Themed Thursdays – Blue Transferware

KD at Southern Whimsy has just begun a new weekly meme called Themed Thursdays. As a collector of blue and white dishes, I was glad to see that the theme for Thursday January 29th is Blue Transferware.

I’d like to share an old pattern that has been seen in many variations in many countries. While we are all familiar with the much-loved Blue Willow patterns, some might not be as acquainted with the Blue Onion pattern. Here is a brief introduction from Edish.com:

"The still popular blue onion pattern originated in Germany over two hundred and fifty years ago. According to the Meissen factory, the originator of the pattern, the onion pattern represents the Chinese pomegranate, peach, bamboo, and lotus flower. The first patterns produced in the west were exact copies of, or heavily inspired by the Chinese porcelain patterns that had been exported to Europe. The blue onion pattern has probably been produced in every major china producing region around the world. The original pattern was a blue, handpainted, underglaze decoration on porcelain, but there are transfer on earthenware versions as well."

Here are items that I have collected, starting with selections from my blue and white teacup collection:

"Blue Danube" - Made in Japan. Note the interesting handle on the cup.

Corelle by Corning "Old Town Blue’ - Made in USA. I got this at the hospital guild thrift shop last year.

J & G Meakin "Blue Nordic" – Made in England. Note the lovely band inside the cup rim.
Royal China "Blue Onion" - Made in United States. A very sturdy design.

Many, many different tablewares and home accessories have been done in the Blue Onion pattern. Here is a sampling from my home:

Pair of Candlesticks – "Blue Danube" - Made in Japan. I found these brand new at an antique store for $8.00.

Platter 12.25" - "Blue Heritage" Enoch Wedgwood – Made in England

Bread and Butter plates 6.5"- "Blue Heritage" Enoch Wedgwood – Made in England.

Dinner Plates - Oxford 7810-2 - Made in Brazil. More sturdy everyday wares.

Salt and Pepper Shakers – Unmarked. A gift from my two youngest sisters.

Small Bowls, 6" dia. - Made in Korea. The edges are beautifully carved.

Sugar Canister - Made in Japan. A thrift store find, it is missing its lid.
Mugs - "Oriental Blue" by Ming Pao - Made in China. These new cups are very sturdy and heavy.

Picture Frame for 3 ½ x 5" picture – Unmarked. I picked this up at Marshalls or TJ Maxx.

As I was looking into the hutch I focussed on items in "Hardwick" by Minton, made in England; I again realized that the design is a take on the Blue Onion pattern. What do you think?


Well, that’s a brief survey of designs in the Blue Onion pattern. I hope you found it interesting. Do stop by again soon.

ABCs of the Word - Y

Pam at Grey Like Snuffie hosts ABC’s of the Word to focus on a scripture in which the week’s letter is highlighted.

This week’s letter is Y

"Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,'

and your 'No,' "no";

anything beyond this

comes from the evil one."
Matt 5:37 NIV

In His teaching called the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus covered many topics, giving His listeners principles of truth and simplicity. Regarding taking oaths, He advised them to simply speak the truth in a direct manner. Here is the full context:

"Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago,

'Do not break your oath,

but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.'

But I tell you, Do not swear at all:

either by heaven, for it is God's throne;

or by the earth, for it is his footstool;

or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.

And do not swear by your head,

for you cannot make even one hair white or black.

Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No';

anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
Matt 5:33-37 NIV

Jesus’ words imply our communication should be direct and never complicated by double meanings or innuendo. From a pure heart, the words must proceed in clear-cut dialogue.

For more ABC’s of the Word visit Pam at Grey Like Snuffie.

What’s On Your Walls Wednesdays – Wall Shapes

I just learned about a new weekly meme for Wednesdays, called What’s On Your Walls. It is hosted by Barb at Grits and Glamour.

I thought I’d share my use of round and rectangular shapes on the wall in my study.
Just inside the door to the right is a grouping of two Spode plates and a framed floral print.

Plate with Portland vase, from Spode’s Blue Room collection, Transfer-printed in green

Floral still life print

Plate with urn, also from Spode’s Blue Room collection

While that grouping is simply symmetrical with repeated shapes above and below the middle print; the groupings on each side of the windows are sort of reverse images of each other. The groupings are both anchored by rectangular prints in the middle. However, the left side has a round object on top, while the right side has the round object on the bottom. I tend to like a bit of idiosyncrasy in my décor.

On the left side of the window

there is a round wood clock,

above a framed oil painting,

and a framed and matted watercolor painting.

On the right side,

there is a pochoir print [See post on this vintage stencil print]

above a framed oil painting,

and a round plate of the Parthenon, a gift from Greece brought for me by a co-worker.

