collecting — Page 34

Just Two More

May 1, 2015 at 8:36 am by Claudia

In the interest of being honest here, I feel like most of my subject matter for the last month has been my stuff: first, my egg cup collection, and then the McCoy collection. Then there are all the gifts I’ve been receiving lately, which have been delightful surprises, of course. I talk about them because I think it’s important to highlight both the giver and the gift in this space; to say thank you, both privately and online.

But I feel uncomfortable. Am I showing off too much? Do you read these posts and think, “Geez, this girl gets a lot of presents. Enough, already!”? (I think I’m breaking a rule or two by using an exclamation point, quotation mark, and a question mark in a row.)

If you had known me for a long time, you’d know I’m pretty self-effacing, an interesting quality in one who was an actress for a big chunk of her life. But actually, I know a lot of actors who are self-effacing – including my husband. I don’t like to show off or be in the spotlight.

So you can see why I worry just a tad about this sort of thing.

But if you came to my cottage, I’d share these things with you. And since I want this blog to be like a visit to the cottage, well…

That being said, will you excuse me if I share two things with you today? Pretty please?

I succumbed to another piece of McCoy. This one is a real gem. I’ve been wanting it for a long time.

5-1 newest mccoy

Isn’t it lovely? It’s about 6 inches high. Gosh darn it – I love the leaf and berry motif that is on a lot of McCoy Pottery.

5-1 newest mccoy rear

From the rear.

I’ve always thought of this vase as the companion piece to one I already had:

5-1 two together

They make sense together. Both have the leaves and berries, both are about the same height. They’re petite vases. As I was taking photos yesterday, I ended up setting them on this desk. I think I’ll keep them there.

Then, my sister (that scamp) sent me another package this week. She is a talented knitter, crocheter and weaver, among other things. See what she made for me!

5-1 runner

A beautiful table runner. I have it folded in half in this photo because I’m still sick and I wasn’t up to tackling the stacks of mail, etc. that are currently on our kitchen table.

5-1 runner 2

Her work is so lovely, don’t you think? Thank you, dear sister, who always has several projects going, most of which you give away because you are that kind of person.

My greatest delight nowadays? Hearing my little nephew’s voice on the phone. That Little Z! I’m simply crazy about him, as is Don.

Okay.

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I’ve been talking about this on Just Let Me Finish This Page, but for those of you who don’t know about it, tomorrow is Independent Bookstore Day. Many, many bookstores around the country are planning events. Our Independent Bookstores are essential and must be supported in this age of chain stores and online monoliths. So go out tomorrow, stop by your local independent bookstore, buy a book, and thank them for all they do. Thank them for persevering. Thank them for the caring and personal relationship they have with their customers. Thank them for sharing their love of books and reading.

Do it.

Happy Friday.

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The (Not So Little) Garden That Could

April 28, 2015 at 9:26 am by Claudia

Spring is here, yes. But we’ve had unseasonably cold temperatures for more than a week, so it doesn’t seem like the end of April. It seems more like early March. I’m afraid that once the temperatures get back to normal, we’ll have about a week or two of spring and then it will be summer.

But there is growth in the garden. It’s just happening slowly.

4-28 garden 1

The chartreuse ground cover is slowly making its way through the soil. The perennials are inching their way out of the ground: sedum, day lilies, catmint, poppies, phlox. The hyacinth leaves are showing, but no flowers as of yet, and normally they’d have bloomed by now. The tulip that has been here since we moved in, and probably for many, many years before, has not come out of the ground at all. For the first time. Did this extreme winter finally do it in?

4-28 catmint

My dependable catmint is filling out and it’s everywhere in the gardens. The hydrangeas have tiny leaves. The rose bushes? I can’t tell yet. Nothing is happening and I’m sure I’ll discover damaged canes, but I’ll have to wait on that until some sort of growth appears.

The peony shoots are coming out of the ground, though I’ve yet to clean up their beds. The lilacs are budding, just waiting to bloom.

4-28 lilac 1

4-28 lilac 2

Impressionistic views

In the meantime, I’ll do some weeding today in preparation for laying down some mulch in the garden beds. Last year, money was tight (it still is) and I didn’t buy mulch. Never again. Weeds were out of control. Mulch is a must buy this year.

Yesterday, I got an email informing me of a security vulnerability that had just been discovered in this newest version of WordPress and it had to do with the WP comment system. So I had to shut down comments until WP issued a patch for the problem. That meant that for about 5 hours, no one could leave a comment.

To say I missed reading and responding to comments is an understatement. One of the true joys of having this blog is the daily dialogue we share with each other and yesterday….I couldn’t partake. I couldn’t talk. If you spoke to my mom or my first grade teacher who was constantly sending home notices that I talked too much, you’d know that would be a problem for me. When the patch was finally issued, I turned everything back on.

