Get out the good Dishes, Preacher is coming to dinner!

 

 Hand made, Mary Alice Hadley pottery , from Louisville, Kentucky.

Blue Danbute from Lipper International..

Rose Meade by Mikasa .

Japanese Mix and Match Imari from Newman Marcus.

  I grew up on a farm in Missouri. I had 5 brothers and one sister. If you know anything about farm life,it can be wonderful, but also hard. My mother cooked 3 big meals a day and did laundry for 9 and still had time and energy to go out and help in the fields when needed. Sometimes during harvest times she would bring the food to the field, so we could eat and get back to work.There was no time for fancy table settings and fine china.  We went to this little Baptist church down the road from our house. We had a traveling minister who came and spent the day on Sundays. There was Sunday school, preaching service, training union and Sunday night service, some where in between all that, the preacher had to eat Sunday dinner. The people of the church took turns and feed the preacher. It usually happened only once a year, bit it was something. My mother went into a tale spin. The house had to be cleaned from top to bottom. Table cloth washed and starched and ironed. Good dishes(china ) brought out from the dish pantry and if it was spring, summer or fall, flowers were picked from the yard. It was an experience that changed my life. I soon learned the art of table setting and the love for the finery that goes on the table. I guess I just have a large right side of the brain, maybe it is the artist in me. What ever it is,I love fine china, silver and crystal. I had so many sets of china at one time it was almost sick. After moving them around time after time, I knew I had to down size. I have managed to keep 4 different groups and I love using them. Some are for every day and other are for when the "Preacher" is a coming!The Blog post today is all about that china. I hope you enjoy seeing them as much as I enjoy using them. I like to use small flower arrangements over big ones. Often having one by each plate. I love to use odd items for vases,usually things that one would not normally use for a vase. Like a cow creamer, juice glass or other unusual items. I perfer garden flowers to florist flowers. I would never use fake flowers. If no flowers are available I often use greenery from the shrubs. I love pine and holly and magnolia tree leaves in the winter.I consider myself a colorful person , so I am drawn to loud and colorful china.I know it is not proper to use colored napkins on a formal table setting, but I like breaking the rules. Besides, colored napkins are a lot easier to keep clean and stain free. I mostly do not like things that all match, so I like to mix and match. Some times match works just as well however. Have fun with you table settings and let loose and enjoy life.

All pieces have hand painted farm scenes.

I use my cow creamer with garden flowers at every plate setting.

Dinner on the Screen Porch.

 Mary Alice Hadley Pottery. M.A. Hadley pottery has been hand crafted since 1940. Owing to the abundancof ancient clay deposits in the region, Louisville has been a center of pottery making for generations. Out of this proud tradition, Mary Alice Hadley established one of Louisville' s most iconic and well know potteries. The story began in the early 1900's. M.A. was born into a family of clay tile makers,where her knowledge of working with clay first developed. With an interest in art and design, she became widely recognized as a painter.In the late 1930's M. A. began melding her artist talent with her knowledge of clay ware. The result was a set of custom dishes that caused such a stir among her friends , that the idea for a business was born. Orders soon came from all over the country. The company was formed in 1940. In 1944 a building was purchased and became the headquarters. The business prospered, attracting collectors from across the nation and around the world. Warm and whimsical designs are loved for more than 70 years. M.A. died in 1965. Her husband ran the business till 1979 when it was sold to a Louisville couple who still runs it today using M. A.'s original designs.

My family often give me items for gifts. This set comes with many matching pieces.

I like to use the matching juice glasses as small vases by each place setting.

Yes, even matching silver ware.

I love to use garden flowers when available.

Blue Danube by Lipper International. Originally started as Lipper and Mann in 1946. As an importer of glass and ceramic items. These items were imported from Czechoslovakia and other European countries. They had a show room in New York and sold merchandise to leading department store, independent shops, jewelery stores and home furnishing stores. Merchandise was shipped from over seas to warehouses in New York. In 1947 they began importing from Japan, including dinnerware sets in porcelain. The Blue Danube pattern was developed in 1951. It has been one of the best sellers of all times. It was some what copied after the Blue Onion pattern from the Meisen factories in Germany. 