Thank you for looking at my funny wall groupings. See more wall display treasures at Barb’s blog.

Word-Filled Wednesday Romans 13:12

The night is nearly over;
the day is almost here.
So let us put aside the deeds of darkness
and put on the armor of light.
Romans 13:12 NIV

For more Word-Filled Wednesday please visit Amydeanne.

Tablescape Tuesday – New Breakfast Table Setting

Tablescape Tuesday is sponsored by Susan of Between Naps on the Porch.

For the Christmas season the breakfast table was set with Spode "Christmas Tree" dishes and goblets, and Avon "Cape Cod" Ruby Red glasses, napkin rings and salt and pepper shakers. See post here.

Now for the next month or so, I’ve set the table with Churchill "Bermuda Blue" dishes, which are one of the everyday sets. Just before going to the hospital last Thursday to bring my mother home, I quickly put together a new daily place settings for our breakfasts, lunches and supper.

To save time I left the white tablecloth on (which is over the usual blue and white with dark aqua topper).
Churchill "Bermuda Blue" dinner plates
Canonsburg "American Traditional" square salad plates
Churchill "Bermuda Blue" cereal bowls
Oneida "Raphael" stainless flatware


Clear Water tumblers for water
Cobalt tumblers for juice
Churchill "Bermuda Blue" cups and saucers

Canonsburg "American Traditional" salt and pepper shakers
Blue and white ceramic napkin rings with dark blue cloth napkins.

On Saturday my youngest sister and her daughter brought the flowers for mother. I placed them in a blue and white vase.

In the center is a covered bowl in Churchill "Blue Willow" with a blue and white crocheted doily underneath. There is also a cream compote with a small pitcher by from Spode’s Blue Room collection.
So these are our dishes and basic tablesetting for daily meals. If we ae having a chunky soup, I'll use the rimmed soup bowls by Canonsburg "American traditional" or Churchill "Bermuda Blue". When other family or friends come, we use the dining room table.

For more delightful table settings please see the list of participants at Susan’s blog.

Metamorphosis Monday – Kitchen Walls

Today is the second week of Metamorphosis Monday, which is hosted by Susan of Between Naps on the Porch.
When I moved into my house in 1992 I was so disappointed that the kitchen was wallpapered. The wallpaper was a light pink plaid with tiny blue flowers.

It did not suit my taste. It was also a huge problem with my use of blue and white in the kitchen. After a while, though, not wanting the job of stripping the wallpaper, I went ahead and put our my blue and white dishes, curtains, etc.
As it is, the only photos I can find of the pink wallpaper are these taken Christmas 2002 and 2003.

But finally in 2006, I hired a painter to do some work and then hired him to strip the wallpaper and paint the room. Apparently, the sheet rock had not been properly prepared and the stripping process gouged out the surface of the sheetrock. So then, I had to have the walls textured and then painted.

The paint I chose was Benjamin Moore ‘Stratton Blue’ which is a blue-green. I wanted to have a setting for my green leaf plates, my Christmas Tree china, as well as the blue and white.
These photos gives a closeup of the texture on the walls. It also shows how it makes a nice background for various colors.

Well, I must go back to putting away my Christmas décor. I’m still working on it.
For more transformations see the listing for Metamorphosis Monday, at Susan of Between Naps on the Porch.

Blue Monday - Gifts That Feed a Blue and White Habit part 2

Blue Monday is sponsored by Sally at Smiling Sally.


Today I continue sharing gifts from family that contributed to my blue and white collections. As an accomplished seamstress, my youngest sister has spent much time shopping for fabrics. Along the way she saw blue and white fabrics which she gave me.

Blue and white toile fabric - youngest sister

Fabric in Pflatzgraff "Yorktowne" pattern - youngest sister. I happen to have burner covers on the stove that match this design

Fabric for the custom-made kitchen curtains and tablecloth - youngest sister

Kitchen window – in summer I used only the valance and displayed items on the window sill.

Round tablecover for breakfast table

Six napkins. The ceramic server is from the eldest of my three sisters.

Pull-up shade for the kitchen side door.

Packets of paper napkins – two youngest sisters. The holiday pattern is named "Porcelain" and has blue and white oriental wares along with greenery, red berries and gold ribbons.

Eight store- bought Placemats and eight matching napkins - youngest sister. The placemats has a pleated inset with lighter blue border.

Kitchen towels and dishcloths – mother

White handkerchief monogrammed in blue – mother

Thank you for looking at my blue and white items. Do visit Sally for more lovely blue treasures.

Vintage Thingies Thursday – Depression Glass

The past week has been very stressful, but I did not want to miss VTT. Last Thursday my mother was admitted to the local hospital and just came out today. With daily visits and two snow storms, I haven’t done as much blogging as I’d like.

