"It is well to remember that the entire population of the universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others." A.Holmes

Monday, May 30, 2011

Blue Willow Ware , Tea Time Tuesday

Blue Willow Ware is one of my favorite patterns of china and I have been collecting bits and pieces of it since I was in my teens. Usually I would buy a saucer or bread plate found in thrift stores and the great quantities of Willow Ware seem to vary quite a bit in quality and price. I am very pleased and thankful for the Blue Willow Ware teapot my Father-in-law gave me recently. He knows I love the pattern, thank-you Dad ! Blue is my favorite color and I never tire of blue and white on my table. Blue Danube, Blue Willow Ware,and any other pieces of blue china that find their way to my home will also be used frequently. Many of the pieces shown here are gifts given to us with love from family members. My husbands' sister Judy sent me a box of lovely blue and white plates and saucers a short while ago, some of them pictured here. I was not expecting any packages in the mail, and when I got the package home and opened the box ...oh my, a true surprise and delight to my heart ,thank-you Judy! This is a tea/coffee cup I have shown before. It is my favorite tea cup and I use it often, drinking ONLY tea from it. My sister JoAnn and I spotted this tea cup in an antique store in a mountain logging town in Oregon a few years ago as we were driving home after visiting our Grandmother. See, a favorite teacup with many fond memories attached. I googled Willow Ware in researching it for this post and google alone pulled up hundreds of thousands of articles about the pattern. The pattern is commonly believed to portray the story of two doomed Chinese lovers meeting on the bridge and after death they are turned into birds. The story on Blue Willow Ware is supposedly Chinese but Blue Willow Ware was first made in England in 1780. It is still being made today. "The pattern would prove so popular it would be copied in a dozen countries by hundreds of manufacturers. Even the Chinese copied it in their hand-painted decoration." Wayne Mattox The options for collecting Blue Willow Ware are endless, thrift stores, garage sales, and even newly produced Willow Ware are readily available. The most beautiful Willow Ware I have ever seen was a child's tea set displayed in an antique store. The little tea set was in perfect condition, and the cups and saucers were egg-shell thin. The little set took my breath away. The price was very high and of course I could not justify spending so much money on a toy tea set and if I had I know I would not actually ever use it. However, I DO use all my Blue Willow Ware, and enjoy it every time I sip tea from the cup and saucer, or eat cookies and sandwiches from the little plates. Pour yourself a cup of tea in a favorite cup and visit the ladies listed below:

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Kathy, I love all your beautiful blue china pictured here. How very kind to have treasured pieces gifted to you by family members - that makes the collection even more special. Wishing you a very nice week.

Deanna said...

Beautiful Blue Willow!
You have a wonderful collection to use.
Tea Time spectacular.

God bless,
d

xinex said...

Blue Willow is one of my favorite patterns, Kathy. It is such a beautiful classic.I gave my set to my son when he went to collge but now I started collecting them again. Thanks for reading my post. I am glad you enjoyed it....Christine

Pondside said...

I'm another Blue Willow fan, Kathy. My favorite piece is a lovely fat pitcher. When I fill it with white flowers I'm transported!

Jocelyn said...

I always love a blue and white table. Blue Willow always makes such a beautiful table.

Jocelyn @
http://justalittlesouthernhospitality.blogspot.com

Dolores said...

Good morning Kathy...
Your Blue Willow is beautiful, and it's so special to have received some from your sweet family members.

The Blue Willow history is very interesting....
Hoping you have a wonderful week!

LindaSue said...

You have a special gift at recall of specific givers and situations for your china - so sweet and makes each piece more precious. Blue is not my favorite color - DH and I "discuss" whether blue or green is God's favorite - I argue for green (so many shades and types of green were created) but he says blue because most of the earth is covered with water which reflects the blue of our skies. Someday we'll find out won't we?

Terri said...

Gorgeous! I am amazed that you have been collecting Blue Willow since you were a teenager! You really must have quite the collection! The pieces you have shared here are really fab. The tea pot is beautiful, what a great gift!
Thank you so much for sharing your lovely china collection with us.
Hugs,
Terri

Sandi@ Rose Chintz Cottage said...

Hi Kathy,
I love your Blue Willow china. It has always been one that I'm drawn to although I do not collect it. Can't collect everything, right? The teapot is beautiful and how lovely that it was a gift from a loved one. Thank you for sharing with Tea Time and enjoy your day.

Blessings,
Sandi

Unknown said...

It's lovely that so much of your china are gift and have many memories attached thank you for sharing some of them with us

Love Dawn xx

Anonymous said...

Very nice!

Blessings,

Amy

Connie said...

I love blue and white together. Very pretty china set, Kathy. :)

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy said...

Hi Kathy,

What beautiful dishes these are. I especially love the fact that your sweet FIL picked out the teapot for you. It is so nice when your family helps to add to what is dear to you.

Thanks for the history lesson too.

Have a wonderful week,

Kathy M.

Shelley said...

That is such pretty blue china! Great for having a tea party with...

Vickie said...

Hi Kathy - love all your blue/white! My MIL had a big huge set of Blue Danube which I now have. It is beautiful and I think about her every time we use it. She's in a nursing home now, but I can still remember all the years that she collected it, buying a piece here and a piece there. It's a treasure. She had some Blue Willow pieces, too, but the Danube was her favorite! Yours is lovely!

Mary Bergfeld said...

It is funny how you never tire of certain china patterns. Your collection is wonderful, as are your photos of it. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary

The Charm of Home said...

How beautiful your tea post is! Thanks for coming by and your kind comments.:)
Sherry

Wanda Lee said...

Hello there dear Kathy,

Thanks so much for joining us for last week's TTTT and also for my 84th, Tuesday Tea For Two..,Your blue and white china are stunning. Love them all;they're delightful and I especially adore blue and white!

Have a great week!

Cheers and hugs from Wanda Lee