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Sunday, November 14, 2010

Silver Kvells, Again, As Thanksgiving Looms!



Kvell
--  from the Yiddish, to gush with pride; usually reserved
for proud grandparents when new babies are placed in their arms,
as in, "Oy, I'm kvelling!"

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I am re-posting from November 17, 2009 -- about old silver.
And getting it ready for Thanksgiving Day.
We'll have 31 gathered around our table(s) this year.
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(First posted 11/17/09)
A couple of epiphanies todayOne, that it is only 9 days -- and counting! -- till Thanksgiving and Two, that is is very hard to photograph silver well, and even harder to do so in sunlight.


I was poking around in my bits of old silverplate flatware, making sure I have enough so that everyone
who wants a fork gets a fork at the Thanksgiving table.  Dion says he's okay without a fork,
but he's just one among more than two dozen gathered for the feast.



It occurs to me that I am going to have to polish these bad boys before T-day.
They are just too tarnished to use for food.
I don't know about you, but I always think I can taste tarnish.  It's not a pleasant condiment.

So it looks as if I'm going to have a date with Wright's Silver Cream in the coming days.
I'll have to figure out a good reward for myself for that chore.
And don't say my reward will be nice gleaming silverware; I stopped falling for that one when I was 12.



Today, I'm kvelling over my old serving pieces that will be called into duty next week.
I know a lot of you also love vintage silver, so here they are.


First, a charming and surprisingly weighty ladle that just arrived in the mail yesterday.
Pardon the sun reflections.
It's a Reed & Barton Tiger Lily pattern silverplate piece, from the early 1900s.
This pattern morphed mid-century in Festivity, but this piece is from the old school,
and I love it.   It's got a gorgeous monogram.  Not our initial, but so what?


 This ladle now lives at my sister's house.
It matches a set of old plated flatware we gave her last Christmas.

Our family initial is "L" and it's on the next serving pieces -- a tablespoon and a meat fork also from the early 1900s.
Can you see the ridges in the business part of the fork?  They give the piece so much life and sparkle.

This is Community Plate's Georgian pattern, also very heavy and in really excellent condition given
it's almost a century old.  This old plate lasts and is so much nicer
than most of what is available today in silver plate.



I have a lot of this Georgian pattern, including a dozen or so of the big spoons;
they were used for soup 'way back when, but are more the size of our serving spoons now.
Here's a darling little berry spoon:

Also ridged.  It will dish up homemade cranberry sauce.


Just a wee bit younger is this Art Nouveau pattern meat fork that has seen some hard use:


He's an old fella, and it shows.
I wonder if someone buffed off a monogram on the handle?

He's still got lovely lines, though.  He'll get a very gentle cleaning!



Another ladle, this one also a bit worn and showing her age:

Why do I think the spoons and ladles are female, and the forks and knives are male?
Don't answer, I think I can figure this one out all by myself.
Paging Dr. Freud, paging Dr. Freud. . . .



Do you buy things for odd reasons sometimes?

Take these next spoons, almost 9-inches long:

These are the Rogers Blenheim pattern, from the late 1800s.


Blenheim is an ornate pattern, but I bought my first few Blenheimteaspoons because of the pattern name.
Our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Dion, is brown and white,
the coloration which is known as the Blenheim color in Cavaliers.
Luckily, I adore this beautiful pattern!
Here's the bowl of a small Blenheim spoon, 6-inches long.
Lovely detail.  It, too, will serve cranberry sauce.
Most of my old pieces are plated; old plated pieces are inexpensive to buy,
and some of the patterns are just charming.  I do have some sterling, though,
including this lovely, large, vintage serving spoon:

Look at those curves!  Va-va-va voom.

My mother-in-law gave me this spoon.  A beautiful Art Nouveau spoon, made more special
because it comes with a family connection.  It will serve the mashed potatoes; it does so every year.


And, finally, a cheese plane -- a modern blade on a vintage sterling handle.

My family is Norwegian; cheese is definitely on the befores table at every family gathering.

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 Welcome back to November 2010.
I have help in the ongoing kitchen makeover this weekend; Howard and daughter Anne.  What bliss.
We also changed a bit of what was planned for the kitchen, and are busy implementing that.
No current pictures; I'll save those for tomorrow!
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Thanks to Chari of Happy To Design for giving me an easy way out on a Sunday
by posting a past post (say that 3 times fast!).  You can visit Sunday Favorites; click here.
 
Beth at Gypsy Fish Journal hosts Silver Sunday on the 2nd Sunday of each month, here.

At The Tablescaper, it's Seasonal Sunday.  Nothing's more seasonal than Thanksgiving plans!  Click here.
 

Have a lovely Sunday!  See you tomorrow, if you are patient enough to see more kitchen shots!  -- Cass
 

31 comments:

  1. I love the word "Kvelling". Now, I want to add it to my vocabulary. I guess I can't rightly "kvell" over YOUR silver so I'll just say that it's definitely deserving of a "kvelling". (Can you use it like that?)

    Anyway...

    I love old silver. I don't have a lot of it like you do, but I think it's one of the most stunning parts of a table.

    So glad to join the Sunday Favorites party this morning.

