Vintage...

One thing I love about the blogging world is discovering other writers who have the same interests. I discovered Cheryl through another blog I enjoy reading, and loved her writing style and her photographs. She shared a story about friendships gained through blogging, and photographs of her friend's bowl of treasured silver flatware.

She went home and sorted through her own collection, many passed down through her family, and the memories connected with them. As I wrote a comment on her lovely story and photographs, I thought about my own collection of silver. Some pieces came down through my mother's family, but most were chosen by me at antique shops and yard sales.

I love silver, and have a few pieces that I use daily. But I've never set the especially beautiful pieces out on display. Instead, it's tucked away in silvercloth-lined boxes to keep the tarnish at bay. I don't get to see it and touch it, and admire the designs, and think about how each piece is a work of art.

So today I pulled out a few of my favorite patterns and pieces and a Polish pottery platter, and tried to capture their beauty.

My favorite patterns have grape or grapevine designs... lovely patterns like Vintage, Isabella, and LaVigne. But I also love the florals, like Wildwood and Flower, Arbutus and York Rose.

The serving pieces are the most beautiful, with extravagant sprays of blooms and vines that run along the edges and spill into the bowls.

My favorite piece is in the center of the platter: a fish serving fork in the Vintage pattern, which I found in an antique shop in Utah a few years ago. It was in the original box, and was a wedding gift to the bride from her sister, and the hand-written gift card was tucked inside the box. Knowing something of its history makes it all the more beautiful.