Mousie Gifts!

Marbleized Eggs and More to Come

Tillie Tinkham and her Mouse friends fashion marbleized eggs.

 Stay tuned, dear readers, as Tillie has been busy making even more surprises.
Tillie Tinkham, the seamstress Mouse for the dolls at Corgyncombe,
is the proprietress of Tillie Tinkham's Frocks and Fashions.

We at the Corgyncombe Courant have always loved Tasha Tudor illustrations of mouse dwellings underneath the floorboards and Beatrix Potter's mice Tom Thumb, Hunca Munca, Mrs. Tittlemouse, Timmy Willie, Johnny Town-mouse, Appley Dapply, Mr. John Dormouse and his daughter, and all the mice in "The Tailor of Gloucester". Our Cousin Jeri Landers has also illustrated many an adorable little mouse!


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Fanny Belle Bunn Gives Quilting Lecture!

The Tail of Fanny Belle Bunn!

Fanny Belle Bunn points out the antique quilt square that Diane found last weekend at the same shoppe that she found Fanny Belle. The quilt square is displayed on the art stand made by Seth Tudor, son of Tasha Tudor. Diane would love to make a quilt out of this pattern. Diane loves piecing quilts! This last winter she found a wonderful old quilting frame at one of her favorite shoppes! Tiny cucumber, lettuce, and carrot sandwiches were served along with chamomile tea after the lecture. All the bunny ladies attending the lecture took a bunny nap after tea!

In "Rosemary for Remembrance", on the November page, Tasha Tudor has illustrated a quilting bee with ladies gathered round, quilting. A table with tea, cookies, and cake are set out for refreshments, two little girls are delightfully occupied playing dolls with a trunk of doll clothes, whilst a slumbering baby is in the cradle , two corgyn alongside, with one corgi peacefully resting its head on the rocker. The illustration is accompanied by the quote "When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece." - John Ruskin.

In "The New England Butt'ry Shelf Cookbook", written by Mary Mason Campbell and illustrated by Tasha Tudor, "Thimble Tea and The Quilting Bee" features an illustration with a similar theme, again with a group of ladies having a quilting bee. Two little girls look like they have been sewing doll clothes, as there is a little sewing basket next to the trunk, and they are about to try a new frock on their doll! The illustration is bordered by a sewing basket, pieces for quilting, thread, scissors, and measuring tape. At the bottom of the illustration are some of the foods served at the all day gathering.

As you can see, Fanny Belle Bunn's frock makes allowances for her bunny tail!

Diane has these fond remembrances of visiting a favorite elderly relative: My great grandmum's cousin Lena excelled at domestic skills such as pickling, breadmaking, sewing, and many others. She always won prizes for her domestic abilities at the county fair. My family used to visit them often and I would usually take a doll with me. One time she surprised me with a handmade dolly wardrobe in an old basket. Lena was such a wonderful lady! And to think that she weighed only a few pounds when she was born and wasn't expected to live. To keep her warm after she was born they put her in a basket in the warming oven atop the old wood cookstove. It was just warm enough to keep the premature baby comfortably warm. Lena lived to a ripe old age and she passed many of her skills on to me! She taught me how to do piecing and quilting. I inherited some of her quilting patterns and equipment. Lena was so thrilled that I wanted to learn from her!

She always reiterated small, tiny stitches and she was very pleased with my efforts... but then we are from a long line of kindred who love to sew. In the old days tiny quilting stitches were prized and well so because they made items that would last. The same goes for spinning excellence as they wanted good yarns to make into items that would last. These heirloom pieces last because of their fine workmanship. Children were taught at an early age such skills as spinning, knitting, and quilting.

"Hopalong Jack and The Blue Bunnies"
written and illustrated by Jeri Landers
In "Hopalong Jack" there is a rabbit quilting party amongst the spinners, weavers, and yarn dyers.
A "Chippy Hackee"is atop the quilt, working on the acorn quilt square.
A lovely blue bunny quilt is hanging on the blanket rack that Fanny Belle Bunn really admires!


