wedding, and other, spoons

When I first got married, wa-a-ay back in 1971, my mum organised the younger siblings, step-siblings and friends when it came to gift buying. (She knew what she wanted me to have.)

I received three cutlery sets, each with settings for four people, but all with the same design.
So I had enough matching cutlery to be able to hold a dinner party for twelve people if I was ever inclined to do so.
I also received three dinner sets, each with a setting for four people, but all with the same design.
So I had enough matching crockery to be able to hold a dinner party for twelve people if I was ever inclined to do so.
(I never was inclined to do so...)

Now, all these years later, these two teaspoons and a knife, are all that remain of the original settings. I don't remember what happened to the rest, I'm not one to lose things, but disappear they did.


Here is a close-up of the design on the handles.

In between then and now, there has (have?) been three different cutlery sets, one that came as a bonus package along with a stoneware dinnerset I bought, long since passed on to one of the kids, a cheap (and cheap looking) black plastic handled set which I didn't like for very long as the handles started falling off, a more expensive black plastic handled set which lasted right up until 2010.

Then, two days after L left, in a euphoric rush of freedom spending, I bought my current cutlery set.
I'd planned on lay-bying it, but when I went to the store it was on sale for half price, so it came home with me the same day.

It's a setting for eight people, which is more than I need, (unless 7 people all drop in at once for coffee and cake) but I liked the design and the way they balanced in my hands. I'd been eyeing them off for weeks.

Here is a close-up of the design.



I have two teaspoons left from a set of six that my mum gave me as an engagement gift.
When she was a child, her Dad had won them as a prize for his show rabbits.
Silver plated, in a box lined with blue velvet, I was supposed to keep them to pass on to my first-born girl as her engagement gift, then she would do the same and so on.
Mum didn't tell me I was supposed to do this, so of course I used these very pretty spoons and when mum eventually came to visit me, she wasn't happy. Too bad. 

The silver spoons....

...not looking too shabby, even after years and years of stirring my coffee.
(I'm fairly confident I know what happened to the other four, but that tale shall remain untold)

Here's a close-up of the design.

Simple, elegant...not at all ostentatious, which is a good thing, because I don't like stuff that's too show-offy.
That's my camera reflection making the nearer handle look darker.

Comments

  1. I like your new set a lot. It's kind of art deco isn't it?

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  2. I love the new set but I lust after those two teaspoons. And what a fab story to remember while you're stirring your coffee!

    Also, your mum was some kind of genius when it came to wedding presents!!

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  3. Your new set is just plain classy. Love them.

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  4. Spoons measure our lives, River. This is a lovely reflection of the passage of time through beautiful objects. You move from toasters to spoons. I prefer spoons, they're more manageable.

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  5. I'm not fussy when it comes to cutlery, so long as the knifes are sharp I'm a happy camper... I remember a beautiful silver set my mother kept in a felt lined wooden box, we would take it out and polish it every year or two but we never were allowed to use it..as mum got older and less pedantic someone stole it from her house without her ever knowing who.. I decided there and then there was no point keeping things for best if 'best' was never going to happen...

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  6. I think it's good that you used the engagement spoons. I don't get the point of having something that's actually useful, and then not using it, just so you can pass it on to someone else, for them not to use. Some traditions are so odd.

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  7. This is a lovely post.

    I've never bought a 'proper' cutlery set but funnily enough, we are going out today to buy one. My husband is fussy and it's not something I could choose myself. His Grandma gave us some money for Christmas and we would like to tell her we bought something useful.

    I love how you still have some left and there is a story attached to your cutlery.

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  8. Delores; I don't have a clue what art deco cutlery would look like, but I really like my current set.

    Toni; which two, the silver ones? Or the leftover stainless steel ones? Mum was a genius when it came to making sure othe people got what SHE wanted them to have.

    EC; I love them too. I'd been looking at them everytime I went to town for months. When they were half price, they practically jumped off the shelf into my arms.

    Elisabeth; I prefer spoons too. They stir my coffee and put icecream and chocolate pudding in my mouth.

    Tempo; what a waste of a beautiful set. It should have been used at least for Christmas and birthdays, anniversary dinners...

    no-one; mum was funny about keeping things for best, or to pass on. When she died, your uncle found many, many, unused Christmas gifts that we'd sent her, that she put away because they were too good to use. it made me feel like my carefully chosen gifts meant nothing to her and I should have just sent cash.

    Sarah; I hope you get something that pleases both of you. Make sure to pick up each piece to see if it balances nicely. Check that the bowls of the spoons aren't too wide for your mouths. I did this by taking along a dessert spoon that I'd used comfortably for years and measuring against the new set.

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  9. Love the designs and the tales of your cutlery collections ;)

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  10. Your new cutlery set is gorgeous with a sort of Art deco feel to it.

    And, like you and unlike your mother, I reckon cutlery should be used, so if you've only got two out of six teaspoons left, so what?

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  11. It was a great idea to organise matching dinner and cutlery sets for your wedding, but once these and the set of 6 spoons were handed over they were yours to use. Good for you.
    Your new set looks simply spiffo.

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  12. Jayne; thank you. I like having pretty things to use.

    Kath Lockett; It is pretty isn't it? And I don't see the point in having a cupboard full of nice things that never see the light of day, while I use crappy mugs and threadbare towels. I'd much rather use the "good stuff". There's pleasure in using pretty things.

    FruitCake; The matching wedding gifts were a great idea.
    I like my new set too, which is almost two years old already.

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  13. Don't think of it as a serving for eight. Think of it as "I don't have to wash dishes for nearly three days!" Ha ha ha! :)

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  14. I'm not picky when it comes to my silverware. I think mine all came from the dollar store! :) Nothing that will ever be passed on, but it puts the food in your mouth!

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  15. I agree, the new set is nice and I can see Art Deco in it too.

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  16. Happy Elf Mom; not wash up for three days??
    No way, I couldn't possibly....I have to have my dishes done.

    Hillbilly Duhn; welcome to drifting. I've had a few finds from Two dollar stores and a couple of old silver serving spoons from secondhand shop too. They do the job just as well.

    Andrew; several people have mentioned art deco now, I'm going to have to google it and see what they mean. Is it the shape of the handles? Or the design on them?

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