Dishes and Doilies

My table this week features a wonderful birthday gift from my dear friend Michele, who blogs at Adventures in Thrifting.  Besides being thrifty, she is crafty!  I first "met" Michele online in the 1990s, and we finally met in person a few years after that.  She is my most faithful e-mail correspondent, and we usually exchange two notes per day.  For my birthday last month, she sent me a table runner she'd made from doilies she had collected throughout the year, then sewn together.  It looks great on the dark wood of my dining room table.  She managed to get it the right length by cleverly e-mailing my daughter when she knew she was visiting and asked her to measure my table.  Here's how it looks on my table between tablescapes:

I wanted to set a special table to show it off, so I chose my late mother-in-law's Wedgwood Potpourri pattern.  Its creamy background color is a good match for the doilies.

The scalloped edges of the Potpourri plate echo the shape of the two round doilies in the runner.  I love the cream soup bowls -- and the little flowers inside the rim.  I used navy linen placemats, turned vertically and draped over the edge of the table, and flax-colored napkins, my silver, and blue stemware.  Deep pink alstroemeria blossoms in bud vase napkin rings dress up the placesetting a bit.

Here's the large central doily.  I love this unusual design.

More alstroemeria in a simple pitcher add a little more color.  My mother-in-law had many pieces in this pattern, including the vegetable bowls and salt and pepper shakers pictured here.

Here's an across-the-table view.

And here's a view of the whole table, set for six.

Over on the sideboard, demitasse cups await.

I love these dainty cups -- so sweet, with a little flower inside.

Thanks, Michele, for inspiring another tablescape with your lovely birthday gift!  And thanks, everyone, for visiting my table this week.  I will be linking to Let's Dish at Cuisine Kathleen and Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch, so don't miss all the other tables available there!