Rosemead  by Mikasa Japan.

I love to use my antique cranberry pieces with this china. I have several small tussie mussie holders I use with garden flowers at each place setting.

Rosemead by Mikasa. China companies  have been naming there patterns Rosemead for years. And so did Mikasa in 1987. They made this popular pattern between the years of 1987 to 1997. Mikasa in China is not a manufacturer per se, but a distributor that has cultivated relationships with more than 150 manufacturers.The Mikasa  name is often linked  to other companies,The Mikasa  company was established in America in 1948, in New Jersey. There is a wide variety of fine and bone china available. Today in little more tha 50 years, Mikasa has made it's mark in the field of tabletop and home home accessories in the United States. The Rosemead pattern is now only available through china matching services. 

Japanese  Mix and Match Imari from Nieman Marus.

I love these big blue and white Imari service plates. For BBQ I often use them as plates as they hold so much and keep the table cloth clean.

Japanese Imari  Mix and Match by Nieman Marcus. I am sure this china is made in Japan and sold through the Nieman Marcus departments stores. I bought mine in St.Louis from there store there. There are about 12 different patterns. Each piece is made in all patterns. I chose 3 different plate patterns, salad plates all the same, cups and saucers to match the plates and soup bowls all the same. Butter pats, rice bowls, and mint dishes each of a different pattern.I love using this china as it makes a fun and colorful table. I find some of these pieces at estate sales. But, they are all still available at Nieman Marcus stores everywhere. 

I am linking this post to tablescape Thursdays at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/   Please drop by and enjoy all the fun.

My Mother- the farmers wife and Mother of 7. Greatest Mother on earth. Taught me the value of a good friend, love of life and to be a Christian.Treat others the way you want to be treated, if I heard that once, I heard it a million times. My Mother has gone to heaven where she is teaching Sunday School, doing charity work and helping some one everyday.Happy Mothers day, MOM!!!I still love you and miss you every day. 

Happy Mothers Day to all MOMS out there in Blogland.

Wicker. Wicker, Everywhere!!!

Victorian Wicker in My Bed Room.

3 Piece set on side porch.

More Victorian in My Bed Room.

   Wicker is a hand woven fiber, formed into a rigid material,usually used for baskets or furniture. Wicker is made of plant origin. Materials used can be any part of a plant, such as the cores of cane or  rattan stalks or whole thickness of plants, as with willow switches. Other popular materials include reeds and bamboo.
    Often a frame is made of stiffer materials, after which more plant material is used to fill in the frame. Wicker is light,yet sturdy,making it suitable for furniture that will be moved often. It is often used for patio and porch furniture.
   Wicker furniture has been documented as far back as ancient Egypt, and wicker baskets have been found in the ruins of Pompii It  has been suggested  that the extensive use of wicker objects in the Iron Age had a influence on the  design of patterns used in Celtic Art.In recent times, its aesthetic was influenced heavily by the Arts and Crafts movement, at the turn of the 20th century.The oldest and most prominent North American manufacturer of wicker  was Heywood-Wakefield of Mass.
   In the  by-gone  Victorian  era,the Golden Age of American Antique wicker furniture , the designers and the craftsman of the those years, was who skillfully created the imaginative and romantic pieces of wicker furniture  that  are being recongnized by leading authorities and museums to have contributed significantly to the American decorative Arts of 1870-1930.These makers were , Heywood Brothers and the  Wakefield Brothers that finally joined together to become The  Heywood -Wakefield Company.

This chair has a book holder on one side.

I use this old cloths hamper for garden tools on the side porch.

One of my favorite.

The trim on this tables legs are known as  bird cage.

ALove this high back chair with the fun star design.

