One of the projects I was determined to do while I was off during the summer was to organize my dish closet and dining room.
One thing led to another and without a plan I pulled all my blue and white dishes out and grouped them together.
Over the years I have amassed quite a collection of blue and white dishes. Many patterns, several different varieties of Blue Willow and some solids. But when pulled together they looked beautiful.
Out of all my blue and white dishes, only four of them were not bought at auctions or garage sales. The large platter and casserole above are two of those. My mom found those in England and gifted me with them!
Salad plates and dessert plates come in all varieties and sizes!
This collection was started innocently enough over 30 years ago. The little lamp (above) and the one missing the dome hiding in the corner were the first two pieces we purchased. It was actually my Hubs that bid on them at an auction and won them for me.
Then as we began to see blue and white dishes at auctions we would bid on them. This was long before they were the rage, so they were easy to acquire at a nominal price. In fact, sometimes we would get whole boxes for a couple of dollars. Those were the days!
Of the hundreds of blue and white dishes we have, this is the third piece that was not bought at auction (or garage sale). My mother also picked this up in England. It is my oldest piece. The white on it is slightly discolored from the years. Believe it or not, I have actually used it many times to hold gravy too.
This is the mark on the inside. I believe it is from Queen Victoria's era.
Most of the tea cups I keep packed away, as we never use those. When I pulled all the dishes to group them together, I just kept out a few of the different types of cups and saucers.
When I say I bought them all (but 4 pieces) at auctions and garage sales, I actually only bought one box at a garage sale. It was a big box of miscellaneous small plates and small bowls. But it was a great buy.
If you notice the stack of small plates and bowls has several that are discolored. Those are some of my favorites. The blue is as vibrant as ever, but the white has darkened over the years.
It makes me think how many, many, many times these were used long before they came to grace my family.
The fourth piece of the blue and whites that did not come from an auction or garage sale is the cute pitcher with the girl and the cows. It is (relatively) new. I bought it when I lived in Kansas and frequented Nell Hills.
It looked just like it belonged with my collection.
Blue and white will always be a classic (at least in my mind!) After I had gathered up (most of it) and put it together I thought the collection is proof that you don't have to spend a lot of money to get a great collection.
Time and perseverance are all you really need.
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