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.

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.

Epiphany & Thanks, Irene!

The Twelve Days of Christmas begin on December 25 and continue until January 6th, Epiphany, the traditional day on which the Three Wise Men arrived at the house where Mary, Joseph and the Baby Jesus were. In some countries, such as Puerto Rico and Spain, the Day of the Three Kings is one on which the children receive gifts. In Spain there are street festivals on January 6.

I usually do not begin to take down my Christmas decorations until Jan 7th. January 6 has even been the day of my last holiday entertaining with a tea or supper for close friends. Today, however, I was invited out for a wonderful luncheon and visiting with friends. It ran from 1 p.m. until 5:30 p.m.

Yesterday, Saturday January 5, the afternoon mail brought a gift for me from Greece. Irene of the Happy Turtle and The Green Greek blogs sent me a package. Inside were a red hardbound 2008 appointment book and a Greek edition of House and Garden magazine.

Irene also sent a lovely nativity greeting card, which I am glad to add to my collection.

It was nice to receive Irene’s gift on the eve of Epiphany, which commemorates the wise men presenting their rich gifts to the newborn King. [As it turns out, Irene’s Jan. 5 post is titled "Holy Epiphany" and gives insight into celebrations by the Greek Orthodox church. Those celebrations celebrate the start of Christ’s mission upon His baptism.]

Thinking of the visit of the Magi made me reflect on how we might each present our own gifts to Christ in the New Year. Many of us have made New Year’s resolutions. In further developing and carrying out these resolutions on how we will live in 2008 we might consider,

What shall I bring to the Lord,
The God of heaven,
When I come to worship Him?
Micah 6:6

My hope is that we will each be mindful of ways to present gifts to our Savior as we carry on our daily and monthly activities in 2008.

Gift Guide

Christmas Gift Suggestions:

To your enemy, forgiveness.
To an opponent, tolerance.
To a friend, your heart.
To a customer, service.
To all, charity.
To every child, a good example.
To yourself, respect.

--Oren Arnold

A Custom Handmade Present: Thank you Esther!

Back in October I was perusing Esther Sunday’s blog when I read about her collection of chairs in the form of pincushions. It just so happened that I also had a collection of chair pincushions. I made an e-mail to Esther, telling her of my collection, and promising to do a post about my chairs soon. This I did on October 25.

When I got a few more chairs, I sent photos to Esther by e-mail.

Later I got an e-mail from Esther with a photo of a chair pincushion she had crocheted. It was the one she used in her craft room. Later she indicated that if I wanted, she would make me a chair in the colors of my choice. Well, did I ever want one!
On November 26 Esther sent an e-mail with a photo of my completed chair! She would be mailing it shortly. Sure enough, the mail brought the awaited package with return address from Esther Sunday. I opened the package from with high expectation:

Inside was a package wrapped in hot pink tissue paper and tied with a pretty white ribbon and an envelope with a lovely floral note card. Unwrapping it, I saw my lovely pincushion. It is both elegant and squeezably soft!

Here is a closer look at the handmade chair.

I let Esther know by e-mail that it had arrived and was most welcome for my collection. Isn’t blogging the greatest fun? You get to meet such nice people with similar interests as yourself.

[Alert: Do not read this paragraph, Esther]
[Shh! When shopping it is fun to be on the lookout for items to get for other collectors. I am always checking by asking, "Do you still collect ... salt shakers, perfume bottles, etc." It is a release when the response is "Yes, I am…" Right now I am watching the mail for some things I’ve sent for for other collectors, but it is a secret.]

So Christmas is already here at Oak Rise Cottage. I’ve received my first gift from the inimitable Esther of the Sunday Journal.

“The Most Important Catalog in the World”

Bringing yet one more holiday catalog, my afternoon mail yesterday provided the topic for this post. This catalog, however, is different from the many which come offering tempting wares. Heifer International has a unique idea for helping our brothers and sisters who face challenges of hunger and poverty, in the United States and countries around the world. By gifting them with a commodity they then have the means to overcome the privations of their daily life by attaining self-reliance. The photo below, from Heifer's web site, expresses the joy of the recepients.


"The Most Important Catalog in the World" offers many levels of gifting the needy. A tax-deductible gift of $20 provides a flock of chicks; $30 honeybees; $60 a trio of rabbits and $60 tree seedlings. Higher dollar amounts cover costs of a heifer, water buffalo, llama, goat, sheep, knitting basket, or milk menagerie, which will give the recipient the means for long-term subsistence. In most cases you may give as little as $10 as a share in one of the categories. Of course, the offspring of these animals represent a gift that is continually renewed.

