Good morning everyone! I have to admit it has been far too long since I wrote a blog post. I truly do miss doing this. I have found it to be stress relieving and to be honest, it doesn’t get much worse than these last two months! Pictured above is my latest surprise willow mug. I bought this beautiful example knowing full well it was damaged but I thought it would compliment my other frog mugs really well.
I haven’t been online much, haven’t purchased much simply because I was in the process of purchasing a second home in the city where I work. I had no idea how stressful that process could be and the scrutiny my finances would be under. My bank turned into the FBI and IRS all wrapped up together! So for about 2 months there were no willow purchases other than this piece and a few pieces I picked up for less than $100 while visiting Ben in Columbus.
Anyhow, some discussion of my mug! This one is very different than my others. I don’t know the pattern off the top of my head but will enlist some folks to help me in that arena. There are no birds on this pattern. It wasn’t listed as willow but the border really appeared to be willow and well…the frog sold it anyhow! I am a sucker for those little guys. This piece is not marked. It is not an ironstone like one of my other examples. This one is more like a bone china, very thin and light weight but obviously very old.
Below are examples of my other “surprise” mugs as they are often called in the UK. You drink your ale to the bottom only to have a surprise staring back at you! The loving cup in the middle of these pics is not a surprise mug but it is one of my favorites. You can see my other single handled frog mug is the traditional blue willow pattern with no border, so they really are all very different as are the frogs on the inside.
As I have told many of you before, a true willow collector can’t really pick their favorite willow find! For me I have favorite willow collections such as: toby collection, willow cat collection, willow dog collection, cow creamers, cheese domes…….and the list, well it goes on. This is one of my favorite willow collections and it is near impossible to pick a favorite from these!
Happy Willowing, stay safe and enjoy the sunshine!
Christine
Blue Willow Treasures - A collectors showcase 