Saturday Sampler: Pottery Edition

Where have I been? Pretty busy, and also on a road trip. I think I've mentioned before that Mr. Wonderful is a pottery nut. We celebrated his 40th birthday by heading to Seagrove, North Carolina, the largest and oldest community of potters in the country. It's pretty much Pottery Disneyland. We had a wonderful time wandering around through the beautiful North Carolina countryside, talking to the potters, and eating great southern cooking. We bought way too much stuff, but we had a lot of fun doing it. I only photographed my part of the haul, since showing everything he bought too would break my blog. 

Small milk mugs, about 4" high. Yes, I almost passed out when I finally found a fox!

Gorgeous small vases. On the left, crystalline (crystals are grown on the pottery when it's fired), and on the right, salt glazed.

Soup mugs. I wanted a pair for us, but decided to get them from different potters instead of a matched set. Can't wait to use these when the weather turns cold.

Small mixer. Too cute and functional to pass up.

Small baker. This came with a recipe from the potter's family for cold oven pound cake. 

Batter bowl. I love this thing.

Here you can see how it's designed to be held for easy pouring. 

Small cornbread/pie dish. This is from the oldest pottery in the area.

I love, love, LOVE all of my pieces, but especially my kitchenware. They're not only pretty, they feel so wonderful; they're heavy and smooth and fit the hands so well... because they're made by hand. And the really cool thing is that for most of these pieces, I have a personal memory of meeting and talking to the potter. When I pick up that baker to make a little pound cake, I'll remember the hilarious conversation we had with the delightful woman who made it. What a wonderful trip it was, and what great memories we have to go with our new treasures.

In case you're wondering, I'm hard at work on my Keeping Christmas Project. I didn't pick up a needle for about two weeks, what with being so busy, getting ready for our trip, traveling, etc. But I'm back at it. Here's a little peek at what I'm working on. I must confess, I am not a fan of over-one stitching, but I make exceptions for certain designers!

Mr. Wonderful is leaving tomorrow for two weeks, so Tiger Lily and I will be here all by ourselves. There's no telling what we'll get into, so stay tuned!

PS: Shout out to my parents, who celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary yesterday!