In other news, I'm so close to being done with this grant, I can taste it. This has nudged a little into my knitting time, but when I'm done, I should have a good thirty pages of a chapter finished, and that's uplifting.
Recently, I've noticed that some folks have been posting about creative interests beyond knitting (too many to link to here, but seriously -- everyone's button collections make me want to start collecting buttons. I've got a weakness for collecting). I find it inspiring to see what catches other peoples fancies. So I thought I'd let you guys in on my dirty little secret. I collect saucers.
I love them -- their usefulness, versatility, tiny beauty. It's so much fun to dig through junk shops and antique stores looking for beauties that meet the rules (yes, as with most collections, there are rules -- Well, one rule really -- each saucer in my collection is an "orphan." That is, it doesn't have an accompanying cup, nor did I find it in a store with others like it. They must be lonely saucers, in search of a good home. This keeps me from bringing home every beautiful saucer I see). The above photo is a selection of my current favs from my collection. There is the saucer that inspired the saucer obsession:
A little wedgewood number that I snagged at an antique store in Staunton, Virginia. I love it.
Then there is this puppy:
I got this one in Memphis when I visited last February. It's a store sample, and the little polka dots make even the dullest day chipper.
And this one? Well, the reason why I love it should be obvious :)
You'll notice that my idea of saucer does not necessarily mean that it once had a corresponding tea cup (which, coincidentally, I'd also collect if I weren't, as my dad constantly reminds me, mobile. I'd collect tea pots too... god, I can't wait until I have my own home!). I've included small plates in my "saucer" collection. Like the blue depression glass -- That plate is also the only plate that has violated the "orphan" rule. But I maintain that it was, indeed, technically orphaned, since Jenfee bought all the others and it would have been orhpaned if I hadn't lovingly bought it. So there.
What do you all collect?
8 comments:
besides yarn?!
i collect buttons (a pretty small collection), and things with owls on them, and various vintage kitcheny items, and also state postcards, but a very specific kind: the old ones with a cartoon-ish map of the state with all of the things the state produces scattered all over the map. i'm pretty close to having all 50 states!
Let's see...
Penguins, coasters (but only the interesting ones, or ones from overseas), and copper plates from Chilean cities that I've visited.
Do you know, I collect nothing! I would like to start a collection though. I'll keep checking back here to see what your other readers collect, maybe that will inspire me to collect something. I used to have a collection of those pens with the clear bit at the top and a little object that moves along in front of a background. I still get given those by some people if they see them at a souvenir shop. All but one item from that collection have been lost in life's comings and goings.
oooh - i love the randomness of your collections - and then cohesive because it's a collection. fabulous! i collect all things crafters do - yarn, paper, ephemera - more then a craft room can hold.
Although i haven't added to my collections in quite some time, i (rather casually) collect several things: teapots, teacups & saucers, things related to Paris, vintage cookbooks (from the 1940-1960s, preferably). I LOVE antique shops, junk shops, antique cum junk shops, etc. Charlottesville was awesome for that.
I may have to steal your orphan saucer idea though, it appeals to me so much! Yours are really lovely!
Records, both old and new (yes, they still make plenty of new vinyl), and cookbooks, mostly new.
I actually really collect dishes, the vitrified plates and bowls used in diners and hotels. They're much harder to find than they used to be just a few years ago, but I love hunting for them. I also love looking for buttons, as you know, and vintage fabrics. Your saucers are lovely -- the Wedgwood is a beauty.
These are beautiful and so interesting. I don't collect anything, but New Yorkers and Gourmets seem to collect themselves around my house :).
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