I'm up early, regularly. I have a small child at home, and she often wakes up before the sun. The birds have returned and at 5am this morning they were singing up a storm. Next come the butterflies as the warmth presses on and the flowers continue to bud and bloom!

Sacred Bird and Butterfly is one of our time honored patterns. It can be seen regularly in the show Blue Bloods on the family's dinner table, and in multiple magazines especially around Thanksgiving and Christmas. But just because it's orange doesn't mean it can't be used year round - especially during the spring and summer! Butterflies and birds are the main theme in this almost "eye spy" pattern. Look closely and see what you can find.

The original of this magnificent Chinese export pattern may be found set in the dining room of Charleston's famed Nathaniel Russell House. Butterflies, a popular design in China, are often found on porcelain decoration or embroidered on robes. Perhaps the popularity of the butterfly comes, in part, from the fact that the Chinese word for butterfly, tieh, is a pun which expresses the wish that the owner might live to a ripe age. Mottahedeh, in cooperation with Historic Charleston, offers an updated version of the well known Sacred Bird and Butterfly pattern. The decoration is more dense than the original Mottahedeh pattern and is true to the antique. The name reflects the many birds and butterflies featured in the design.