Last year Heifer International assisted over 140,000 families. Even in war-torn lands such as Kosovo, Guatemala, Rwanda and Cambodia, Heifer International’s program provides for the needy.

The holiday edition of the catalog has gift cards which you may print or sent by email. There are also gift inserts for sending to honorees. Finally, a Gift Registry permits your friends and family to select gifts to help the needy in honor of your anniversary, wedding, birthday or other event.

You may wish to visit their web site is at www.heifer.org/catalog to learn about their unique approach to helping the needy.

The Art of Giving and Gifting the Freecycle Way

A favorite among the large books kept in the living room at Oak Rise Cottage is The Art of Giving by Stuart E. Jacobson(Harry N. Abrams, 1987). This beautifully photographed book regales the reader with a variety of beautiful gifts, and pictures of the gift recipient and/or giver. The text provides insight into the meaning of the gift to the giver and receiver. It is truly a great read.

Some gifts are magnificient; some have more than a bit of whimsy. However, each is very well received.




The photos above show the custom-made monkeys and glass head of Beethoven this couple gave each other.

Today, I experienced another type of gift giving. Having joined just a few days ago, I posted my first two offers to the Freecycle Network yesterday evening around 6 p.m. I kept waiting to see the posts come up on the screen, but didn’t. So I logged off, and went about other matters. This afternoon I checked my e-mail to find nearly 30 requests for my two posts.

I contacted the first e-mailer and she came for the Kenmore sewing machine by 4 p.m. She was thrilled to get the machine, since hers had broken down just as she is redecorating her home. The second post, for a 19-inch TV/VCR, had almost as many requests as the sewing machine. Also, many of them indicated interest in the sewing machine as well as the TV!
The TV is scheduled for pickup tomorrow at 6 p.m.

A year ago I had seen a program on TV about the Freecycle movement. It seems to be a great way for people to give away things that they no longer need or want to those who welcome those items. In addition, it provides a forum for people to do ‘Wanted’ posts to let others know what their needs are. Here is their website: http://www.freecycle.org/
The site states that “The Freecycle Network™ is made up of 4,136 groups with 3,936,000 members across the globe.”

Next Tuesday the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Greater Boston will be coming to my street to pick up clothing and household items. So this is another convenient way to dispose of useful but unneeded things around the house.

You may wish to see what venues your area has for gifting others with things they can use, but which are no longer of value to you.

Consignment Catch II

In Sunday’s blog I mentioned the pine hutch I bought at the consignment shop. It was delivered today, since yesterday was Columbus Day.
Here is a photo of how it looked when it first arrived, before cleaning:





The unit was only a bit dusty, but while sanitizing it, I got to know every inch of the solid pine piece. The upper molding has simple dentil detail. The two upper doors have glass panes with frosted etching to imitate leaded glass. They can be changed out very easily since the glass is held with screws and metal braces. Under these doors are two small drawers. The base unit has two larger drawers and a two-door cabinet with one fixed shelf.




With a surge of patriotism, and conscious of being in the great Bay State (or, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts), I have decided to display the blue and white transferware called “Liberty Blue.” This English Staffordshire ware was made for the Bicentennial of the United States in 1976. Each piece depicts a building or event in the American Revolution. Knowing that I liked Blue and white dishes, my middle sister bought pieces each week at her supermarket in New York and gave them to me as a gift. In later years, I worked to gather twelve 5-piece place settings, plus the various bowls, platters, gravy boat, salt and pepper shakers, cereal and berry bowls, etc. in this extensive line. My sources were yard sales, antique and thrift stores, and eBay auctions. I still lack a few pieces, but have plenty enough for a Thanksgiving dinner or other meal with family or friends.






The surface of the base cabinet or buffet holds pantry goods in canisters. Mixed in with the display are some Bordallo Pinheiro green leaf ware and vintage aluminum tray. The base cabinet provides storage for the rest of the “Liberty Blue,” plus some “Blue Willow.”

This looks so much better than the bookcase I showed on Sunday, right?




When December comes, it will be fun to put Christmas wares on display in my “new” pine hutch and buffet.

Sentimental Souvenirs

Yesterday my mother and youngest sister came for a visit. Mother is trying to give away the last of her things in her small senior citizen apartment, since she is now living with my sister. She has dispersed much of her lovely things among her five remaining children, during the past couple of years. I received a few more things during their visit, including two silver trays, a Princess House crystal “Fantasia” platter, two teapots and a pitcher.



