Contagious blogging

There is a person around here who has been spewing all this sewing talk. She tells all the tips she knows about alterations, fitting, fabric finds, etc. Then she pushes it even further by posting pictures!!! Doesn't she know that stuff is contagious!! It permeates your sleep and haunts your waking hours. And especially those "tween" times when you aren't quite asleep but not truly awake either, that's when I have all these color combinations floating in my mind. I promise I give her total blame for posting that contagious blog. As you can see to the left I purchased some sheer floral print for the overskirt of the as-yet-unpurchased underskirt and the solid will be an unstructured jacket. Thank God her desire for tailored items hasn't taken hold of me yet. Pray for me.



I realized at the Knit-In at Gourmet Yarn (when I forgot to bring my teacup) that I should share some pictures of my old dishes that I started collecting a few years ago. When I was a child my mother had two pieces of this pattern. She had a tea pitcher and a pie plate. Both were used in the kitchen early on and then both were put to use watering plants or acting as the saucer for outdoor plants. Needless to say, both were in poor condition. Shortly after I moved from Tulsa to OKC I went to Affair of the Heart. While browsing there I spied some dessert plates from this pattern. Wow! did it bring back some memories! I always wanted to stir the Koolaid or tea that was served from the pitcher. (We rarely used the pie plate.) But the reason I wanted to stir was because I loved the sweet pattern of festoons, pink roses and the gold trim. So when I spotted those dessert plates I had to have them. That is when the collection started. I then asked my mother about the two pieces she had and luckily she still had them. When my grandmother had to be moved closer to family, another serving bowl joined my collection. And then I started searching on eBay and in antique stores and lo and behold I think I have 45 pieces. These dishes are made by Universal Potteries. The book I have on Universal Potteries states no one seems to know the name of this pattern. Some call it Heritage. UP made many patterns and some are flat ugly. lol But this one makes me think of my youth. I don't use any of these. The quality is such I don't think they could withstand much use and especially no dishwasher! I traded emails with one lady who seemed to be one of my constant competitors on eBay. She lived in Pennsylvania and told me she never had any luck finding any pieces up east. She had a friend who she visited in Missouri once a year and that was when she collected many of her pieces.



My mother told me she thought this pattern used to be sold in the Sears and Roebuck catalog.

She also told me that back when my grandmother married many people didn't have the money to buy wedding presents. So it was common custom to take a piece or two from your set to give to the new bride and groom. That is how she obtained the pitcher and pie plate, from her mother.




You can see parts of custard cups on each side of the sugar and creamer set. They are in very poor condition. But I found them in an antique store for a very good price. So I had to have them. lol















I still haven't unpacked all the boxes marked China. So these are the only pieces I've put in the china cabinet. One of these days I'll get them all out. Probably two months before I move again!!!