Linens

[Aia]

 I remember that my Great grandmother had a bunch of white towels we used to bake cookies on each Christmas.  They were not hand towels though, but a lot larger.  In the corners there was embordiery, sometimes days of the week, sometimes puppies, etc. 

She also had had white table cloths with "half circles" on the edges that were lacy and had round hole punch like cirlces.  Sorry, that is the closest I can come to describing this. 

Everything was lost in a fire due to old electrical wiring.  Does anyone happen to know if these are "collectable" items I could find somewhere else and what they are called, or were they just things that were original to my Gran's house. 

Thank you for your help if this is an odd request.

[SecondhandSophisticate]

They may very well be. Go to ebay and type in "collectible linens" or "embroidered linens" and see what you turn up.

[Thrift Shop Romantic]

Currently, lots of interesting vintage linens show up in the thrift stores.

Since people are tending to decorate more to be clutter-free in their homes, these little niceties, like embroidered table runners and handmade doilies, etc., seem to not be in vogue now-- and are pretty easy to pick up inexpensively.

That's not to say it won't come around again, though. Trends are fickle. So while it's not wise to use it as an investment, it's probably a good idea to pick up some you like now, if you see them. If Martha Stewart or Rachael Ray or Oprah brings back the doilie, you know there will be a stampede to the linens aisle. 

[SecondhandSophisticate]

Hey TSR!  How are you doing? 

You are so funny re: the Oprah/Martha/Rachel thing. It's sooooooo true, ain't it?

Hope all is well. How is thrifting these days?

Ciao, Bella!
SeSo

[ChrisMiss]

Some people collect those linens and others don't so the price varies depending on how available in your area.  I run across them all the time in the thrift stores down here in FL.  Just today I was looking at some to see if there were any with embroidery that I like on them. 

I was looking at them on ebay the other day and there are many people who have those embroidery stitches on their sewing machines that do up a bunch of kitchen towels in various patterns and sell them. 

My grandmother used to embroidery the kitchen towels, quilt squares, etc. by hand, gave her a creative outlet.  She also used to have a bunch of the flour sack towels, those were kind of cool too.

[alexandra]

Well, I just spent nearly ten bucks at lunch (so much for being frugal and financially responsible).  I found *two* table cloth and napkin sets.  Both handmade.  I'll be blogging them Monday!  I wasn't going to wait for half price.  I couldn't decide if I should buy one set or the other.  I just took them both.

There was a white cotton set with blue fabric/demin applique and a lot of hand emrboidery.  A few yellow spots, which I will attempt to eradicate.  These pieces took hours to make, most likely.  Flours and baskets.  Lots of cross-stitch.

The next set was a colorful print.  Well sewn table cloth and four napkins in the same colors.  Five bucks, looks as though it was never even used.  No embroidery, but solid sewing and good edging.

We shouldn't think of these items as exclusively for tables.  They can be used or sewn into coverlets, pillows/shams, etc. 

To get these precious embroidered pieces was, to me, a find.  It would have cost more in time and effort to make them.  I simply lack the talent and discipline.

Thriftily,
Alexandra
www.livingwithoutmoney.blogspot.com

[Aia]

Flour sack!!  My mom said something about them being made out of sack cloth so maybe that is what they were!!

Every time I think of christmas I remember the music and the laughter.  The whole family got together for one day and made huge batches of cookies which we set
out to cool on those towels.  They covered a huge table. 

I haven't really ever done any shopping on Ebay other then a few textbooks.
I will have to check it out.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Flour sack!!  My mom said something about them being made out of sack cloth so maybe that is what they were!!

Every time I think of christmas I remember the music and the laughter.  The whole family got together for one day and made huge batches of cookies which we set
out to cool on those towels.  They covered a huge table. 

I haven't really ever done any shopping on Ebay other then a few textbooks.
I will have to check it out.

That was depression era thriftiness for you.  You made linnens, clothes, and quilts from flour sack fabric.  The flour companies knew this too, and packaged their flour in attractive looking fabric to entice the lady of the house to choose their brand over another.  My mom has bought up boxes full of old flour sack fabric scraps at estate sales and made quilts from them.  They look fantastic.  My mom is also working on a project where she is going to make a quilt out of old silk neckties. 

I would like one made out of old hawaiian shirts.  Often you can get them really cheap if they have a tear or mystery stain on them, but if you're cutting it up for a quilt it doesn't matter.  Once my mom wanted coconut shell buttons for a shirt she was making, but was then shocked when she found out how much they cost!  I found her a vintage hawaiian shirt with a awful stain on it in a thrift for $1, and cut the buttons off.

-Jay

[Thrift Shop Romantic]

Hey, SeSo--
Good thanks! Hope you're doing well, too. Thrifting has been kind of quiet, mostly because I've been too busy to do much. Hopefully at Thanksgiving, when I'm going to Florida to visit my dad, we'll get out thrifting in the Homestead/Miami area. It's always fun. :-)

Alexandra-- you did score with your recent linens-- I'm glad you just picked both of them up, for the price it's just easier to do that than try to choose between two good options.

[moonie]

What's old is new.  Last year I bought a Martha Stewart kitchen towel set, embroidered with the days of the week.  At Kmart, even. 

I knit and crochet, and recently I have decided to try my hand at embroidery.  I did it when I was a young girl.  I found a web site that refreshed my skills.  I think I'm going to make them more personal to our family than just the old days of the week.  More like, "I "heart" Tenacious D", "Trogdor!", or "The smeller's the feller".

-moonie

[Vintage Soul]

More like, "I "heart" Tenacious D"

Fantastic idea!

[dukek9]

I had absolutely nothing from my childhood, or from my parents or grandparent's houses. And I was kinda jealous of friends who would show off linens that had been handed down to them.

But as I started thrifting, I kept finding some of these kinds of things. One thing that I love and find practical to use is the old pillow covers with embroidery on them and many have crocheted edges.

Of course, these need to be ironed and really I'm a low maintenance kind of a person.  But pillow cases--well, really, they're not much of a strain at all. I can iron quite a bunch in a short amount of time and then I store them carefully in the drawer until ready to use. So I really do use them and do enjoy them greatly.

I also have some doilies and such that I picked up just because they were so beautiful.  I just use them at special occasions, but you know I also get a thrill even when I'm not using them and just looking at them. Gives me a connection to my parents and grand parents and all my family members. These are not items they made, but they are the same type of things my family did.

My big find?  A very large tatted tablecloth for under $2.00. It fits a 60 inch long table and drapes down so it seems to me that it must have taken a very long time to make. (Anyone here know about tatting and if I'm right about that?)

At any rate, this seems like soemthing that some unknown person put a lot of thought and care in making and I am honored to be a part of that heritage.

Dee

[Aia]

Dee

That is exactly how I feel, I want a connection with my past

[moonie]

I used to crochet tons of doilies.  I always gave them as gifts as I decorate mid-century modern.  I know the amount of effort, not to mention the amazing amount of time, that goes into hand-making a doily, and it just kills me to see them selling for just a couple of bucks!  That tatted tablecloth represents months of a persons life.  That's what I think is neat about hand-made items.

-moonie

[Other People s Junk]

My Gramma and Mom embroider flour sack towels!  You can still get the designs at any craft store (even WalMart has them)... they use the Aunt Martha ones.  I have seen the towels at various places, too. 

I am also amazed at how much work goes into doilies, etc.  A couple of weeks ago I went to an estate sale and got 10 doilies at 10 cents each.  I really don't think the gal selling the stuff had any clue as the work that went into making those!