A sunny but much cooler Monday. The brambles, aka wild roses, are leafing out. I saw some forsythia budding on the library grounds – ours are in the woods so they take a bit longer to show themselves. Our daffodils are growing every day and several day lilies have emerged from the ground. We’re at that stage where I dare not mess with the leaf cover on the garden beds. I know better. I just leave it alone, occasionally taking a peek underneath to see what’s emerging.
I’ll state the obvious: I can’t wait until I can start working outside again.
Let’s hop back on the egg cup tour:
We’re moving away from figural cups for a few days. But don’t despair, I’m saving some favorites for the finale.
Four double egg cups, all of them transferware.
On the left: this one was one of the very first I purchased. Made by Mason in England, this is part of their Mason’s Vista series. I love brown transferware (no, I cannot start another collection) so this one immediately caught my interest.
Center: Flow blue transferware. It’s unmarked.
Right: A beautiful cup. I believe it’s from Johnson Brothers.
On the left: a very heavy egg cup in blue and white. I purchased this one, but I can’t remember where. I think it’s stoneware of some kind.
Next: Another blue egg cup, this time with cream/ecru.
Next: One of my favorites. This was on Etsy for months and I kept bookmarking it until I finally bit the bullet. It’s a souvenir egg cup from Chambéry in France. Two groundhogs are gazing upon the Alps. There’s a chalet in the distance. You see why I had to have it.
Next: a red transferware cup that I found in Paris at the flea market. It’s definitely not in the best shape, but hey, it’s from Paris! It’s also open on both ends. I’ve not come across another cup like that.
Four more single egg cups.
Left: a wood and porcelain egg cup that was given to me by my mom. In my most recent exploration of eBay, I learned these cups were made by Tevco in Japan. I see them fairly frequently.
Next: a Delft egg cup from Holland – also a gift from my mom. It’s marked Delft on the bottom.
Next: a plastic egg cup that I found in Paris. I have no idea of its age, but it has a very Art Deco look. I couldn’t resist it.
On the right: a new egg cup from our trip to London. It’s made by Emma Bridgewater and I got it in her shop in Marylebone.
Speaking of my mom buying egg cups, I had a text from my cousin’s husband the other day. They’re currently traveling and they were in an antique shop. They took several photos of egg cups on display to see if I wanted any of them. Yes! Two cups will eventually arrive here at the cottage. I love having egg cups that were found for me by my family.
Stay safe.
Happy Monday.
kathy in iowa says
i cannot pick a favorite from today’s egg cups … they’re all beauties!
i treasure things from my family, too.
day by day, we’re getting closer to consistently spring-y weather so your time in the garden is coming soon. glad for you.
cooler here. like below freezing overnight. that’s okay. i’ve been hoping for one more snowfall this season to help fight the drought, but it seems we will get the cold but not the snow. that will have to do.
today is my sister’s and my birthday, number 66. will spend it with some members of my family, including my sister. we will have cake, go for a ride and it will be a quiet day. am good with that.
hope you all have a happy day, too. stay safe.
kathy
Claudia says
Happy Birthday, Kathy! And to your sister, as well! I hope you have a lovely day together with family.
Stay safe.
Donnamae says
Happy Birthday Kathy! Hope you have a wonderful day! ;)
kathy in iowa says
thank you, donnamae!
it was wonderful in some ways, not so in others, but overall good and spent as wanted/possible. and much better than in the first two years of covid so i remind myself of that and how things are improving ….
hope you are having a good day. good luck with the cold snap and hopefully you don’t get any snow unless you want some!
xo,
kathy
kathy in iowa says
thanks, claudia.
it was a bittersweet day, but we focused on the sweet and had a nice, quiet day with cake, presents, a walk and a drive in the countryside.
hope you had a good day, too.
xo,
kathy
Claudia says
xo
Vicki says
Happy Birthday; enjoy!
kathy in iowa says
thank you, vicki!
had many things/moments to enjoy. grateful!
hope you are having a good day, that your husband’s new job is going well and that you do treat yourself to an Easter basket/treat. you deserve it!
xo,
kathy
Wendy T says
Happy birthday, Kathy! And to your sister too.
kathy in iowa says
thank you, wendy, from my sister and me.
hope you are having a good start to your day, a good week!
xo,
kathy
Donnamae says
Our weather has been up and down. And now, we have an alert day for snow on Friday. No! At this point I’d rather have rain. There are so many things budding out already…I’m sure glad I resisted the temptation to start cleaning up the gardens. I think my plants are going to need their protective covering.
Another nice collection….and I found another favorite. How thoughtful of your cousin to ship you a couple of egg cups to add to your collection.
