Today would have been Tasha Tudor's 100th Birthday had she lived. She passed away in June, 2008.
Last year, at this time, I joined The Tasha Tudor Museum New Jersey Chapter...this link goes to our Face Book page. We get together monthly and many times do the kind of crafts that Tasha would have liked. I love being with this group and always look forward to our get together.
This year I also had the good fortune to visit Tasha Tudor's home and gardens...I also got to meet some of her family that takes care of her legacy.
Here is a post I wrote back in January of 2011.
I have been a fan of Tasha Tudor for forty years. It all started back in 1975 when we moved from Boston to Chicago. As a going away present a friend gave us "The New England Butt'ry Shelf Cookbook", written by Mary Mason Campbell and Illustrated by Tasha Tudor. In it she wrote..."So you won't forget New England" I was charmed by the illustrations by Tasha Tudor and I started looking for books written and illustrated by Tasha. Over the years I have collected numerous books by her and about her.
Years later, when we were settling Ken's parent's estate, I came across two of Tasha Tudors first books "Pumpkin Moonshine" and "Alexander The Gander". They had been given to my sister-in-law, when she was four years old, by a loving aunt. My sister-in-law had no interest in keeping the books for herself and gave them to me.
In 1981 Tasha Tudor was in Columbus, Ohio, (where I lived at the time) for a book signing. My son Brian and I went to meet her and to have our favorite books signed. In "A Child's Garden of Verses" Tasha signed Brian's book this way...
Brian had been sure to tell Tasha Tudor that he was born in Massachusetts. He was charmed by Tasha and she was charmed by him. They carried on quite a conversation with Brian showing Tasha his favorite poem from the book. I gave Tasha Tudor one of my Soft Sculpture Tomptes and in return she drew a Tomte stroking a cat, and worte this in my "A Time To Keep" book...
Needless to say I was and am thrilled.
During this Christmas Season I re-read all of the books that I have about her and by her. I started doing that because I had just become a Charter Member of The Tasha Tudor Museum.
Over the years I have learned much from reading her books. I found out that I had many of the same passions as Tasha had...family, cooking, gardening, antiques, brids, dogs, cats, sewing by hand, tea time, traditions, celebrating the holidays and the seasons.
One of my favorite book written about Tasha Tudor, was written by her Daughter Bethany Tudor in 1979, "Drawn from New Enland...Tasha Tudor" It is a charming book and lonvingly written.
I know that Tasha Tudor's life was not all a bed of roses. I like that Tasha knew what she wanted and made it come true through hard work and determination.
