Yellow - day four (or the story of the plates)

I find it funny how my mind works.  On Monday, I saw Emily's photo of teacups and it reminded me of some yellow plates that I have.  And thinking of those plates took me back to my last two houses, my former boss and a very special little girl.

When Fatty and I got married, we moved from Telluride, Colorado to suburban Chicago.  I took the summer off from working to do wedding stuff.  When we returned from our honeymoon, I was offered a part-time job at the darling stationery store where we had purchased our invitations.  It was a wonderful fit - five minutes from home, retail hours and selling a product that I really love.  To top it off, I was working for an incredible woman.  Susan is genuine, kind, generous, supportive and smart.  She had started the business a little more than a year before and needed help.  I happily jumped in for a few days a week which quickly turned into full-time and then into managing the store.  It really was a perfect match.

Fatty and I had bought a small, 1940's cottage-y house and I was decorating it one room at a time.  We shopped the local antiques fair and consignment shops, looking for everything from a dining room table to chandeliers to McCoy pottery to add to my collection.  At one of my favorite stores, there was a set of nine yellow plates that just took my breath away.  I really wanted to buy one, but they were being sold as a set and there was no way I could afford to buy them all when we needed things like a new fence.

A month or so later, for my birthday, Susan handed me a box.  Inside were three of the plates.  She bought the entire set, kept six for herself and gave me the rest.  I was amazed and so very grateful!  She knew I would love them and I do.  I hung them on the wall above the bed in our guest room.  When we moved a year later, the plates were packed up in a box and moved to our new home.

The new house was much larger than the little suburban cottage we left behind.  I was pregnant when we moved in and I was dead set on getting each room painted and the nursery ready.  Many boxes sat for a long time, including all of the ones in the guest room.  I was put on bed rest at 33 weeks and at 36 weeks, I gave birth to a beautiful, but tiny little girl.  Jane weighted 4 lbs. 13 oz. but was otherwise healthy and came home from the hospital with me two days later.  My mom came to help and unpacking boxes was one thing we tackled while Jane slept.  When we pulled the dinner sized (11 inches in diameter) yellow plates out of the box, I realized just how small my baby was.

Those plates were hung on the wall above the bed in our guest room that day.  They were moved to a different guest room when Kate came along.  Five and a half years after Jane was born, we moved into this house.  The plates sat in a box for much longer this time and then they sat longer still, forgotten in a cabinet.  They are still in the guest room, but this time they hang over a mirror.  I put them up a few months ago, after I finished the guest room quilt.  The quilt was supposed to be pinks, greens and aquas, but it just screamed for a little yellow when I was making it.  I listened to my inner voice, added the yellow and didn't think twice - I loved it.

A few months after I finished the quilt, I remember the plates.  And they are a perfect match for the quilt.  It's like I knew, but I had just forgotten, that those plates were meant to be in our guest room.  I also think of Susan and The Custom Stationery Shop.  I adored that job and still miss parts of it from time to time.  I think it was there that I tapped back into my creative side after a few years of focusing on other things and for that I am very grateful.  Of course, the plates always remind me of Jane, as a tiny baby.  I did not realize, until I saw that photo, how tiny she really was.  I chalk it up to being a first time mom, with very little baby experience.  And of course, having a sweet, good baby didn't hurt!  As I type this, I think I need a new photo with Jane and the plate.  Yes.  I really do.

.....

I am amazed at all the yellow I've been seeing from you!  The list of participants is here and here and the flickr group here.  See you tomorrow.

Comments

[aprill]

aw, such a sweet story erin!
and such a sweet, tiny little jane!
it must be hard to believe now that she was ever so wee.

[Meg Evans]

What a great story, and how fitting that tiny baby Jane was wrapped in a yellow blanket!

[melissa]

that's lovely, Erin.

[kristyn]

the plates are lovely,
but the story adds even more beauty.

[Tracy]

wow. I really really love this story. All of it. It's great that your inner voice told you to make that quilt those same colors. So sweet. And I feel like I know you just a little better, now.

[Michaela]

What a lovely story! I love those plates.

[Sarah Jackson]

oh, look at sweet little Jane! So so great.

[Kyrie]

Oh, she was so wee! This is such a great (yellow!) story.

[martha]

what a sweet story. I love how the things we have and love carry memories.
You must be so happy you had that picture of Jane with the plate:)

[suzanne]

great, great story.

[Kim D.]

Wonderful story. It's great to see that along with the daily ritual of finding something yellow, the memories that are rediscovered.

Thank you for sharing with us.