   There are two types of wicker available, natural or synthetic. Natural is well known for it's strength and  durability and is loved for it's beauty and comfort, although requires  some up keep, to keep it in good condition. Synthetic types include paper wrapped high tensile wire(Lloyd Loom)   a process  patented in early 1900's. And Plastic or resin -usually  for out door use. This is what we see most of on todays market.
    Victorian era was when wicker furniture was first introduced and this type of furniture is still much loved in this day and age. Some pieces have the appearance of having been knitted by way of a very big pair of needles. Wicker harmonizes with just about every decor.
   Wicker was one of the first natural materials to be used for furniture. Egypt,Rome and Europe, as international sea traders, carried wicker wares to Great Britain and finally America. From the classical pieces of ancient Egypt to Modern day outside furniture , America-wicker furniture has survived and flourished through centuries  and many cultures. By the  19th century,Victorian era in England, wicker had become an important element for outdoor and indoor furniture. Wicker became popular for use in both the home and the garden. As it's simplicity and flexibilty lent itself toward a variety of different furniture styles and designs. While the first wicker furniture came to America with travelers on the Mayflower-it would not experience widespread popularity in the New World until the mid-19 century. Rattan, the most common material for wicker furniture ,  was originally used  to hold freight on ships, traveling from Asia. In 1850 Cyrus Wakefield discovered a large pile of rattan on the shipping docks in Boston and became fascinated by the material. He began his own rattan importing company in Boston  and making his own line of wicker furniture from rattan And he became the industry leader in wicker, at that time.  In 1869 some one invented a loom that could automatically weave wicker, until then all wicker was made by hand, and nothing has been the same since.

Wonderful pieces in the basement that need lots of help!

This is one that was destroyed during the 2008 flood.

This one is a platform rocker.

  Antique wicker products are highly sought after by todays collectors. Reproductions have been made for years. It is not hard to soon learn to tell the old from the newer. The old, if cared for properly will just seem to last for ever. The new wicker, never seems to hold paint and  comes apart when left in the  elements. The new wicker makers never seem to get  it just right. Where one part look pretty good the other parts are out  of scale or over or under done.
   I have had a love affair with  antique wicker furniture for many years. I have always been drawn to the fancy Victorian over the plainer. I usually have a mixture of both, as the plain seems to be more durable , while the Victorian  can be rather fragile.I have 5 porches full now at,My Old Historic House, my bed room is full and so is the basement. I can not seem to resist a  piece that is in need of repair. I keep telling my self, I will get it done some day and some day never seems to come. I had a lot of my beautiful, fancy, Victorian wicker damaged during the 2008 big flood that took place at my house which is just a few 100 feet from the Mississippi River. I had it on the front porch and while it was safe from the rising river it was not safe from the workers who helped out. People had  to spend the night on the porch to watch the pumps and I am afraid the hard use took its tole on the  wicker. I should have moved it, but during the panic and excitement it slipped my mind. Now it too lives in the graveyard of wicker in my basement. When I finished my bed room, the last room  I had to do in my house, I had some stored there and it looked so pretty against the dark olive green walls that I just left it there. I picked out some of my favorites and clean them up and gave them a coat of fresh white paint and I really like it there.I have all the wicker from my front porch in storage at the moment as we are now dealing with another possible flood. A hard lesson, well learned.

     Wicker takes some care. Every year in the spring, I give it a good washing. About every 2 or 3 years it needs to have a coat of fresh paint.Some people spray, I perfer to hand brush. If it ever starts pealing it is very hard to control and a lot of scapping and sanding has to be done. There are a lot of people out there that repair and restore old wicker. It is an art and takes patients and time. Supplies can be purchased for, "do -it- your- selfers", like me and they are not expensive. Sheet caned seats and card board pressed seat are available for missing bottoms. Mostly it takes patients.
    I hope you enjoy my Victorian wicker, maybe someday you can come by and take a tour. I will get you a glass of sweet tea and you can set a spell on the porches in some of the wicker and Sissy Dog will meet you with a jump and and a kiss. Happy Spring!

The graveyard of wicker, My basement.

Spring continues here in Missouri.