St Brigid and Dandelions!

In March 2010 I posted information on the symbolism of the dandelion and how it is the flower of St Brigid - but also how i'd never found an image showing St Brigid with a dandelion. On the blog I quoted a lovely poem by Winifred Mabel Letts (1882 - 1972)

The dandelion lights its spark 
Lest Brigid find the wayside dark. 
And Brother Wind comes rollicking
For joy that she has brought the spring.
Young lambs and little furry folk 
Seek shelter underneath her cloak. 

I received an email the other day from a lady called Bairbre in Dublin to say she had a copy of the image that accompanied and poem published by Cuala Press (run by Elizabeth and Lily Yeats - sisters of William and Jack Butler Yeats) - and she could send me a scan for the blog. Fabulous! 
And what a delightful drawing it is by Kathleen Verschoyle, the step daughter of WM Letts.

Don't forget it's St Brigid's feast day on 1st February - celebrate the coming of spring!

Preston City Council Poster

I have some pretty random things in the dandelion archive - here is a 2005 poster from Preston City Council and the Preston Primary Care Trust:

It's coming, we are aiming for a smoke free Preston. All vehicles and buildings will be smoke free from 1st November 2005.

The dandelion seed head is often used to symbolize fresh air - a blowing breeze etc... Maybe in this case it also refers to the time passing before the rules are enforced?  Or i might be over thinking that one. I found the poster in a disused council building - apparently empty since 2005 with this old poster still on the notice board.

Sanderson dandelion cup and saucer

Still on a Sanderson theme I also have one of their lovely Dandelion Clock cup and saucers in the dandelion archive. As you can see i'm also trying to get good studio shots of all the objects in the archive so everything is properly documented.

I've not dared to use the cup and saucer and they still have their labels on, unlike the oven gloves (see below) that are well and truly used and abused daily.

Sanderson oven gloves

Here are my beautiful Sanderson Dandelion Clocks Collection double oven gloves that are now in the dandelion archive (well, actually they are now in my kitchen looking beaten up with a year's worth of oven marks on - very well used and loved).

Sanderson Dandelions

Ever on the look out for dandelion designs and objects I have a few Sanderson textile and wallpaper samples in the dandelion archive i'm making. A popular design it's used in various colour ways and on many objects - trays, pens, oven gloves, cups etc... Here is Sanderson's Dandelion Clocks Red.