Whenever i think of Yellow i think of my dad and how he demanded that our Fish and Chip Shop have yellow awnings and the wood on the windows painted yellow and yellow tile. Beautiful bright goldenrod. I haven't been particpating in the Yellow group, but am grateful for some of the memories that it stirs up. It's amazing how color can be so vivid in our memories but other details such as names so vague.

[Lisa Q]

great memories...thanks for sharing. I like the plates even more now after hearing the story that goes with them.

[abby try again]

Wow!
What a post!
That photo of your little baby...oh my heart is melting. Thanks for sharing :)

[Sarah]

I love the photo of baby Jane next to the plates. They seem so little when you look back dont they? We have a photo of a newborn Jack with a quarter in his tiny little hands, amazing stuff.

[Felicia]

Oh, what a delightful story and some many beautiful memories attached to those pretty plates.

[Carolyn]

Awesome story. Maybe you can hand those plates down to your daughter. That really was a great story to tell her too.

[regan]

i've been reading you for quite some time, always drooling over those quilts you make, intimidated by your skills, but this yellow thing i can relate to. it is my FAVORITE color and i am enjoying your posts immensely. thanks for brightening my week! =)

[erica]

What a great story! I think our hearts and brains remind us of connections more often than we realize, and certainly more often than we listen. I'm glad you listened, and were reminded.

[amandajean]

what a great story behind the plates. and i love how they match your new quilt for the guest room. perfect!!!

[beki]

Aw, what a great story, Erin :)

[emily]

i love the stories behind things. and this one is so tender. i'm so glad you shared it today.

[leslie]

awww. love that story, erin.

[Dawn]

Erin, I love that story so very much. Boy that is a small baby....geez. Memphis was 8lbs 11 ounces and Soren was 9lbs 10 ounces. Geez. I love that quilt and that story touched my heart. You are such an amazing person. xoxo I am bummed I have been out of the loop and missed yellow week....I LOVE yellow!!!

[Sonya]

Such a great story. I love it when objects become more than what they are, less part of the house and more of the home and the lives within it.

[misschris]

I'm so glad I stole a minute to check on you... this entry is one of my favorites. Thanks so much for sharing!!

[Rachel]

Pretty plates. Hey, thanks for doing this yellow thing. It has brought a lot of new visitors to my blog.

[Pam]

very nice story. thanks for sharing.

[Jodz]

Great story and such gorgeous plates.

[katie]

Erin, what a beautiful story. The plates are just gorgeous!

[Taylor]

what a neat story! thanks for sharing!

[kat]

such a fantastic story! we just moved cross country, and lots of people put pressure on us to "get rid of everything and start over". but really, a lot of things hold meaning and special memories! we luckily did not get rid of too much, thank you for sharing your story ;) and this week with all of us, i love this community!

[katie]

love reading this story.

[kathryn]

sweet pea!

and such happy memories for you!

[kirsty]

The plates are exquisite, but OH! that photo of Jane! So poignant.

[Paper Dolls for Boys]

What a lovely story. I think you definitely need to get a photo of her holding the plate now!
Thanks for yellow week.
Cheers,
Tracey

[liza gonzalez]

so, cute and tiny...love those plates.

[Louise]

What a wonderful post! Those plates definitely take my breath away and they would be just perfect in my newly painted hallway!

[geek+nerd]

What a sweet story. That picture of Jane next to the plate is so adorable! She was a mini little thing!

[Pat Sieler]

Gorgeous plate, fantastic quilt. I do admire your capacity with color and skill!

[suesue]

what a wonderful story! seeing all the yellow this week was so much fun-really a springtime treat!! hope you have another color next week, i'd like to join! suesue

[erica]

Had to jump back on to say that I love your new banner! Gorgeous. I'm green with envy.

[rachel]

I love stories like this about people's treasures. Jane was so very teensy and cute!

[Jessica]

Thank you for sharing this lovely story. I do that "forgetting but knowing" thing all the time and never knew about it until my sweet MIL pointed it out. Now it's fun to notice it myself.

[kaet]

what a lovely story...such a trip down memory lane, all from a plate. the plates are beautiful!

[Lisa]

Lovely story!

Speaking of things showing up again, is that towel you can barely see on the bed with Jane the same dishtowel in the photo the day before? Wouldn't that be funny?

[MARY GRACE BURKE]

Erin,

That story brings back lots of sweet memories for me also. After the worry about you, your health, the health of the the baby we knew was going be tiny. I remember sitting in the Doctor's office when she told us that you need to have your baby soon, very soon. All the rest of that few days came flooding back to me. I won't repeat it all but it was a wonderful experience to see my first baby as a mother with her first baby. I remember when we took the photo of Jane with the yelow plate. How tiny she was. Thanks for the memories.

I love you,
Mom