Remember:

solitary

Let’s hope that doesn’t happen again!

From yesterday. This piece that I said I had decided wasn’t McCoy?

4-27 vase

Danged if I didn’t see it on eBay in another color with the McCoy mark. It is McCoy. I was right in the first place!

4-28 mccoy basketweave vase 1

Oh, hello!

The newest member of the Mockingbird Hill Cottage McCoy Team has arrived for training. I’ve said this before; in that case, it was the egg cups – I blame you. You encourage me to do these series and then I research and study and look at photos of McCoy and then I browse through the offerings on eBay and in the shops and then, before you know it, I’m staring at new-to-me pieces of McCoy.

I’ve purchased three since the series began.

This one I’ve had my eye on for a long time. It’s from the 1940s and is in McCoy’s familiar basketweave design. I so love the way the glaze settles into the grooves on the piece, creating light and dark contrast.

4-28 mccoy basketweave vase 2

From the side. It’s 8 inches tall.

I’ve become obsessed by McCoy pottery once again, but as my husband said yesterday, “There are worse obsessions.”

The winner of a copy of Behind Closed Doors by Elizabeth Haynes is Monica. I’ve sent you an email, Monica.

New post on Just Let Me Finish This Page.

Happy Tuesday.

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Collecting McCoy Pottery, Part Seven

April 27, 2015 at 9:22 am by Claudia

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We’ve come to the finale, my friends. I brought all the pieces I have upstairs to the den in order to photograph them for you. However, I think I will do one more post that shows you where and how I display the pottery and where I will also address any questions you might have. So ask away, and I’ll also go back in the comments for the series to pull any questions you asked in that space.

Somehow, I’ve ended up displaying cream-colored McCoy upstairs. It just evolved that way. Some have been displayed in the cupboard in my studio and I’m now redoing the shelves to highlight them. More on that later.

4-27 group one

A vase, and two planters.

4-27 NM pot

This pot is from the 1930s and has a matte glaze. It’s unmarked. I’m pretty sure I found this one in Heidi’s shop.

4-27 planter

This planter was one of my earliest discoveries. I love the look of it. That repair you see in the back? I did it. This little piece fell to the floor at some point and I glued it back together. I don’t have an exact date, but I think it’s from the 1950s.

4-27 shell planter

This is called the shell planting dish. It’s been sitting on the bookshelves in my bedroom – holding pennies. It’s still holding pennies, but I’ve now moved it to the cupboard. It’s from 1941. Also found at Heidi’s shop. I used to work there, so I grabbed these pieces as soon as I saw them!

4-27 group 2

Two pots, a pitcher, and a vase.

4-27 violet pot

This is a violet pot – not unlike the african violet pots my grandmother used to have on her window sills. It has a greek key/hobnail design. From 1954.

4-27 pitcher

This is the pitcher I shared with you last week, a present from my dear friend Kay. From the 1940s.

4-27 small pot

Another violet pot – this one a hobnail with leaves pattern. From 1950.

4-27 vase

And this vase, with all its wonderful crazing. I always assumed this one was McCoy because it looks very much like one I’ve seen in the reference books. It’s unmarked. But it isn’t McCoy. The crazing and the weight of the piece seems more like a piece of ironstone, perhaps even older than McCoy. I don’t know. But I include it in my group of McCoy pieces and I also include it here to show you that sometimes I’m mistaken when I think “McCoy.”

Okay, I take that back. I just saw it in pink on eBay with the McCoy mark. I was right, darn it!

I love it, no matter what.

And two new pieces I picked up the other day when Don and I went for a little drive on the anniversary of my mother’s death.

4-27 new nm pot

This is from the 1940s and it has the interlocking NM mark on the bottom. It’s called a jardiniere in the reference books. This has a matte glaze. The inside tells me it was definitely used and loved. This was a great buy at $5.

4-27 small sand dollar pot

A much smaller version of the sand dollar pot – also called the Necco pot, by the way, because of the resemblance to Necco candy. This is obviously damaged. The edge of the base is glued together in a couple of places. I bought it because I love the sand dollar design and I’ve never seen it in yellow. And it was $1, which made it a no-brainer. I’m going to plant a little something in this sweet pot.

Ta dah!

We’re finished. Well…almost. I have another piece arriving today. And I’m going to do a post about display here at the cottage. If you have more questions, fire away and I’ll answer them in that post, as well as offer any tips I have for collecting this wonderful, wonderful pottery line. It certainly has brought a great deal of pleasure to my life. Plus, I get to look at it every day!

Everyone: I disabled comments for a while to give WP time to update the current version to address a security issue. All is fixed!

Happy Monday.

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Just Two More

The (Not So Little) Garden That Could

Collecting McCoy Pottery, Part Seven

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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