Hello, sweet friends!
Did you have a nice weekend? Ours went quick (they have a way of doing that, don’t they?) but we’re excited to start a fresh, new week. We’re going on our first-ever field trip with our Sonny boy this morning. His class has been learning about ponds and pond life this month, so we’re going to Lanark in Millbrook, Alabama.
Lanark is a piece of property that was previously owned by Wiley and Isabel Hill who moved there from Montgomery as newlyweds in 1948. Together, they spent fifty years building their home and creating a 30-acre garden, producing one of the most beautiful yards in Alabama.
The Lanark website says, “Wiley’s enthusiasm for gardening started by getting involved in grafting camellias and winning many blue ribbons. Isabel then became interested in daffodils and began her life-long love affair with bulbs, generating thousands of various types of daffodils spreading along the tree lined driveways. She developed passion for hydrangeas by taking plant cuttings from her mother- in law, Elisabeth Thigpen Hill. Isabel propagated enough blue hydrangeas to encircle one of the three ponds on the property with the rest scattered throughout the pathways leading in and around the main house. Isabel loved all seasons, and created a natural display for the whole year”.
(photo: Sue Sizemore)
“Wiley Hill passed away in 1995 and Isabel continued to care for their home and gardens until her death in 2001, when she left both houses, the gardens, and the surrounding 300+ acres to the Alabama Wildlife Federation. Today, the gardens at Lanark represent a lifelong labor of love by the Hills. Centered on a formal lawn, Lanark’s gardens include wooded paths, streams, lakes, lawns and bridges. The gardens, designed as a year-round presentation, produce a grand show in the spring with flowering fruit trees and daffodils, in the summer with thousands of hydrangea bushes, in the fall with maples and sycamores, and even in the winter with camellias and evergreens”.
I’ll bring my camera and share some pics later this week! 🙂
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Okay, now onto oilcloth. I promised I’d share a round up of some of my favorite ones, and boy did I find some pretties in my internet searching!
1. Linen Look:
I love that one, and I like that the Etsy seller offers three different edge styles.
A lot of the prettiest oilcloth patterns I found were from the UK, so I’m not sure how easy/affordable it would be to purchase them, but I just *had* to show you because they’re so gorgeous!
2. Skipper:
3. French Linen:
4. Large Gingham:
5. French Stripe:
7. Swallows:
8. Vintage Stripe:
10. Henrietta:
Here are a few more of my favs from Etsy:
11. French Provence Round Oilcloth:
12. Floral Linen:
13. Blue & White:
14. Gray & White:
15. Oslo Blue:
16. Black & White:
And here are some really great ones I found on Ebay:
17. Fauna:
18. Hydrangea:
19. Blue Stripe Check:
20. Paisley:
I think I’m loving #19 for Jim and Katie’s banquette table because Katie will have a navy blue chair-and-a-half in the room next door. How fun would it be to decorate a room around ALL of them though? Which one would work in a room in your home? And if you have anymore oilcloth resources, I’d love to hear about them in the comment section! XO
Layla
Vermont Country Store sells 32 patterns in three shapes and five sizes:
https://www.vermontcountrystore.com/heavy-duty-oilcloth-tablecloth/product/55098
I’ve bought the two I’ve needed for our lakehouse over the past 31 years from them. They last forever!
They also sell 54″ wide by the yard
https://www.vermontcountrystore.com/heavy-duty-54-inch-wide-oilcloth-by-the-yard/product/55099
Lovely! I expected them to be very stiff and shiny – I love the photo’s you shared!
#5, 6 & 13!!!! And Henrietta made me smile! We have a sturdy, but not so pretty table (great legs though!). This might be a great option for us until we can refinish the top! Thanks for the inspiration!
wow, wipeable table cloths don’t have to look like plastic, who knew!? I am pretty excited about the linen looking ones!!
Just purchased the lovely vintage-looking blueberry tablecloth from Retro Barn a few weeks ago – https://retrobarn.com/products/blueberry-oilcloth-tablecloth. The owner, Melissa, is a dream to work with. She may have some more oilcloth resources for you that are available to purchase in the US. 🙂
I don’t see any shipment options for the OnlyOilCloths website for the US. 🙁
Can’t wait to see pics of the gardens! We are starting to plan out ours and it sounds like a good place for inspiration.
Layla,
See FreckledSage.com … I think you might like the Toile Blue oilcloth w navy gingham border.
Enjoy the first of MANY field trips! : )
My favorites are #10 and #13. The hens are fun. I always love blue and white.
Full service Fabric stores will laminate the fabric of your choice. Perhaps some upholstery shops do as well.
Learned so much today. Thank you. Love the one you choose.
I love #11 for my patio table!
Wow, oilcloths have come a long way since we had them when I was a kid. So lovely! Choices, choices.
So many cute options! I adore the eighth one, stripes are just so classic to me. The fact that they are wipeable makes them ten times better, especially if you have kids!
Hobby Lobby sells oil cloths. A friend and I bought a turquoise chevron stripe for our girls’ Sunday School class. We had another friend sew a turquoise ruffle around the bottom, it is so cute! Our classroom of girls loved it!
Layla, enjoy your family field trip. I love your choice blue & white tablecloth. Blue has always been my favorite color. The strips and checks are a classic. I also love the story behind the Hill’s lifetime and love of their land and flowers. Waiting on your beautiful pictures, soon.
I purchased mine online through Joann Fabrics.com. It’s similar to #4, but Black & White.
I’m surprised at picking $
#14 or #20, because I am so NOT a Gray person….but I have Fiesta dishes in lots of colors, so they would really pop against the gray and white.
Any fellow Canadians found a source?
there’s lots to love above. For whatever it’s worth I love; 1, 3, 4, 6, 9, 13, 18, and 20.