My vintage thingies for this week are my pink or peach depression glasses. The first I received from my sister and brother in law as a birthday gift a couple decades ago. They are a set of four pilsner glasses. Though I have looked and looked, I haven’t found any in the same pattern.
Here they are in my new corner cabinet:


The next two glasses are by Tiffin. They are goblets with gold encrusted rims. I am currrently looking for more in this pattern to use with my pink and white Royal Albert “Lady Carlyle” china.


Thank you for visiting today; I hope you will return soon. To see more vintage treasures, please visit Coloradolady for a list of participating posts.

ABCs of the Word - X

Pam at Grey Like Snuffie hosts ABC’s of the Word to focus on a scripture in which the week’s letter is highlighted.
This week’s letter is X.. Pam has indicated "thinking there aren't scriptures to choose from for this letter SO, how about if we share a scripture that holds X extra meaning for us right now. For whatever reason... share the Word that He has brought to life for you recently."
*clipart letter X
"The day appointed for the Jews to do this
in all the provinces of King Xerxes
was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month,
the month of Adar."
Esther 8:12 NIV
"The Jews assembled in their cities
in all the provinces of King Xerxes
to attack those seeking their destruction.
No one could stand against them,
because the people of all the other nationalities
were afraid of them."
Esther 9:2 NIV
When an irreversible royal decree would have all the Jews destroyed, a providential turn of events made it possible for the Jews to defend themselves.
[The book of Esther is unusual since it does not refer to any name of God. So while there is never any acknowledgment that the turn of events were under divine direction, yet one can assume that God worked out all the events so that the dramatic outcome was a blessing to his exiled people.]
For more ABC’s of the Word visit Pam at Grey Like Snuffie.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Word-Filled Wednesday Genesis 11:8,9

Clipart Doverpublications.com

“So the LORD scattered them

from there over all the earth,

and they stopped building the city.

That is why it was called Babel

—because there the LORD confused

the language of the whole world.

From there the LORD scattered them

over the face of the whole earth."

Gen. 11:8, 9

The illustration is from the Bedford Book of Hours done between 1423-1430 AD. It interprets the building of the Tower of Babel on a plain in Shinar or Babylonia.

The multiplication of languages was used by God to keep humans from following through with their unholy goal of making a way to heaven by their own means. ["Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens…]

Christ is the only solution to our human dilemmas and the only Way to fulfill our full potential

For more Word-Filled Wednesday please visit Amydeanne.

Gifts That Feed a Passion for Blue and White - 1

Blue Monday is sponsored by Sally at Smiling Sally.

For my Blue Monday contribution I’d like to present some of the gifts that feed my hankering for blue and white. Family and friends know that I love blue and white dishes and other lovelies, so over the years, they have gifted me with many different items.

Salt and pepper set – from two youngest sisters when they lived with me in Texas while they attended college.



Staffordshire shoe with daisies– from another sister, Noelle, when she lived with me in California while she attended college and I attended graduate school.

"Liberty Blue" Staffordshire dishes – from middle sister. She collected four place settings at a local supermarket that featured these for the U.S. Bicentennial.

Meakin "Palma" dinner plate - Again from my middle sister, whose boss brought it in to work to use under one of his plants. My sister told him she needed it for my blue & white collection. Later, I found the cup and saucer at Ross Simons for my blue and white teacup collection.

Wayside Inn plate – From professional colleagues at a conference. The plate depicting the Old Wayside Inn in Sudbury, MA was presented to me at a banquet, the evening following our visit to the Old Wayside Inn. We had a delicious meal in the historic inn. While visiting the gift shop someone overheard me remark on my love of blue and white dishes. When I opened the gift presented to me as host the next evening, there was the lovely plate, a reminder of a delightful stop on our tour.

Crocheted pot holders, pair – Made for me by a talented co-worker.

Crocheted pincushion chair – Made for me by a talented blog friend, Esther Sunday.

Next week I will share blue and white linens and textiles I've received as gifts.

See more Blue Monday posts at Smiling Sally.

Metamorphosis Monday – Front Steps

I almost completely forgot about the first installment of Metamorphosis Monday, which is hosted by Susan of Between Naps on the Porch.

My 90-year old mother has been in the hospital since Thursday night, when I took her to the hoapital emergency room. We had been there Wednesday morning, but had returned home by mid-afternoon. So I am a bit out of touch with my blogging activities.

I will just do a quick post about the front steps as I found them in 1992 when I bought my house. The house had been built in 1988 so it was four years when I moved in.
The lower front steps consisted of railroad ties in terra cotta red, with gravel and terra cotta stepping stones for the lower landing. The wood was quite rotted so I had to replace them.

