International Book Week: Random sentence from your nearest book

It's International Book Week, and to celebrate, I'm borrowing an exercise that's currently making the rounds over on Facebook. 

The rules: grab the book closest to you, turn to page 52 then post the 5th sentence, here below. Don't mention the title. Then copy the rules of the game and post to your Facebook page or blog, if you like.

I don't see why you shouldn't reveal your title (unless it's 50 Shades of Whatever, maybe). The top book on my desk stack happened to be the 1907 edition of "A Woman's Hardy Garden" by Helena Rutherfurd Ely.

On page 52 I found this:

"And even as the mahogany of our grandfathers is now brought forth from garrets and unused rooms, and antiquity shops and farm-houses are searched for the good old-time furniture, so we are learning to take the old gardens for our models, and the old-fashioned flowers to fill our borders."

Worth a moment of contemplation, I thought.

--MaggieBelize 
Designer, kNotes for kNitters 
Creator, Happy Hands Hand Cream for Knitters 
Grower, Maggie’s Microgreens 
Sandia Park, New Mexico

Score! Mid-Century Sugar Bowl in 1948 Dove Gray “Ballerina” Pattern

 

Oooh, I’m so excited to have found this wonderful mid-century sugar bowl for my microgreens!

I love the fat round “coupe” shape of the bowl, the lacy ring-shaped handles and lid finial, and most of all, the beautiful dove gray color!

This piece is from the “Ballerina” pattern, union made in Cambridge, Ohio by Universal Potteries, designed by Alf Robson.

Universal Potteries introduced the Ballerina pattern in 1948, in four colors: Periwinkle Blue, Jonquil Yellow, Jade Green, and this Dove Grey.

At left is a Ballerina advertising brochure showing one of the 4 new colors introduced in 1949 – Burgundy – along with Forest Green, Chartreuse and Sierra Rust.

Then in 1955 the last 4 color sets were released, in Pink, Charcoal (which looks black), Turquoise Blue and Antique White.

In addition to the solid color pieces like mine, Ballerina pieces were also made with decorative decals. (Personally, I prefer the solid colors.)

The size & shape of this sugar bowl make it the perfect mini-garden planter: the bowl interior is about 4-1/2 inches wide and 2-3/4 inches tall. It's ideal for growing a larger crop of microgreens than a teacup, but it’s still counter top scale.

Here’s how it looks planted with organic arugula microgreens … sweet!

So far I’ve only found one of these – and I was especially lucky to find this one WITH its original lid, AND in pristine condition. Woot!

I’ve already made up the microgreens kit in my Etsy shop, and I also offer the organic arugula seeds separately. For the time being at least this planter kit is one of a kind … but I’ll keep looking …

--MaggieBelize
Designer, kNotes for kNitters
Creator, Happy Hands Hand Cream for Knitters
Grower, Maggie’s Microgreens
Sandia Park, New Mexico