Enjoy your day! ;)
Claudia says
No. more. snow! I hope you don’t get it, Donnamae.
Thank you!
Stay safe.
Betsy B says
All of the egg cups you have shown are beautiful. I have to keep repeating to myself…no more collections!
I am also sitting on hands waiting until it’s truly gardening time.
Have a sunshiny day!
Claudia says
Oh, me too! Hang in there, Betsy!
Stay safe.
Linda MacKean says
I adore the transfer ware egg cups! These are some of my favorites of your collection. I need to find a place to display my collection when I finish my move. I did get a lot done over the weekend and I’m so ready to move and start the new chapter of my life. New egg cups, so exciting. Hugs!
Claudia says
I’m excited for your new chapter, Linda!
Stay safe.
Elaine in Toronto says
More lovely egg cups. How exciting that your cousin found you some egg cups to choose from. Talk about arm chair travel. I’m sure you will share pictures when they arrive. Tomorrow is the first day of Spring but it has turned a little nippy here and there are snowflakes in the air. My birthday was yesterday so I’m still basking in the afterglow. We will be celebrating three birthdays when we get together with friends in early April. Hugs, Elaine
Claudia says
Happy Birthday, Elaine! I hope you had the best day!
Stay safe.
Vicki says
… ooohhh, how fun; two new egg cups thanks to your cuz … your Easter present for 2024 … I think I’m remembering that you still have a couple of spare cubbies in the egg cabinet …
… and I love true Delft (a question apart from that, isn’t anything authentically ‘flow blue’ quite, quite old, Claudia?).
Again, how to pick just one; impossible; the brown transferware seems so unique to my untrained eye; and the ‘French’ cup with groundhogs you were of course meant to have!
(I want an Easter present, too! I may have to fill an Easter basket with a few goodies [a SMALL one is all I need!]. Am hoping I can score some hot-cross buns this year, unlike last year when I waited too late with any local bakery. But I tend to cling to my holiday traditions, even if I somehow have to make those special buns myself this year [me, the non-cook!].)
Claudia says
I think so, but I can’t believe this piece is that old, though.
Treat yourself to a small Easter basket, Vicki!
Stay safe.
Darlene says
You have the absolute best egg cup collection. Congratuations!
Claudia says
Thanks so much, Darlene!
Stay safe.
Wendy T says
Claudia, How exciting to add egg cups to your collection, especially as gifts from family. Do you have cubbies left in the storage cabinet? Looking forward to the photos.
Question: what is transferware? Why is it called that?
Claudia says
I do have some cubbies left. As to transferware, you should google it because that definition is. better than mine!
Thanks so much, Wendy.
Stay safe.
Roxie says
I so enjoy your egg cups! I regularly fall in love but I won’t reveal my favorites as some egg cups might get their feelings hurt.
Today is get-out-the-Easter-decor-and-make-the-cottage-festively-springlike day! Pastel colors and flowers and lambs and, of course, bunnies.
Time to hop to it…
Claudia says
I should get my little bunnies out and my fabric eggs!
Stay safe, Roxie.
Vicki says
ABSOLUTELY, Claudia; please add both to the egg cup tour!
Claudia says
xo
jeanie says
The others are fun; these are all pretty! I know what you mean about loving brown transferware and not starting another collection. I’ve been on the fence on that many times! I love it, too. That Delft cup and the Emma cup are my favorites here. I just finished reading Emma’s memoir, Toast and Marmalade. It’s fascinating — learned a lot about the pottery-making biz as well as her interesting and eclectic life.
Claudia says
Thanks so much, Jeanie.
Stay safe.
Kay in SE Wisconsin says
Though I”m a sucker for chickies, I really love the transferware egg cups the best. All my life I’ve used transferware dishes from antique shops every day.
Winter is back and giving everyone I know a case of the grumps. It got down to freezing and I’m worried about the daffodils and crocuses that all showed up too early. Just glad I didn’t give in to the temptation to rake the flowerbeds.
Take care,
Kay
Claudia says
Same here, weather-wise. It’s put us in a somewhat bad mood!
Stay safe, Kay.
Shanna says
Your little double-ended Paris-flea-market cup reminds me of some I used to have. I’d assumed they were made that way to accommodate different sizes of eggs?
By the way, I read The Year of the Locust. Boy, it really took a left turn near the end, didn’t it. I did like it, though. I’m now about halfway through Zero Days, by Ruth Ware and enjoying it.
Happy Spring!
Claudia says
All double egg cups are made to accomodate different egg sizes, but most of them and closed on one end for soft boiled eggs. This one is slightly different so it must be just for different sized eggs.
I loved that left turn. It’s hard to surprise me and this one did.
Stay safe, Shanna.