There are certain houseware items that just evoke such a great memory of childhood, it's almost overwhelming. For us, the classic CorningWare Cornflower set sends us into a tizzy. Our best friend is usually moved to tears when she finds any Fiestaware. And, who could forget the blue and white Liberty Blue and Willow knock-off plates that were ubiquitous in 1970s households? Our mother purchased a complete set at Jewel, one piece a week -- along with an entire Funk & Wagnall's encyclopedia set.
We actually now own several of the Cornflower pieces from our childhood. Sadly, other items were broken or given away. We're grateful for what we have.
What pieces are your childhood classics?
Book image: The Complete Guide to Corning Ware & Visions Cookware by Kyle Coroneos.
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The rooster and roses pattern (PY, Ucagco--as I've learned since growing up). Here's a pitcher (no, really, a picture of a pitcher): http://tinyurl.com/56uq73
Also the primary-colored set of nesting bowls from Pyrex: http://tinyurl.com/6h5qym
I didn't grow up with it, but I love Fiestaware. It is our daily dining set (the new lead-free variety that you can get at Macy's).
I also have chrome tins, a tank of a mixer, a smoked glass nut bowl, and a gorgeous vibrant blue casserole dish. I grew up with these and love having them in my kitchen now.
Oh, the top left casserole dish in the Corningware image! All my friends' moms had that. My mom had a brown and white set that I have a platter from still.
Cornflower, for sure. I even had the palstic playset when I was a kid.
White-snowflakes-on-black Pyrex casserole (Spanish rice and other hot dishes)
Salmon Melmac
Homer Laughlin Virginia Rose Moss Rose (Virginia Rose is the shape; Moss Rose is the pattern) (Gramma's good dishes; now mine, but off-site)
*Big* yellow Pyrex bowl (scalloped potatoes!)
Pyrex refridgerator dishes
Jewel-tone metal bell tumblers (drinks seemed colder in them!)
Blue and white roaster
Tupperware batter pitcher (Christmas cookies; *heavy* baking household all around)
Small flat-bottomed pastel Tupperware bowls (popcorn at Gramma's; at home we used scallop-edge soup dishes probably from dime stores)
Glass pitcher for Otsego-County-Strength iced tea (also the Stanley push-button cold-drink jug)
Farberware Dutch oven (popcorn at home and Best Slow-Cooked Spaghetti Sauce Ever!)
I revisited all of this last year while cleaning out the family house and barn.
The cornflower corningware teapot is still in everyday use at my parent's house, and there are a couple of other pieces that are in regular rotation. They also have a clear pyrex coffee percolater and teapot at the cottage.
My primary color pyrex nesting mixing bowls are in regular use. The blue one is a bit faded, but the rest are still like new.
For me, it's the old tupperware that brings back a lot of memories. My boyfriend's mom recently gave me her old tupperware canisters in that avacado green. They're fantastic.
PYREX BOWLS! My mom had/has multiple sets of nesting Pyrex bowls, and to my great elation, when my grandfather passed away I was able to acquire a not quite complete set of the rainbow nesting bowls, and a complete set of avocado green ones as well from his collection.
Plastic 7-11 Slurpee cups with D.C. Comics superheroes on them.
My sister and I baked all kinds of things with our mom in her 1970s olive-harvest gold-orange Pyrex bowls.
Definitely the brown Hull drip pottery!
Growing up, mom had corningware throughout her kitchen. Great memories.
ALL my mom's dishes are Bauer, some inherited from her mother, some lovingly collected from thrift and antique stores over the years. Those colorful, sturdy dishes have a special place in my heart.
My parents have Fire King Jadite dishes.. I remember being told that they were "too pretty" for kids to use (reserved for grown up use only).
I have told my mom that she can leave the house to my brother and sister - but I want the dishes!
-Ruth
That top left one is the CorningWare "Spice O'Life" line. My mother and half of my relatives had that set. And still do, actually.
is that where my mom got that tea pot?!?! she still uses it to this day! the lid is broken and i dont even know if she has all the matching pieces- but every mom of every friend i've ever had has at least ONE of those pieces.
ahh memories.
The Star Wars, Strawberry Shortcake and Muppet Movie glasses we collected from Burger King. My mom still has a good amount of them and I LOVE using them when I visit.
The cornflower Corningwear! Oh, man, did that just hit me with a shot of nostalgia.
And yes, the collectible glasses from Burger King. That's exactly what I was going to say, kara57!
Corelle dinnerware in Butterfly Gold: http://tinyurl.com/57pw62
My mom and nana still have the spice o life corningware (the green and gold one). It's not thanksgiving if something isn't being served in it. My grandma has the Liberty blue plates (i think the real ones) on display all around the top of her kitchen on a picture rail. soo funny
Eve in Hochelage, I'm right there with you! My mom still has a few cornflower corningware pieces, and I most definitely had the plastic play set version as well. ah, to be a kid playing house again...
Not from my childhood, but I am a Fiesta fanatic. Obsessed would be putting it mildly. Thanks for showing the great picture. If you need any others, let me know... ~:o)
Note: never quite understood how the term "Fiestaware" attained such popularity, it's just "Fiesta." http://www.ohioriverpottery.com/pages3/hlcline01-p15.html
My mom has the Cornflower Blue Corningware and similar Old Town Blue Corelle. I'm starting out fresh with my own Corelle pattern (Simple Lines), but I haven't pulled the trigger on any Corningware (other than a simple white pie plate).
Wow, that CorningWare stuff brings back memories. And OH, Fiesta! I love those - what else can combine my love of bright colours with my love of radioactive stuff? (The red glaze used prior to 1944 had appreciable amounts of uranium in it. It'd still make a geiger counter go crazy! Don't worry, I THINK it's only alpha radiation. I'd adore something with that glaze...)
michpc - ebay is your friend. It's pretty easy to find solo bowls to complete your set.
http://pottery-glass.shop.ebay.com/items/?_nkw=primary bowl&_sacat=4765&_fromfsb=&_trksid=m270.l1313&_odkw=&_osacat=4765
Franciscan Desert Rose dinnerware! According to this website it's "the best-selling pattern in the history of American dinnerware." http://www.giftcollector.com/productline_isapi_l_1539-m_56-a_32610-store.htm?gclid=CM6RgtaKu5YCFQNKxwodCykVlA
Oh, gosh, so many memories. I think we had some of it all. We had the Cornflower (and yeah, I had the plastic play set, how funny). We had the Spice of Life (mostly I remember utensils, not any dishes.) We had the Hull pottery (never really liked those, actually.) And the avocado and harvest gold Pyrex mixing bowls, which Mom has come to hate (but still uses them).
Grandma has the Franciscan Desert Rose line.
I'm always looking for something called Rivieraware, which my great-grandmother had. It's sort of like Fiesta only everything's squarish. Mom had this memory of eating creamed peas out of the green dish and noticing they were the same color. (She grew up to be an art teacher.)
How could I forget the brown drip!
When I was in high school we got Butterfly Gold. One plate and bowl are here in my office cabinet as I type.
I see a fair bit of vintage Corelle here at the office; great for the microwave and you're using something that might not be your taste for your home, but you can use it elsewhere.