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  2. Your pieces are so pretty. I, too really like the word "kvelling". Is it kind of like "kanoodling"? Just asking.
    CAS

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  3. Cass,
    Love the silver. I need to do a major polish this week. I agree that tarnish has a nasty flavor!

    Can't wait to see your kitchen pictures.

    Carol

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  4. Cass,
    Your silver is beautiful.
    I'm sure your kitchen is, too!

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  5. Your silver is lovely! I starte buying more as I started blogging. There are so many gorgeous, ornate and unusual pieces out there. How fun that you use them all mixed up like this. Have a wonderful Sunday.

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  6. Beautiful old silver... truth be told, I never gave it much notice till I started reading your posts!

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  7. Oh my, all of your silver is stunning. Love the old silver the best. So pretty. Love the remark about the fork. lol Hugs, Marty

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  8. What a beautiful collection. Each one is so unique and special. And I do agree with you, I think you can taste tarnish. What a way to ruin a beautiful meal. It is a chore, but a worthwhile one.

    Thank you for sharing your seasonal spirit with Seasonal Sundays!

    - The Tablescaper

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  9. Wonderful silver! The beaded ladle caught my eye right away. Wonderful that they will still be used.

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  10. B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L......... I can't wait to see your kitchen...have a nice Sunday..ciao

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  11. Such lovely pieces. Have a great week.

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  12. I think I can taste tarnish too and poorly rinsed silver cream can be worse (I've tasted that too!). Lovely silver and good luck with hosting 2 dozen people! It will be very festive.

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  13. I just tried to take a photo of my silverware this morning and had the same problem. So hard to get a good shot. But all your photos look wonderful!

    I love that you know which will be serving mashed potatoes, etc. I am always running around at the last second trying to find enough large spoons to serve things up. I need to plan ahead this year.

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  14. You sure have some beautiful pieces! I love the words "business part of the fork." Hadn't ever quite thought of it that way, but so very apt! I reward myself too. Who else is going to reward we "homemakers?"
    Brenda

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  15. I also prefer my silver polished. That is why I don't have a lot of silver any more - don't care for the work involved. :)
    Have a great day.

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  16. Oh how I LOVE,LOVE,LOVE old silver!!! Lucky for me I live in the heart of where it all started here in the USA... I have drawers that hold my treasures and I prefer the monogrammed ones... I also LOVE to rethink a name for the initial. Hmmm that GORGEOUS S monogrammed ladle you gave your sister would definitely make the "S monogram stand for "Sisters"... That is a REAL BEAUTIFUL piece, how lucky of you to share your passion with your sister...
    I LOVED your post and you KNOW that we'll all be sitting with that same task next week... Hmmmm, reward... "CHOCOLATE"!!!
    Hugs, Donna

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  17. Oooooooooooh! Love old silver! You have a wonderful collection. Jacqueline

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  18. Hi Cass!
    I remember this post. and I remember thinking what a great collection you have of old silverware. I love all the different designs. They all have individual personality!

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  19. Your silver is gorgeous, love all the different designs!!!
    Daphne

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  20. Hi Cass,
    I don't remember this post, so I enjoyed to see it very much. You own a lot of nice patterns. I love the Reed & Barton tiger lily pattern. They have so nice pattersn. I also like the Harlequin patterns. I show them in my post with the title "Hildesheimer Rose". Did you see it? You can definately knell over about you beautiful flatware.
    Greetings, Johanna

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  21. I have to polish my silver serving pieces too. I love the look of it all polished up even though it is a job. Your old silver is lovely! Diana

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  22. you have some really beautiful pieces! love the monograms.

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  23. I hope it is a great reward, cleansing silver is not on the top of favorite things. Have fun!

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  24. The berry spoon and the bl -bl-bl-bl something spoon are my faves. Just lovely.

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  25. I love love love all of this -- your silver collection is gorgeous!!
    You are a woman after my own heart
    Show us the polished up versions, please!

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  26. It's fun to mix up silver patterns as well as dishes. You've got some gorgeous pieces. Believe it or not, I actually enjoy polishing silver. ;-)

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  27. I remember this post ... I can always look at silver. Lovely photographs and like the mix of silver pieces! Makes it more interesting.

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  28. Hi Cass...

    Kvell...what a fun word! I think I need to add it to my vocabulary! wink! Well my dear lady...I remember this awesome post! It was this post that I learned that you and I share the same first and last initials! I really enjoyed looking through your fabulous collection of silver, Cass! You have some really beautiful pieces...thank you for sharing all your pretties with us for Sunday Favorites this week!

    Have a fabulous week, my friend!
    Chari @Happy To Design

    PS...I can hardly wait for more photos of your kitchen redo! I'm sooo excited for you, Darlin'!

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  29. OH I love all your silver pieces!! Can't wait to see what the finished kitchen looks like!!!
    Nine days till T-day...I need to get busy!

    Miss Bloomers

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  30. Sounds like you are going to have quite a group! Can't wait to see the new kitchen do!
    Valerie

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  31. Cass, your silver is yummy and your knowledge of it is impressive. I am thrilled to report my cousin gave me some family silver this weekend amongst other treasures. ♥O

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