My Collectibles - Tea Cups

There are soooo many things I seem to collect, besides my yarns and my (gulp) 17 knitting machines (SSHHHHH! Don't tell the hubby). One collection that was passed down to me is my china teacup collection. My Mom collected them (I think she inherited some from her Mom's collection) and when she passed away in 1999, I found myself facing almost 200 tea cups, NOT counting the ones with the various china sets, nor duplicates!

My initial thought was ... "Oh, boy, we've got to get rid of some of these, they're taking up too much space." Well, that was easier said than done. I'm the only child and have only 1 daughter. My sons weren't enthralled with the prospect of receiving tea cups, one was unmarried at the time and the other was a widower. They'd had to, as they put it, 'endure' Gran's tea parties every so often. Jessica (daughter) took several of them for herself and for her two daughters.

When we went back to California to hold a special memorial service for Mom at her previous church, the ladies put on a 'real' English Tea in honor of Mom. I cried. A lot. I'd also packed up probably 15 or 20 of various tea cups in single boxes and after the service, we went around and delivered them to several of her oldest and dearest friends.

I've added numerous ones throughout the years and am starting working on small teapots. Individual size. I still have close to 125 cups. It's really special to me to be able to sit down and have a cup of tea with my Mom's cups. Great memories!!










What do you collect?