Just can't help it - yellow is a great color. We keep getting more and more yellow dishes - from Mikasa to Waechtersbach to Fiesta to Spode to Lenox and the list goes on and on. Yellow makes everything bright and cheery even on some of our more gloomy days (remember, we live behind the Redwood Curtain and the sun seems to have skipped us this Summer. Currently it is cloudy and cold with a temperature of 59 degrees - yes, it is truly Summer here, albeit sweatshirt weather but Summer nonetheless......The advantage is that the Winter temperature rarely goes below 40 degrees.)

Among the hundreds of Fiestaware dishes that Pat's daughter, Jennifer, left for us to play with last weekend, we pulled out the cobalt blue dinner and salad plates along with the yellow luncheon plates. Here's one of the setting that we came up with:

Overview of the table.

Just another view.

Closeup of the place setting.

We have this flatware pattern by Noritake in gold, black, purple, white, brown and blue.

I love these white glasses. I finally found enough of them on eBay.

Close up of the square flower vase.

No matter what I did, I could not get a picture of this plate without the light shinning from above.

Yes, Pat, Jennifer and I both love this charger......

The signature Fiestaware detail of the plates......

The placemat has beautiful detail.

To give credit where credit is do......

Yellow placemats - Kohl's

White chargers - Maryland China Company.com

Cobalt blue flatware - by Noritake on eBay

Fiestaware - Pat's daughter

White bread and butter plate - Target

White glasses - by Portieux on eBay

Blue wine glass - by Judal from Replacements.com

Candlesticks - from Pat's collection

Flower vases - Michael's

Blue plate liners - by Bormioli

Yellow candles - Bed, Bath and Beyond

Napkin rings - PVC pipe and flowers from Michael's

Yellow napkins - handmade by Pat

White napkins - Target

WOW! What a weekend. It was the Family marathon three-day tablescaping event. Pat's daughter Jennifer was "over" (from Redding, CA which is on the other side of the hill - a three hour trip on a good day through a winding and somewhat hazardous road with slides, one-ways, lengthy stops for road work, etc.) But where there is a will, there is a way. Loaded down with literally hundreds and hundreds of pieces of Fiestaware - including 16 complete 4-pieces place settings and matching luncheon plates that she left for Pat and me, Jennifer's SUV was packed solid for the weekend. She also brought over a sampling of Fiesta salad plates in more than a dozen different colors - some of which are no longer available. It was, to say the least, astounding. She had platters, bowls of different sizes, cups, saucers, plates, accent pieces - you name it - she brought it. Like she said, she felt like she was a mobile Fiestaware Outlet. It was truly a great weekend.

The weekend was not just limited to Fiestaware. We set tables in several themes - the one below is to celebrate the Rodeo Weekend in Fortuna, CA.

Overview of the table.

The place setting - definitely set for a Barbeque.

Glassware includes a mason jar and short beer glass.

Placemat and napkin are men-style hankies.

No Fiestaware here - Pat's very used Waeschterwach cherry red salad plates.

This was really a clean plate - it was the photographer.

Simple flatware in satin finish is perfect for this setting.

Pat's individual bean pots (found at a rummage sale) look natural.

Pat used an emply can as a candleholder.

We had little pieces of straw everywhere.

Yes, vegetarian beans........I don't eat meat.

Mens-style hankies - Michael's and WalMart

Cobalt blue Fiestaware - from Jennifer's collection

Red Salad plate - Waeschtersbach cherry red

Pie pan - Marie Callender

Flatware - Costco several years ago

Individual Bean pots - Rummage sale

Small bale of hay - Michael's

Just a little extra - Here's a little sampling of some of the settings that we did this weekend:

Orange and blue. Cobalt Fiesta, Noritake flatware, Pier 1 glasses.

Here it is in brown. Glasses are by Lenox. Napkin ring is from Pier 1.

Very classy, this setting uses white Portieux glassware.

Fiestaware can be mixed and match. 

Spoiler alert: You'll probably see many of these place settings as tablescapes later on.

Can you believe? Turquoise Fiesta so dressy?

Here's Johnson Brothers Rose Chintz with Rose colored Fiesta.

Gold colored charger and gold flatware make Scarlet and Brown Fiesta gorgeous.

I love this combination: Turquoise and Chocolat Fiesta.

Calvin Klein Luna dinnerware mixed with Pier 1 charger and accent plate.

Pat couldn't resist: Flamingos and Fiesta (this is the Rose colored Fiesta.)

Fiestaware - again???? Yeah, we definitely have fallen in love with the stuff. Today's table is something Pat "threw together" with the limited amount of dishes that we have (borrowed from her daughter, Jennifer) and the great find of on-sale colorful placemats from Pier I. (Tomorrow, Jennifer will be here for a weekend tablescape marathon loaded with a huge sampling of her Fiestaware in many colors and several other pieces that she picked up for us from her local Macy's. We have just one store in the entire county that sells Fiesta, and they do not carry a whole lot of colors to choose from.)

The placemats and the napkins and napkin rings are the foundation for the tablescape. They are repeated at each setting. Since Pat only had four dinner plates in turquoise and four in rose color,  she alternated every other place.

The little children figurines are from our Mother's collection. They are called Moppets by Gorham produced in the early 1970's.

Overview of the table.

Closeup of the turquoise and yellow Fiestaware setting.

Closeup of the rose and ivory placesetting.

Pat used simple, satin finish flatware.

Glassware is called "Samba" from Libby.

Fiesta candleholders were produced in colors to match the dishware.

Closeup of one of the Moppets figurines. Each were surprisingly detailed.

This is a luncheon size plate in ivory.

Closeup of the rose colored dinner plate.

Placemats - Pier I

Flatware - Costco several years ago

Fiestaware - borrowed from Pat's daughter

Napkin - Target

Napkin ring - handmade from PVC pipe and flower from Michael's

Glassware - Samba by Libby from Ross