Blog Parties

Friday, July 31, 2009

Heirloom Party-Grandma's rocker

I've decided at the last minute that I want to join in on the Heirloom Party hosted by Marie at Emma Calls Me Mama. If you love heirlooms (like me), then be sure to check out the party. Lots of people are at the party, I'm sure you'll know someone. If not, you can hang out with me. We can be wall flowers together.

Since I decided to participate last minute, that means I didn't plan my post (no surprise here since I am the queen of procrastination). So no new photos.

I have lots of family heirlooms at my house. I'm the one person in our family who says "Oh, are you getting rid of that? I'll take it." Plus I'm the only one in my immediate family who likes old things. But since I didn't plan ahead & didn't take any photos of anything else, I am only going to blog about one piece of furniture. Plus it is my favorite. And I'm cheating some as I already posted about this piece of furniture back in April on my family blog Manning Family Tree.



For years my Mom had this rocking chair in her house. It had originally been in my Grandma's house and when she died, my Mom took it home to her house. All these years I've loved this chair & have told my Mom that I wanted the chair. I figured that someday when my mom was gone that it would be my turn to love & take care of this rocker.

But luckily for me, I didn't have to wait. A couple of years ago my Mom gave me the chair for Mother's Day. It was the best Mother's Day gift I ever received.


The chair sits in our living room (with our ugly teal carpet). This isn't your typical rocking chair. This one has springs that it rocks on. The one thing about this rocker is that you have to be real careful how you sit in it. If you sit back too far, you almost get dumped out of it backwards. So you have to balance yourself just so to sit in it. But I have learned how to sit in it without tipping it back too far. Isn't the back of this chair beautiful? I just love this wood.
When my Grandson comes over (which is not very often), I love to rock him in this rocking chair. And even when I'm not playing Grammy, I love to sit & rock in this chair. There is something so soothing & comforting about a rocking chair. Especially one that has memories attached to it & is as old as this one. I'm sure the upholstery is not original. My Grandma had most everything in her house upholstered with velvet.
I wish I knew more about my rocking chair. I called my Mom this morning to see if she knew anything about it. She said no. All she knew is that it belonged to her Mom, my Grandma. She wasn't sure if it had belonged to anyone else in the family or not.

I was hoping that when I originally posted this on my family blog that someone in my family might know more about the history of this rocking chair. But no one did.

All I know is that I feel loved while rocking in this chair. I love it and will treasure it always.

22 comments:

  1. That is absolutely gorgeous! I love the grain of the wood!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Such a BEAUTIFUL piece. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  3. The chair is so lovely! I'm sure you treasure it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. It's beautiful and I can see why you love it so much :)

    rue

    ReplyDelete
  5. wow that's an amazing rocker, beautiful carving :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is a beautiful rocker, so unique! I love rockers, any kind! They are so relaxing, I even like them if they have a creak/squeak!

    They are a must if there is a new baby in the house!

    Katherine

    ReplyDelete
  7. That is a beauty, and especially wonderful because it belonged to your grandmother. laurie

    ReplyDelete
  8. It's a beautiful chair. How sweet of your Mom to give it to you while she could see you enjoying it. Thanks for sharing and have a wonderful weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hello Kim - I love your Gramma's beautiful rocking chair! How special it is that you now have it and can enjoy rocking in it. I think the cushion is fabulous. And the wood grain detail is stunning!

    Blessings,
    Marie
    http://emmacallsmemama.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. That's a lovely chair, Kim! So nice of your mom to give it to you now! Thanks for visiting my blog, Hope to see you again!

    ReplyDelete
  11. What a beautiful rocker! The wood grain is so unique. Thanks for the compliment on the piano. There are more pics of it on an earlier post. We got it for a steal. :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a beautiful rocking chair! I love rocking chairs. My mother gave hers, and I rocked both my children in it when they were babies. I hope to rock my grandchildren in it someday.

    Jane

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wow! What a cool rocking chair!!!
    Love it.!
    Happy Pink Saturday!!
    Jenny

    ReplyDelete
  14. what a wonderful piece to have...that is very special indeed!!
    have a great weekend~
    chasity

    ReplyDelete
  15. What a wonderful rocker! It looks like the back is shaped like a heart.

    ReplyDelete
  16. OK Kim ... where do I start? ..first of all "darn you"!! I just sat with my coffee to check out all the heirloom stories & Pix and yours was the first one I went to .. "I was stuck"!! After reading your info I thought I'd be looking at some kind of piles of stuff ...OMG! .. wrong! .. You are amazing and I love every single thing you do ..I wish you lived next door so we could play 'dress up' .. tables that is .. I saw things I already have and new ideas as to what to do with them ... thanks ..I have the same chicken lamp on my kitchen table and I almost bought the bird s&p shakers at pier one ..I'm going back to get them ..I just loved visiting your home and also the trip to Temecula .. my niece Rita used to sell at Serendipity and now sells at a barn .. you can see her at mammablearte.blogspot ...So now my times up and I need to do some house work ..Thanks for the great visit and all the inspirations...You have a new friend..."Me" :^)
    Hugz ..Betty

    ReplyDelete
  17. It's a special chair, never seen one like that. Thank you for stopping by mammabellarte, hope to see you soon since you are so close. Stop by La Maison Rustique (Temecula)for the next sale 7th and 8th of August. Ciao Rita

    ReplyDelete
  18. Wow, I would love that chair. It would go so good with my antiques! It is beautiful. I am sure you know that it Tiger Oak, and is circa 1890's. It is a stunning piece. The best part are the memories. I only have one little item from my Grandma, I wish I had more. Your's is a treasure! Martha

    ReplyDelete
  19. Lovely Chair! What a great story! It's nice to get cool old things through family and not have to pay for them!
    Thanks for visiting!
    Hugs, Lisa

    ReplyDelete
  20. what a great chair - we had one that used to dump us over backwards too - beware the guest we didn't like, they'd get no warning LOL :)

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hello Kim,
    How are doing? I hope well! I want to thank you for your thoughtful message and prayers for my Mom. She and my sister are both doing better:)

    What a beautiful rocker! How special that your mom gave it to you on Mothers day too!

    Hugs, Sherri:)

    ReplyDelete
  22. Happy Heirloom Party! I am running late for the party but I am so glad to be here now. I love your party post. So sweet! Rocking chairs are the best. I recently got one for my deck so I can rock and rock and rock in the evenings. :) Have a wonderful week. ~ Lynn

    ReplyDelete