I think my favourite series though is her first, the Fairacre series. Beginnng with Village School, Miss Read writes in the person of a village schoolmistress and, throughout twenty books, we follow the children and their families through the years. Dora Saint was a schoolteacher so she knew of what she wrote.
The books were illustrated with beautiful drawings by John Goodall which really serve to bring the characters to life. Miss Read has a reputation as a 'cosy' author who glossed over the realities of village life but this is simply not true. There are neglected children, damp cottages and plenty of poverty to be found in the books but the overall tone is a positive one.
'So, who is Miss Clare?' I hear you cry. Miss Clare is an older colleague of Miss Read's, one of the old pupil teachers who lost their men in the First World War and remained single. Miss Read values her friendship and visits her often after Miss Clare has had to retire. In Storm in the Village, the two friends share tea ...
'She had brought out the family silver teapot for the occasion, a wonderful fluted object with a yellowed ivory knob like a blanched almond.'
Now this teapot really caught my imagination when I read this and, ever since, I've been looking out for one like it in my visits to antique shops. It turns out that teapots with black knobs are much easier to find; I suspect that they replaced the old ivory ones. I carried on looking for years, keeping my fingers crossed that, when I finally found my teapot, it wouldn't be too expensive.
Finally, on a trip to Banbury Antiques early in the New Year, there it was - on the first stall I looked at and only £12.
There were some nervous moments as I tested that it didn't leak - I really wanted to use this teapot, not just keep it as an ornament. And ... it's fine, watertight and pours like a dream. Metal teapots nearly always pour better than china ones.
So the next thing to do was to knit my new teapot its own cosy. That shape meant that none of my others were the right size. Miss Read doesn't mention whether Miss Clare's teapot had a cosy but, if it had, I think it would have been one like this ...
If you look through old knitting patterns from the middle of the twentieth century, you'll find lots of tea cosies knitted in this pleated pattern. The yarns are carried tightly across the back of the work, resulting in a very thick fabric. These cosies are particularly warm, dating as they do from before the days of central heating. My old house is always cold in winter so this seemed the ideal sort of pattern for me to use.
The most tricky part was the shaping. The top of the teapot is nearly flat so I had to decrease stitches rapidly while still keeping the stitch pattern going. After lots of unsuccessful tries, I eventually got it right. The cosy is knitted in two identical parts and joined so that the pattern continues uninterrupted.
Now I can enjoy my pot of tea, knowing that the last cup will be as hot as the first. Should you by any chance have a teapot of a similar shape, you can download the free pattern for my Old-Fashioned Tea Cosy from my design page on ravelry. For a normal, rounded teapot you'll want to start the shaping earlier and space it out much more. One day I might design a matching cosy for round teapots but not now.
What a gorgous teapot i hope you are not going to cover it when its not in use as its too pretty to be hidden under a tea cosy lol
ReplyDeleteThat's a good point. I'll go and de-cosy it now!
ReplyDeleteThank you for this reading suggestion, Frankie. I am in Australia but love to read old English village stories (Miss Marple in particular, and, recently, Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand). Today I ordered as many Miss Read books as exist in South Australian libraries to be delivered to my local library, and now am looking forward to curling up in front of my loungeroom fire and enjoying them. Best wishes to you. I hope your Long Covid has now departed. Regards, Georgie Bull
ReplyDeleteHi Georgie, I hope you enjoy your Miss Reads. Did you order ones from the Fairacre series or the Thrush Green? I like both but think perhaps the school stories are my favourites - that's the Fairacre ones. Sadly, my Long Covid is living up to its name, four years and counting!
ReplyDeleteOh, I am sorry to hear you still have Covid effects. That’s a long time. We were fortunate in Australia that our government quickly put the whole country into lockdown, and made us isolate from each other until the vaccine became widely used. It was emotionally hard, but we got through with minimal deaths and disease. I do hope it leaves you soon, so you can get back to your active life again. There are only 7 Miss Read books in South Australia, 4 Thrush Green and 3 Fairacre, so I ordered them all. I’ll keep an eye out for both series at op and 2nd hand bookshops, to see if I can put the sets together. I am planning to knit your 10 stitch hat this (my) winter. It looks terrific, especially in the greys you did yours in. I also love your teapot! I bet it makes a good cuppa ☕️. Have a wonderful summer. Regards, Georgie
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy knitting the hat. I wonder if the Miss Read are available as ebooks in Australia?
DeleteClever thought. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThank you again for the Miss Read introduction, Frankie! I picked up some of my order from the library yesterday. I have a heavy cold/Covid, so spent the day and the night until the early hours with Village Diary’, as that is the first one I have in the chronological order. What a wonderful woman, thoughtful teacher, and kind human being Miss Read is! I so admire her. ‘Diary’ is the only Fairacre one I have so far, the others being Affairs, At home in, and Christmas in the Thrush Green series. Another day on the couch for me today, but I’m happier with that now I have Miss Read, Miss Clare, and Amy. Along with the likes of little Lance-a-lot Drick Pringle, named after the actor Drick Bogarde. What a hoot! Again, many thanks, Georgie Bull, Australia.
ReplyDeleteBeing born in 1950, I could well have been in Miss Read’s class, had my parents moved from Essex to Fairacres, rather than emigrate to Australia! I would very much have liked that. Regards again, Georgie
ReplyDeleteHi Georgie, I hope you are soon feeling better. I'm glad you have your new books to keep you going.
ReplyDelete😁
DeleteHello Frankie. I finished Miss Read’s Diary last night, and started on the 1st Thrush Green book I have. But I have decided to take it and the other teo Thrush Greens back, and finish the Fairacre series, before starting all the new characters in Thrush Green. I think I will take my bits and bobs to start your 10 stitch hat at the library meetup for World Knit in Public day tomorrow. Or, I might take a sock wip, which would probably be more sensible, and I’d enjoy seeing if anyone was intrigued by watching a heel turn and gusset! I hope you are feeling well enough to go out now. I am well on the mend. Kind regards, Georgie Bull, Australia.
DeleteI'm glad you're feeling better. Don't do too much too quickly (I say this to everyone who's had Covid).
DeleteI picked up ‘Mrs Griffin sends her love’ published posthumously. I think it will make me cry. Regards, G
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