June - The Month of Roses

New to Grandma's Attic are beautiful fabric panels (4" x 6") of gorgeous flowers, printed on soft cotton sateen fabric, ready to sew and showcase on your wall. The panels come four to set and include a pattern for a small wall quilt. One of my favorites from our newest group is Flowers Set 3 - Roses by Olde America Antiques. The images are of the actual covers of vintage seed catalogs from 1893-1909.

During the Golden Age of Illustration (1880s until after WWI), seed catalogs featured covers of beautiful flowers that could be grown in one's garden. Catalogs from companies such as the Iowa Seed Company, Lippincott Seeds, John A. Salzer and John Lewis Childs were so bright and cheerful, people kept them on their parlor tables. And since roses have been cultivated for thousands of years, many of these covers featured paintings of roses.

Throughout history, many poets and authors have written about the rose. The Italian poet, Dante (1265-1321), writing in the 13th Century, declared, "The rose, wherein the word divine makes itself flesh."

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) refers to roses more than 50 times in his works. In Romeo and Juliet, he wrote, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet."

And the English Poet Robert Herrick (1591-1674) penned, "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, Old Time is still a-flying, And this same flower that smiles today, Tomorrow will be dying."

Since Victorian times, roses have been associated with deep love, passion, beauty and everlasting love. They have been grown and cultivated both for their foliage and their perfume. Even today, companies like Jackson & Perkins in Medford, Oregon offer a seemingly endless variety of roses for gardening enthusiasts. Their catalog showcases "the newest and most exciting roses available" and provides practically everything you need to grow gorgeous roses.

You can bring the beauty of the garden into your home with these gorgeous flower images. To view our entire pre-printed fabric panel collection, click here.