Happy August!
August came in yesterday with a day of gentle and much needed rain! The garden seems to sigh in relief and I think so do gardeners. We look outside with contentment knowing we don't need to water and it's too wet to weed.
I delighted in puttering around my house and decided to tackle cleaning out the linen closet. I always kept some pretty vintage embroidered cotton fingertip type towels in there. When you go to an antique mall/store is there something you just find irresistible?
For years, hand embroidery was my compulsion. I began before I collected quilts. I told myself that embroideries aren't hard to store. I also had a desire to "rescue" the pieces that were not appreciated enough for families to keep. When Nana Elsie died, no one had wanted her embroidered linens. I was delighted to claim them as my own.
Yesterday I ironed and refolded some of the little towels and scanned them to share with you. I just think they are dear but to preserve them, they need to be upstairs safely stored so they aren't mistaken for rags.
A lot of work went into some of these towels, especially the first and the last one posted here. Aren't they adorable? I was always taught that the image was put at the end of the towel so that the work can be seen when hung up or folded on a counter. I was surprised to find this ad from the 1950s that horizontally places the motif in the center of the towel:
Oh my, these are all so sweet. I admit to being a sucker for vintage linens. I cannot walk by one in an antique store without picking them up. They almost always come home with me. If they have stains, I use them. They look great in my vintage kitchen. If they are in great shape they go in the box for a special quilt. It is the only way I can think of to preserve them.
ReplyDeleteWhat a charming display, Michele. You are right -- they are irresistible. I feel as though I'm rescuing them.
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