In 1994 I hired a mason who designed a curved lower stair.

After all this time I still need to add railings to aid in going up and down when it is wet or slippery.

For more posts in this new weekly feature, go to the listing for Metamorphosis Monday, at Susan of Between Naps on the Porch.

Friday Show and Tell – Corner Cabinet

Show and Tell Friday is hosted by the very talented Kelli at There is No Place Like Home

About two months ago I saw a white painted wood corner cabinet in the local consignment shop. At this shop the price goes down the longer the item is in the shop. The lowest price of $69.99 was for January 4, 2009. A customer may leave a check in the amount of whatever price point you wish to pay. If no one buys it at a higher price, then you may get the piece. Otherwise your undeposited check is returned to you.

I went in on January 2 and to my delight it was still there. I handed over my money and promised to return on January 4 with my brother to pick it up. Just as I went in the door on Sunday around 2 p.m., I swung around and saw a couple coming in behind me. My brother’s teenaged son helped the owner take my cabinet out to their car. After they had stowed it in the car, the owner told me that the couple had just asked to buy the corner cabinet. He told them that I had bought it and was taking it right then!

Here it is in the corner of the dining room where I had had a bookcase on which I stored the pink and white English, German and American dishes. The unit is white with black metal hinges, gold knobs and gilt brass pull on the drawer. I hope to have it painted to match the dining room walls and to change the hardware.

The dishes fit behind the glass doors of the upper section very well.

The lower portion of the cabinet has a small drawer and additional storage behind solid doors.

Thanks for stopping by and looking at my thrifty storage find. Visit more Show and Tell at There is No Place Like Home.

ABCs of the Word - W

Pam at Grey Like Snuffie hosts ABC’s of the Word to focus on a scripture in which the week’s letter is highlighted.

This week’s letter is W

Finally, brothers, whatever is true,
whatever is noble, whatever is right,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable—
if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—
think about such things.
Philippians 4:8 NIV

For more ABC’s of the Word visit Pam at Grey Like Snuffie.

Word-Filled Wednesday – Isaiah 1:18

Come now, and let us reason together,

saith the LORD:

though your sins be as scarlet,

they shall be as white as snow;

though they be red like crimson,

they shall be as wool.

Isaiah 1:18 KJV

When we look on all the white stuff around us, we can contemplate God’s sure promise that he will cleanse us from our sins. This is possible when we look on pure white snow when it first comes down, or the grey stuff when it has been soiled with traffic. God's grace is powerful in all situations.

For more Word-Filled Wednesday please visit Amydeanne.

Tablescape Tuesday - Hurry-up Luncheon Setting

Tablescape Tuesday is sponsored by Susan of Between Naps on the Porch.

This weekend I had a short time to put together a luncheon for a friend whose visit had been suddenly moved up due to impending snow storms. There wasn’t time to pull together a detailed tablescape, so I just went for something elegant with a bit of color and a clean fresh feeling.
Having just taken off the holiday table setting from the dining room, I had a bare tabletop. I quickly pulled out the following elements:

Round aqua woven mats I had gotten in December at Marshalls
Spode "Consul Cobalt" dinner plates
Mikasa "Crown Jewels" dessert plates
Mikasa "Estasi" flatware
Ivory napkins in gilt floral napkin rings
Clear crystal "Vendange" goblets
Clear glass salad bowls on "Consul Cobalt" bread and butter plates
Clear footed gravy boat

Two silverplate candlesticks on another round placemat and a small silverplated candy dish served as a very simple centerpiece.

Under the goblets were cream and gold ceramic coasters which I bought in Athens in 1993. I gave my guest the one depicting Sunion, Greece, which she and I had visited on that wonderful trip.

A tasty menu of: Yellow Rice,Sauteed Tenderbits in Mushroom Gravy, Mushroom Gravy in Sauce boat, Green Peas, Corn, Romaine Salad, Apple Fritter Bread slices, Cranberry Juice, Apple Pie and Vanilla Ice Cream.

My guest, a fine cook and exquisite hostesss, approved the menu and tablesetting and expressed that she had had a wonderful time.

For more delightful table settings please see the list of participants at Susan’s blog.

ABCs of the Word - V

Pam at Grey Like Snuffie hosts ABC’s of the Word to focus on a scripture in which the week’s letter is highlighted.

This week’s letter is V

I am the vine, ye are the branches:
He that abideth in me, and I in him,
the same bringeth forth much fruit:
for without me ye can do nothing.
John 15: 5 KJV

Only by a constant connection with Jesus can our spiritual lives be maintained. May we continue to seek Him and to receive Him daily.

For more ABC’s of the Word visit Pam at Grey Like Snuffie.