"The Journey of Bushky Bushybottom"
written and illustrated by Jeri Landers

They are wonderful books with beautiful illustrations and clever stories and poems! They are great books for all ages, especially at this time of year with all the little critters scurrying about and all the spring flowers popping up!

Visit our Cousin Jeri at her website: Jeri Landers
where you can find her books
"Hopalong Jack and The Blue Bunnies"
and "The Journey of Bushky Bushybottom"


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"The Journey of Bushky Bushybottom" by Jeri Landers

Squirrel Cookies and Acorns to Celebrate Bushky's Return!

The old farmhouse Bakery and Apothecary at Corgyncombe, yesterday was whirling with activity and good smells as squirrel and acorn cookies were popping in and out of the oven. On the art stand made by Seth Tudor, above the cookie sheet, is "The Journey of Bushky Bushybottom" written and illustrated by Jeri Landers.

Bushky the Squirrel goes on an unplanned journey when a very strong wind blows him away from the security of his little dwelling in the tree. Bushky then starts upon his journey to find his way back home. In seeking his home, he comes across some friendly creatures and some not so nice creatures who seem friendly but would actually prefer to eat him!

Included in the book is a CD where Jeri Landers reads "The Journey of Bushky Bushybottom" with unique voices for each of the characters that she created.

Jeri's illustrations are wonderful and her story is exciting! How we enjoyed hearing Jeri tell the story on the CD. I even find myself singing the Bushybottom song when I go into stores and saying, as Bushky's sisters would say, "Bushy, come baaack!" in a voice that Sarah says sounds remarkably like Jeri's squirrel voice!

Drucilla P. Posssom, with several possom youngin's hanging on, discovers Bushky curled up sleeping in an old tree stump. Drucilla has a delightful Scottish brogue! In a nurturing fashion she assists the sleeping Bushky.

At Corgyncombe we have a lot of the same wildlife and flowers that flourish in Hopalong Hollow where Bushky Bushybottom dwells. Above, a Corgyncombe Possum.

Bushky comes across Trudy Webbytoes little family of ducklings in his search for help and home. How adorable the little ducklings are in their old fashioned clothing!

One of the squirrel cookies is standing near a cookie that has special kindred family significance to Jeri, Diane, and Sarah.

Corgyncombe Foxglove

A Duckling in Corgi Creek.

Corgyncombe Foxglove

A Frog lounging in Corgi Creek.

In the photograph above, a Bee at Corgyncombe's favorite apple tree.
In "The Journey of Bushky Bushybottom" a Bee warns Bushky of impending danger!

Busky Bushybottom and his sisters. On this page you can lift the flaps to see a big fold out page that shows the Squirrel family's home in a tree. You will see a roof topped with a carved Squirrel finial sitting on an acorn.

There are many delightful and spendiferous things to see and read in "The Journey of Bushky Bushybottom".
There is a lovely page with a garden with picket, wattle, and stone fences round, packaged garden seeds, vegetables, a bee skep, and many other things that us gardeners find most delightful!
In the front of the book there is a map showing the travels of Bushky Bushybottom.
In the book are 100 woodcarvings done by Hopalong Hollow woodpeckers and beavers to search for and count. There are two pages of clever poems to go with the animal character illustrations that you will also enjoy.

You'll have to read the story to find out about all the experiences Bushky has and how he finally manages to get home. At the end of the story there is a detailed picture of the family celebration inside the Bushky Bushybottom home. Both children and adults will enjoy this story!

In the back of the book you will find the squirrels in a cozy bed covered by a pretty quilt reading a squirrel bedtime story. Incredible woodland Scherenschnitte that Jeri created surrounds this bedtime illustration with the moon smiling down upon all!

Squirrels and acorns cut out of gingerbread dough. The rolling pin is a delightful find that reminds Diane of the big old rolling pin that Samuel Whiskers and his wife Anna Maria the Rats use to roll out a Roly-Poly Pudding in Beatrix Potter's "The Tale of Samuel Whiskers".

