Clarice Cliff Goes Purple!

The inspiration for my table this week came from my little sister, Judy. She bought me 4 purple Royal Staffordshire bread and butter plates by Clarice Cliff in the Tonquin pattern for only $1 each at her local thrift store in southern Vermont. Thank you, Judy! Purple transferware is hard to find almost anywhere here in the middle of nowhere, so I had to resort to eBay! I have seen the color described as plum, mulberry and purple...I think I read that it is actually referred to as purple by the experts...someone correct me if I am mistaken!

To enlarge any picture, just click on it.

The Tonquin pattern was first produced in the 1920's, in Burslem, England.

Unlike some other china patterns, the pattern is the same on pieces...that is one reason I don't have many full sets of dishes...I am the queen of mix and match!

This pattern makes for a nice place setting.

Bread/butter plate that started the whole table!

The mulberry colored water glasses were purchased at TJMaxx a few years ago and the pale pink wine stems were from Savers a couple years ago.

Individual gravy boat with underplate will be used for salad dressing. It is really tiny, about 5½ inches long, 1¼ inches wide at the top and almost 3 inches tall.

The little pitcher, almost 3 inches tall, will also be used for salad dressing.

The sterling (George K Webster Co., which became a subsidiary of Reed & Barton in 1950) salt and pepper shakers were bought about a month ago at Savers for $3.99, they were in a bag with a couple of round candles. I had no idea they were sterling until I got home and started cleaning them.

The purple coffee pot was a gift from my friend, Patty. The hyacinths are from my yard...oh, the smell in the dining room is heavenly! The silverplated candlesticks are from ARC Thrift Store a couple years ago.

Stacked plates...dinner, salad and soup bowl.

The silverplated napkin rings came from Burlington Coat Factory about 20 years ago.

The sterling flatware is Oneida Afterglow circa 1958.

Overall of the table.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog, I appreciate each one of you! I will be linking up with Between Naps On The Porch for Tablescape Thursday. Thank you for hosting, Susan. Please click on the link to BNOTP to see many, many more inspirational tables.

Lace And Roosters

I will be joining Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps On The Porch. Thank you, Susan, for hosting my favorite weekly meme. For more inspiration on setting your own table, click on the link, you will find more than you could imagine!

I have had the dinner plates for ages and thought it was time to use them in a tablescape...I guess you could call that my inspiration this week.

I started with a lace tablecloth that was given to me by a very special person in December. It is quite old and I believe hand made. It is gorgeous, not sure the camera has done it justice. I have over 50 tablecloths, but this is by far my favorite. I thank that special person for thinking of me.

This photo shows the flowers that were hand stitched onto each small square.

The dinner plate on top of the woven charger is made by Oxford (Brazil), the pattern is still a mystery to me. The floral patterned center and rim are a dark brown; the background is a cream color. This pattern also comes in blue.

The salad plate is made by Sterling, again the pattern is unknown. It is vitrified china.

The soup bowl is Amici, the pattern is Gallo Bello. These were purchased at Tuesday Morning a few years ago.

A shot of the stacked dishes.

The glassware is some I used a few weeks ago, a really nice shade of brown...no amber tint at all.

The linen napkins are a thrift store find. I have to thank Linda of A Toile Tale, for the flatware...I commented how much I liked her green flatware from World Market and wondered if they still had it. She e-mailed me that it was a recent purchase, so I went Saturday and not only got the green, but the champagne, too. Thank you again, Linda!

The centerpiece is a cream pitcher with faux tulips and a weed that used to be used to clean cotton, the name of it escapes me, at the moment; and a wooden rooster that I have had for about 10 years. No candles were used as this was a luncheon table.
* My friend came to the rescue, the name of the plant is Common Teasel...thank you, Daisy!

Place setting.

An overall of the table.

Thank you for taking the time to visit me today...hope that you will visit each week.

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling...

I will be joining Cuisine Kathleen for her third annual Saint Patrick's Day Blog Crawl. Thanks for hosting, Kathleen.

There is no Irish blood in my body, but my favorite color is green...can that possibly count as being part Irish? If not, I will have to be like the many others and just be Irish for one day out of three hundred sixty five!

While at Savers a couple weeks ago I spotted something that looked hand crocheted...I hurriedly pulled it off the hanger...oh my goodness it was a good sized tablecloth in excellent condition. It is made of heavy cotton thread...who in the world would send a potential family heirloom to the thrift store? Mind you, I am not complaining, just having a hard time understanding why something that took countless hours to make wasn't wanted by a family member or at least a dear friend. The price was only $6.99. It will be considered my Irish lace for this post. I believe the pattern is called pineapple...if this is incorrect, could someone identify it for me?

One square of the tablecloth. There are 7 squares on the short side 8 squares on the long side; each square is a about 9"x9"...you can see how much work was put into making this.

I have used dark green metal charger plates topped with a creamy white dinner and salad plate. The colors in the soup bowls have always reminded me of a Beleek piece I had seen a long time ago...the pattern is Myott's Colleen, so that officially makes them Irish, right!

The shamrock napkins underneath the soup bowl were made from cotton fabric I had bought long ago. I used some of the fabric to jazz up the dark green linen napkins. The flatware is Oneida's Afterglow, circa 1958.

The glassware is Anchor Hocking Wexford, it may not be Waterford, but Wexford is a county in Ireland!

The placesetting.

Pretty plate edges.

The entire table.

We all need a little Irish coffee once in awhile!

An Irishman is never drunk as long as he can hold onto one blade of grass and not fall off the face of the earth!

I will also be joining Between Naps On The Porch for Tablescape Thursday and The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday. Thank you both for hosting these fun memes.

Thank you for the visit today, I know you have a busy schedule...hope you make it back here again.

Happy Saint Paddy's Day to you!

Bright As Spring!

Wow, this past week has gone by so fast...it is time for my weekly visit to Between Naps On The Porch for Tablescape Thursday. Thank you for hosting, Susan. Just follow the link so that you may enjoy many beautifully set tables.

To enlarge any picture, just click on it.

This week's inspiration comes in the form of a vintage tablecloth. The table topper is bright and cheery with the lime and magenta on an off white background. It also has some of my favorite flowers, peonies, morning glories and day lilies.

Close up of a corner.

The place setting consists of a lime charger/dinner plate, white dinner plate, magenta salad plate and white/lime polka dotted dessert or appetizer plate.

Stacked plates.

The glassware is a plain clear water glass and an Indiana ruby Diamond Point patterned wine glass.

The flatware is Oneida sterling in the Afterglow pattern, 1958.

The centerpiece is a vaseline glass pedestal dessert dish with candles.

Vintage tablecloth-Big Dollar
Lime plate-no backstamp came from TJMaxx a few years ago
White dinner plate-Enoch Wedgwood Tunstall-Hedge Rose-11/65, which I think means it was made November 1965 Goodwill
Magenta salad plate-Home Trends Savers
Lime polka dotted dessert/appetizer plate-TJMaxx
Flatware-Oneida Afterglow 1958-family
Clear water glassware-Goodwill
Wine stem-Indiana Diamond Point-Goodwill
Vaseline glass pedestal dessert plate-my collection, at least 20 years

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog. I hope to see you here on March 15, 2011 for the 3rd Annual St. Patrick's Day Blog Crawl with Cuisine Kathleen. Have a great week!