.

Mushrooms were everywhere in the 1970s, and I'm not referring to the kind you'd ingest to hallucinate with. The motif is just as popular today as it was back then, and it appears that the enjoyment of Amanita Muscaria is here to stay. But why?

I've read that its whimsical popularity has something to do with the mushroom being a symbol of happiness and health. Their images make you feel good. Like a flower makes you feel good. Mushrooms are a harbinger of comfort and coziness, and haven't we all be craving this over the past few years?

The amanita muscaria, or fly agaric mushroom has a red toadstool appearance with white spots. While I've never seen one in person, the closest I might come to one is in the Pacific Northwest where they grow in close proximity to certain trees such as birch, spruce and fir. I might also add that they are highly poisonous, which knowing this doesn't make them all that appealing. Still and all, we love their look for its bright and cheery red color. They evoke memories of fairy tales and simpler, happier times in our lives. Anthropomorphize one and you have a winner!

I was scrolling on Ebay the other day when out of the blue (Smurfs aside), up popped this Mini Ginny Gift Set from a 2008 Modern Doll Collectors Convention (MDCC). I adored it. I placed a bid

and won it. I knew who made the clothing. I can spot a Boneka at a glance. Mini Ginny was made by Vogue Doll Company in their last years. and I did not have one, so the combination of this set containing the Mini Ginny with costuming by Boneka was simply a no-brainer must have. Of course, I didn't know if I would win it, but inspiration followed quickly to make something similar for Esme.

Esme originally came in an autumn leaf costume with a big felt umbrella leaf for her to hold. I thought, why not make a parasol for her? A mushroom parasol. So I colored one of my small paper parasols red with those wonderful alcohol markers, and punched out a small pile of white paper dots to decorate it with. I got about as far as that when I discovered that the parasol would never be able to be held by tiny Esme. Ole Lukoje was a much bigger doll and even at that, the black umbrella props him up.

I wasn't going to be derailed by this upset in design, so pulled out the leaf umbrella and studied its design.

One thing I stick to, is that if you're going to - gosh, I hate the word "copy" - a theme, be original. Be inspired and build on the theme in your very own way. There's no getting around the red and white because that's what the mushroom is, but we can have fun making it our own.

Esme's little dress is out of fine wool felt like all her other botanical costumes. I studied the base where the cap blooms from and chose to make a clipped facsimile of this area into a slightly off set collar. It's sewn on a 1/4" from the neckline. I worked from the illustration (below) of the children, fairies and bunnies with balloons having a party under the mushroom snack stand with a tent nearby. I sewed the collar on with an off-white embroidery thread hoping for a bit of contrast, but it didn't work. I didn't want to take it off and redo it, and that's okay.

I made her a pair of leafy boots from a bright olive green felt.

She also has little white felt panties under her mushroom stem dress.

The hat was the first thing I made. No doubt, it looks very much like a Chinese cone sun hat, which appealed to me greatly. One thing I might add is that I had not received the Mini Ginny Gift Set until after I'd finished this project. I was tickled to find that Rosemarie Ionker designed her hats with white bases, too.

My hat design would also be replicated in the umbrella she carries. I punched out white felt rounds and sewed them individually to the red cap in a random manner.

The dress needed something more. I then clipped out grass blades in the same colored felt as the boots and stitched them on. The dress closes in the back with two small snaps.

The mushroom umbrella was made the same way the hat was but with a larger diameter. I'd purchased some floral wire and white floral tape and "copied" the way Maggie Iacono created and assembled her leaf umbrella. However, sticking to my integrity of insisting on a bit of originality, I sewed the stem on rather than using a hot glue gun. I do not enjoy using hot glue guns. They're a mess to work with. Sewing also gives you the option of do-overs where that glue is a surefire way to ruin something if you don't do it right the first time.

This wasn't a groundbreaking project, but it will surely look sweet for summer sitting on my shelf.

I had way too much fun scoping out red mushroom themed merchandise on Pinterest. I was delighted with all the different things people could come up with to enjoy this happy mushroom look. Therefore, even though I had to eliminate many of the photos I saved off to share, there are still quite a few and I think you'll enjoy them.

This wasn't my first foray into the red capped mushroom theme, and most recently, Dolly Dingle carried a mini needle felted one drawn by Diana Vining. I'm half tempted to try one more for another doll, but since I dressed a 10" doll in the extra Boneka dress that came with Mini Mushroom Ginny, that's plenty for my shelf.

What's next? I don't know. Summer can be such a lazy time for me. I find it difficult to stay indoors until the temperatures get into the mid 90's. And that will come soon enough.

Wishing you an enjoyable every day, Melissa