With the air of circus performers the squirrels at Corgyncombe go from tree to tree. The branches undulate as they near the smokehouse... the finial atop the smokehouse is the squirrels' target. The finial can be seen in the lower right corner of the photograph above.

A flying leap and the squirrel that reminds us of Beatrix Potter's Timmy Tiptoes and Jeri Landers' Bushky Bushybottom proudly perches looking as if he is a continuation of the finial.

But he is not finished as his object is further down.

So off of the finial and down he slides in a squirrel's version of a belly whopper.

There is a bird feeder hanging from the smokehouse where Corgyncombe Squirrels take their meals. Diane's husband said that she must be feeding the birds too much as the squirrels are getting too fat!

If you enjoy watching the squirrels as they go about their daily tasks you will enjoy reading Beatrix Potter's "The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes" and Jeri Landers' "The Journey of Bushky Bushybottom". In Tasha Tudor illustrations and Advent Calendars the squirrel is a frequent subject. Jeri's artwork and love of animals remind us of Beatrix Potter and Tasha Tudor!

The squirrel box in the library at Corgyncombe.

Jeri Landers also wrote and illustrated "Hopalong Jack" which we featured in a previous post at the Corgyncombe Courant. Here is the link: "Hopalong Jack " Written and Illustrated by Jeri Landers

Here is a link to: Jeri Landers' web site with "The Journey of Bushky Bushybottom"

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"Hopalong Jack" Written and Illustrated by Jeri Landers!

Spinning and Weaving Industrious Rabbits!

On such a cold, blustery, blizzardy day, 'tis such a treat to open up "Hopalong Jack and The Blue Bunnies", cleverly written and beautifully illustrated by Jeri Landers! These lovely lady rabbits having tea in the garden appear in the beginning of the book. The pink stripes on the tea cup remind us of the lady rabbit's pink striped frock.

Displayed on the Tasha Tudor reproduction art stand that Seth Tudor made for Diane, is the cover of "Hopalong Jack and The Blue Bunnies", written and illustrated by Jeri Landers. In the book, Hopalong Jack finally finds his talent and is so happy! The book is full of extraordinarily detailed illustrations that show a lot of imagination! There are little blue bunnies hidden amongst the pages to find. Like Tasha Tudor, every time you look at Jeri's illustrations there is always something new to find. There is a beautiful map of the Hopalong Hollow area and a fun "Bunny Facts" page showing the layout of the Rabbits cozy burrow. One of the facts is that Mrs. Whiskerkins owns twenty-five tea pots. Diane thinks that's more than she has, so far! The rabbits and other creatures that dwell in Jeri's story, wear charming, old fashioned clothing. The endpapers of the book show the silhouette of a detailed woodland scene that Jeri made in Scherenschnitte (paper cutting).

The Rabbits are so industrious, spinning, weaving, knitting, dyeing, quilting, and even brushing another rabbit to collect fiber! A skein of Diane's handspun yarn is draped over the book.

Sarah, of Corgyncombe, spinning on a drop spindle was the inspiration for Jeri's illustration of the little Rabbit spinning on a drop spindle. We think she is so cute!

The scarf was a Christmas gift that Diane wove for her Mum one Christmas.

A handpun wool vest Diane knit using a classic design that she gave her Father one Christmas. The hat was a birthday gift for her Father that Diane spun using her little black sheep Maria's wool and her white handspun yarn dyed with goldenrod. (Maria is pronounced Mariah.)

Diane and Sarah have many things in common with Jeri Landers, such as gardening, animals, collecting delightful finds, old fashioned things, photography, and old houses. Jeri had a delightful potting shed built last spring! She has a real goose and hen that she dresses in fine bonnets! We even discovered that Jeri is our cousin through old New England family lines!

We hope you stop by our talented cousin Jeri's web site and blog at Hopalong Hollow!

Here are the links:

Jeri Landers' Web Site
Jeri Landers' Blog Hopalong Hollow Gazette

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