Yesterday's pictures of the Beatrix Potter china seemed to resonate with a few people and I thought I would post some of the Bunnykins china Tom received when he was a baby (Pondside, this one's for you!)
We do use it though mostly at times like Easter when all the family are gathered around the table. Dave and I hate things to just exist in a vaccum, sitting in a dresser where they never truly become a part of the family and so even our most precious things are used regularly. How else can they create a history, a family narrative where stories are repeated over and over, and memories built and added to? Of course, the down side to this is that things are occasionally broken or damaged, but unless the damage is too severe we tend to keep and use them anyway. I have a gorgeous teapot Tom bought for us a few years ago which sadly got broken; though we repaired it I was to worried about the possibility of someone scalding themselves if the repair weakened and so we now use it to hold posies of flowers from the garden instead. It still takes it place in our home.
Ther things that are dear to me are also used regularly and can get damaged in a different way, but again it is all part of what makes them special. For example, when I was pregnant with my son Sam (now 18 years) my Mother-in-Law made a cot quilt for him; every single square was stitched by hand, thousands upon thousands of tiny, tiny stitches weaving so much love into every square.
I tried to take a photo which showed its delicacy and failed miserably, so here is a close-up which I hope may do it better justice...
This gorgeous work has sometimes needed a little mending, but I like to think it is what keeps it cared for, my sewing adding to the work of Sam's Granny and ensuring the quilt will be used by the next generations of babies.
Alongside these keepsakes are some projects that were used before they were completed (typical of me!) but I will finish them one day! This is Lauren's baby shawl which I knitted sitting hugely pregnant on the beach. Whenever I see it it reminds me of digging a pit out of the sand so that I could lie on my front with my enormous belly fitting snuggly into the hole!
I still need to make the edging - a knitted picot to compliment the pattern I think - but hopefully I have a little time before it's needed!
And finally today a cushion I ren up at the weekend for the bathroom chair, a Lloyd loom which has seen better days. I thought it was about time I made something for us and chose this gorgous fabric in muted pinks and blues. The weave has that wonderful slubby (made that up) feel of cotton/linen mixes and the colours have that faded beauty that always seems so restful. Unfortunately, the chair is so in need of a fressh coat of white paint that it made the muted tones look grubby! Ah well...
Have a lovely day xx
As always, lovely!
ReplyDeleteI so agree about using precious things, though feel sad if they are damaged. I often use slightly damaged china for flowers too.
Cosy blog making me think of babies and all the old stuff in my family. You didnt make up slubby - I use it too!
ReplyDeleteNow why did I never think of that when I was pregnant - go to a beech and dig a hole in the sand - that should be compulsory.
ReplyDeleteI think a little mending here are there on much loved things only adds to their charm.
I can definitely relate to you when you talk about items being left in cupboards unused. As I was cleaning out the kitchen the other week I found many pieces of family heirloom pottery that belonged to my husbands parents and grandparents. I think I will use some of it, it seems a shame to keep things forgetting they exist.
ReplyDeleteCrystal xx
Hello Pipany, I also like to use things, rather than admire them from the other side glass case. My apartment is no museum! And that can mean that some wear and tear occurs...but not that much.
ReplyDeleteYour pictures convey that beautiful calm that I look forward to seeing on both your sites.
xo
I loved this - Harry uses a Bunnykins bowl every morning for his cereal, it was a Christening present - for me! So it's 35 years old! It sat unused for 30 years in a cupboard, but I felt so sad that it wasn't appreciated we now use it. Sadly the matching plate broke, as did the Peter Rabbit bowl. But they were used and loved.
ReplyDeleteWhen I give china for a Christening present I always add a note that I expect it to be used and don't mind if it breaks, as long as it is loved!
Meant to say we also have one of those blankets, knitted by Great-Grandma, used by three babies so far, twenty years apart.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Pipany, that lovely things should be used and used! The china and linen that have been passed down lose their significance if they sit in cupboards.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous photos of the cushion and quilt - and the blanket you knit in the sand!
I so agree with you Pip. I did a whole blog about mending a pair of flip flops that had come free with a magazine. Love the Beatrix Potter China on your previous blog. I'm a great BP fan (The Tailor of Gloucester is just such a wonderfully evocative Christmas story) but I feel sad and short changed when I see BP's wonderful drawings turned into cartoons and 'enhanced.' They loose so much of their old world charm.
ReplyDeleteI love patchwork,old precious but used china etc. And seeing your lovely handiwork makes me wish I could sew, you are so clever.
ReplyDeleteI simply adore Patchwork, and very old precious china ware. I do have some old china Jugs of pretty colours a find from Antique Fairs here locally, that I use to fill with flowers.
ReplyDeleteLove anything to do with Beatrix Potter, and the china is so sweet.
The fabric you have chosen for the Lloyd Loom chair is so gorgeous, I especially have a passion for floral. Oh I wish I could sew Pipany, you are so clever.
Camilla.xx
For years, I made the mistake of buying the wrong type of linen, bath products and other home products simply because I decided to buy from the big and popular names.
ReplyDeleteHowever , the love for linen isnt dying as far i am concerned :) . Thats why i am reading linen related blogs :)