Instead of the Tuesday Tea Items, Pottery

Have I mentioned that is is cold and dreary here? I have been doing the January clean and purge (well not really that much purge, more rearrange) and since this is Tuesday I thought I would share some of the pottery collection. This large crock is a soup tureen, from the Scenery Hill Pa. pottery, Westerwald. It weighs a ton. I am so fond of crockery. I would fill the house if I could. In 2006 I commissioned this piece from one of my favorite potters. Lots of clay in this one I must say. I move it around now and then, sometimes it sits on the floor in a safe corner. Sometimes it sits on the bottom shelf of the china closet, like a weight! It has never held soup, it did hide a few small Christmas Gifts in Plain Sight one year. I felt so darn clever! Beautifully done the blue paint Colonial Feather decorations are clear and bright against the blue/gray background. 

These candle holders were made by my Father, in 1981 as a Christmas gift. I put stickers on everything so that I can keep the date with the piece.  Not a wood worker per se these were a great accomplishment for him.

the Ladle for the tureen, weight about 2 pounds!

Betty Jane shared this quilt last week at The Ladies of the Cloth. That focus fabric looks like millifiore to me. I don't recall the name of this block but it is a half-square triangle with one half a solid fabric and the other half the three strips of blue and one of red. Where they join they create the red square. 

I think the three blues give amazing dimension to the piece. Betty Jane can take just about any fabric and turn out a beauty. She leans toward Jewel tones frequently. I am impressed. Again. I was very productive this week, I stuck a couple hundred cloves in a tangerine! Are you impressed? 

• I keep saying that I am going to put the pottery collections on hold, then I see a special piece or an antique pitcher and that whole "cull the collection" thing goes right out the window. 
• I can't imagine using some of the larger, heavier pieces on a regular basis. In colonial times these were utility pieces. This crock was fashioned after an antique.
• I can't wait for Spring for so many reasons. I have some new gardening ideas I want to try. 
• Have you ever made soap?  On one of my new favorite blogs, Confessions of a Plate Addict you can read her simple directions for making goats milk soap. This is a great blog, full of great ideas, beautiful photography and friendliness. Take a look, click on this link.
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