Birds, bees, baubles and poetry.

Where has the year gone? Already crashing headlong into the Christmas fairs, tinsel, mince pies and the excitement of the holiday season!

Petal Anderson's first event of the season is The Country Living Christmas Fair at the Design Centre in Islington, London. A five day event from 7th to 11th November, the show will have lots of stalls to tempt, not only for gifts but for the taste buds too.

At Petal Anderson we are very busy with the finishing touches. Designing the stand layout so that it's eye-catching, (we're right near the café, yum! Stand A48) and making little labels to attach to the purses so that they're eye catching too. These little tags have been a joy to create as they have snippets of poems sewn onto them, and searching for relevant prose has been fun, if not a bit distracting. Here is the first verse from "Robin Red Breast" by William Allingham.

"Goodbye, goodbye to Summer! For Summer’s nearly done;

The garden smiling faintly, Cool breezes in the sun;

Our Thrushes now are silent, Our Swallows flown away-

But Robin’s here, in coat of brown, With ruddy breast-knot gay.

Robin, Robin Redbreast, O Robin dear!

Robin singing sweetly In the falling of the year."

Unfortunately, I couldn't sew the whole verse on let alone the whole poem, but the last two lines fitted perfectly on to a little card tag.

My favourite though has to be this piece by Isaac Watts. Not particularly seasonal, but a reminder of what we have to look forward to after the hustle bustle of Christmas and the New Year.

"How doth the little busy bee Improve each shining hour, And gather honey all the day From every opening flower!

How skilfully she builds her cell! How neat she spreads the wax! And labors hard to store it well With the sweet food she makes. In works of labor or of skill, I would be busy too; For Satan finds some mischief still For idle hands to do. In books, or work, or healthful play, Let my first years be passed, That I may give for every day Some good account at last.

Feeling inspired already for 2019, but focus first on the baubles.