Edith Wharton and a trip to WEBS

Spending a few days in The Berkshires, that's Western Massachusetts for those who don't know the area. Enjoying the  warm weather and the charming and gracious small villages that give this area it's character.  In the early 20th century this area was the summer home for many famous writers including Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edith Wharton and her good friend Henry James.
One of Edith's first books, The House of Mirth,  was wildly successful when first published and was followed by other books that were also very popular, including The Age of Innocence for which she won the Pulitzer Prize and this was later made into a movie with Daniel Day Lewis:



                                                                               

                                                                             

Edith used some of the money that she made on her books to build a beautiful estate in The Berkshires
called The Mount and I was lucky to have an impromptu tour by a friend who volunteered there.


                                                                         

Here are a few more pictures of her home where she entertained her fellow writers.


                                                                                     

 

                                                                                 

I love the details in her dining room and bedroom:

                                                                         

The Mount is open for tours and other events in the summer and they also have a nice cafe on the large terrace which overlooks the gardens.  Since this is early Spring there wasn't much to see in the garden,  but I am sure this must be a fabulous spot in the summer and it's available for weddings.

I left this lovely place and headed on to Northampton to visit WEBS:

                                                                                     

                                                                     

They are in the middle of their 2 month sale and I checked out what they had available in their back room:

                                                                                     

I bought 8 skeins of Elsebeth Lavold's Silky Wool which was on sale for a project to be named at a later date, possibly Hannah Fettig's Schoodic cardigan.

                                                                         

                                                                           

                                                                                 

       

On to Maine and more adventures!