This reminded me of the 2 framed memorabilia collages I have in my bedroom. They are both hand-stitched by me. One of these shows hankies and doilies framed under glass. These were stitched on a white background, with a border of white lace. I picked up the beautiful old 26”h x 29”w wood frame at a junk shop in town for a few dollars.




Over the years, my Mother gave me many lovely handkerchiefs, many with the initial “L” for my first name. (She only calls me by my middle name, Carol, since I dislike using my first name, which is difficult to spell as well as pronounce.) The two lower hankies, the white one with initial “L” and the blue and white one are gifts from her. The blue crochet-bordered doily, part of a set of six, embroidered white hankie and white doily were my purchases since I love embroidered and crocheted textiles.

Another maternal gift is the initialed kerchief, white embroidered in blue just below the frame. She gave me that one last October 2006 at the eightieth birthday celebration for her sister in New York. (She herself turned 89 this September 2007)



The framed collage above my bed contains mostly of dainty off-white items I put together on a cream fabric background. In the upper left, is a piece of Belgian silk lace I bought in an antique store; below it is a rectangular piece of crochet; then a purse mirror from Mother. It has a mother of pearl handle and gilt mirror. A small purse comb is sewn against a round crochet doily, across from a pair of black enameled cuff links from Morocco, a gift from an uncle who worked aboard an ocean liner. The rhinestone brooch was worn by my mother on many festive occasions. The four crocheted circles are also from Mother, as is the vintage looking postcard which she sent me when I was away at college. Above her handwritten greeting the printed message reads,
“No special news
No special reason
Just thinking about you
That’s always in season”



This little verse is certainly expressive of the heartfelt affection we have shared as a family over the years. My sisters and I are particularly keen to keep close ties with each family member, since we lost our father in November 2005 and my eldest brother in April 2006. At the same time we feel blest to add various items from the older members of the family while they are still here with us.

BEAUTIFUL HERITAGE Part II

Hello! Yesterday I was having trouble inserting the photos where I wanted them, got distracted and ended my very first blog post almost in mid thought!

Continuing with the front entrance wall. . . There is a framed sunprint of a pineapple (made by applying the design stencil to the paper and exposing it to sunlight). I bought it at a craft fair at a local apple festival. It was a deep blue on off-white, but over the years it has taken on a purple hue from light exposure. The word "Welcome" and the pineapple graphic says "glad you’re here" to those who enter.
>
With usual thoroughness, I have placed a pineapple of some sort in each room of Oak Rise Cottage. Here are some highlights, with photos:
The Living Room – pineapple teapot from a Metropolitan Museum sale catalog is on the top shelf of the desk cabinet; pair of glass bookends on the bottom shelf; brass letter opener on the desktop; a floor standing faux stone pineapple I got at Marshall’s on clearance; on a side table a brass frame etched with pineapples, holds a postcard from a friend in Norway.

The Dining Room – trivets and coasters, many of which are gifts from my Mother, a sister and friends.

The Hallway wall includes a wood carved pineapple plaque.

In the Study, on bookcase - a pineapple finial, a gift from an interior designer friend.

On the bed in the Rose Guest Bedroom a pink pillow from friend and a crystal pineapple from the nightstand.

In the Principal Bedroom (no "master" here!) – On the bureau is a Lenox ‘Fruits of Life’ vase, a gift from my mother, which helped to launch a collection of Lenox vases, picture frames and bowls. Near the jewelry box are pineapple brooches, of which the most exquisite (in gold and silver) is from a friend.

In the Kitchen - a framed ink tracing of a pineapple I did years ago, the image from an old cookbook; two serving dishes by Wilton Armetale; my Household Book, a three-ring binder I covered in blue and white print paper; printed paper napkins from a friend; a pewter hanging wind chime, a gift from co-workers; a wood frame with applique pewter, a gift from one sister, holds a postcard I bought in Stratford on Avon, England in 1995; shaped notepad, fridge magnets, ruler, etc.

In the Laundry Room is a framed print on linen, which my two youngest sisters bought for me at a hospital gift shop when I went to get a second opinion regarding surgery in summer 1980.

So, with many thoughtful gifts from family, friends and co-workers, these items -- among other details of my home -- help express my interests and outlook on home-keeping and hospitality.
[Of course, each of my sisters also has her own assemblage of pineapple objects in her home. But neither has had the incurable focus as their big sister!]

I hope you enjoyed reading about this hospitality motif and related collectibles around my home. Let me know if you also collect pineapple items. I would love to hear from you.