Milk Glass

I am not a big collector of things.  I tend to buy one or two of something and that is enough.  Mainly this is a storage/display concern but also because I have a short attention span.  Haha!  I do love me some milk glass though and will figure out a spot for a new piece if I see one that is unique and not something I already have.  

The majority of my collection is on top the large Expedit book case I have in my office.

Older picture:

Oh.  I guess I collect Eiffel Towers too.  But to be fair I only have a handful of those.

On Friday I got the notion to replace the string of fairy lights I have along top of the unit because half the strand was out.  While I was up there I noticed how completely dusty things were up there.  Goodness.  

So down it all came.  I was tempted to chuck it all in the dishwasher but after doing a little research that isn't recommended, particularly for the older pieces.  Plus some of my pieces have the original Westmorland sticker on them and I wanted to preserve those.  So I hand washed each and every piece.  

This isn't even all of it.  I think I have about 50 pieces.  Not all are on display as I do actually use some of them.  I have a pair of cache pots that I have my African Violets in and you can see in the picture of the book case I use a small urn for paint brushes.  I use one in the bathroom for my makeup brushes too.  Nothing so precious it can't be be put to good use.  That's the beauty of milk glass.  It is easy to come by and the prices are generally reasonable.  I use the vases in my collection quite a bit.  Over the holidays I bought five bud vases that match one I already have to be used as candle holders for a Christmas tablescape.  

What do you collect?  Is it something you can use and are you still actively collecting?  I'm always curious to hear what other people are drawn to.

Update on the migration to WordPress - I have copied over all my posts from Typepad (boy was that a chore and a half...) and I'm liking the overall layout.  I am having an issue with the first photo of every post duplicating itself and I'm waiting to hear back from the theme designer on that issue.  I also need to design a new banner.  If I can sort all this out this week then I hope we can go live with it next week.  I'll keep you posted!

Comments

[carolyn]

Your milk glass is lovely...I've always had an affinity for it because my mother had some beautiful milk glass plates with teacups that I always loved. I have no idea what happened to them, but when she moved from her big house she did a huge purge and she probably got rid of them, as she did some many other things. I only managed to save a small (not milk glass) Shawnee Pottery elephant creamer that had belonged to my great grandmother. She kept pennies in it, as do I. Not much value, aside from the sentimental, but I'm glad I saved it! My only collection is of Pooh Bears. My oldest is from my high school trip to Disney World in 1979 (and I have a picture of myself holding it with three friends, one of whom I barely knew, but he became my husband after we reconnected at our high school reunion!) It developed into a nice little collection as my kids grew and would buy Pooh things for me as gifts over the years. I plan to pass a few Poohs along to my granddaughter and any other grands that come along as they get older! Looking forward to seeing the new blog!

[Andrea]

I love the story about the elephant creamer and how you are carrying on your grandmother's tradition of saving pennies in it. That is really lovely. How fun to have a picture of you and your husband way before you got married.

[Cathy]

I like milk glass too, but have a smaller collection. I have 5 plates on the wall above a book case in our foyer.

[Andrea]

I have four or five plates too and should find a wall to display them on instead of tucking them away in a cabinet.