Note:  In order to join Alison at The Polohouse  for her Favorites on the First, what’s your favorite dish pattern, I had to dig into my archives.  Please note that this was originally posted May 7, 2010.

I should have seen the signs—when my husband and I married, 37 years ago (by the way, I was a child bride {smile}) I registered for everyday dishes and for a pottery that would serve as my china.  Both sets were Dansk patterns.  Dansk designs were popular in the early seventies.  The pattern Bistro reflected the earthy look that was popular during the day.  It was a simple plate that was the color of chocolate chip ice cream and had a double band of chocolate brown on the outer edge of the plate.  The china substitute was an all white pottery that I believe (my memory on this is a little fuzzy, probably because Dansk discontinued the pattern before I could amass more than 4 place settings) was called Basketweave for it’s basket weave white on white edge.

Bottom line, Dansk discontinued several items I had registered for, including my crystal and that’s my excuse for the dish addiction I am afflicted with—I hear there is no cure.

After being married a few years I decided that I had made an error in not registering for fine china—my husband worked for Xerox at the time and they had a sales contest where you could earn points that could be cashed in for goods.  As a result I ended up with Lenox, Autumn for my china and Wallace Grand Baroque as my sterling silver flatware—all thanks to my husbands hard work and Xerox, thank you very much.

I eventually tired of the chocolate brown trimmed dishes, one of the symptoms of the dish disease, and stumbled upon Portmeirion, Botanic Garden.  You will be surprised to learn that I used them for 20 years before deciding I really wanted the following patterns, not all at once but over a period of about 15 years:  Villeroy & Boch patterns:  Audun, Chambord (a very simple off-white) and Petite Fleur.  Blue and white dishes came in the form of Churchill Blue Willow (a lucky find on eBay).  I then inherited my grandmother’s china (shown above), imprinted with RC Made in Japan (if anyone knows more about this manufacturer I’d love to hear from you). Her pattern is lovely and is a white bone china with a gold band and tiny violets scattered on the plates.

By this time in the illness, I realized if I only bought dinner plates I would be happy and I could use white salad plates and accessories.  Please understand, I didn’t want to part with any of the patterns when I set my sites on a new pattern.  I truly enjoyed using each and every pattern for different seasons and celebrations.

Churchill Blue Willow

Which brings me to the holday dishes—Spode Christmas Tree and Churchill Thanksgiving, a pattern with very cute turkeys on each piece.

Do any of you have this disease?  Do you know of a cure?

I’m joining Alison at The Polohouse for her Favorites on the First.  If you have the dish addiction you’ll want to visit her site!