Hello all, Mary Ellen here.

Just finished watching the last bit of Downton Abbey’s first episode of season 4. Won’t say too much specifically since some of you fans might not have seen it yet. Several interesting developments-planting seeds for new story lines obviously. I will say that the dowager was surprisingly nice-for her, I thought.

Have you seen the fabric lines inspired by the ladies of Downton? When they began to appear in ads in magazines, I was not impressed at all. Too dull in color for my taste. But now that they are appearing in stores, and I’m seeing a few projects made with the fabric, I’m starting to change my mind. Here’s a link to the photos over at Andover fabrics, with free project plans. What do you think? The purples hint at the Pantone color of the year, just muted down a bit. (Radiant Orchid images) Perhaps those of you who thought you would never have that color in your house, after reading my earlier blog post about it, might find bits of it creeping in. I found a bit of it on a cereal box while shopping before our blizzard. Those ad executives and packaging designers have amazing ways of controlling the colorful bits in our houses.

Any thoughts about Downton?