Honestly, who thinks about tea towels / flour sack towels? But for some reason, I really like a GOOD tea towel. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen and I don't have a dishwasher and finding a really good tea towel is a little thing that brings me joy.
I found this one at Target probably 5 or 6 years ago and I bought all they had - they are nice and big.
And I like these I found online a few years ago here
So I ordered a few more from them recently. They are nice and thick, but smaller than the originals and smaller than I like, but they are pretty.
But, when we were first married, my MIL gave me a set of Day of the Week western ones and I kept them tucked away in a drawer for years because they were too lovely to use. They are my favorite. I finally started using them and after 30 years, I am down to one that is still in good shape
She's made a lot of these through the years and she's made a set for each of the kids, but she no longer does any sewing or handwork and it makes me so sad. She's 85 and I don't think she's made anything for about 5 years, making the things she HAS made even more treasured.
She DID give me the patterns for the western set so I guess the torch has been passed, but I'm dragging my feet because I don't think I can make them as neatly as she did. These are the big (28x28), heavy tea towels that are hard to find anymore, and I found some online a few years ago and ordered a set.
On a recent visit, I was telling her how much I have loved the ones she made. She disappeared for a little while and came back with a sack from a shoe store and gifted me the contents
They are the last set she made and they are lovely!
See, look at one from the back!
Again, I am tempted to stash them away or I almost want to cut them apart and frame them to preserve her handwork, but I think I will begin to use them gently. They will bring me joy when they cover my bread bowl as the dough rises or the Butterhorn Rolls that are a treasured family recipe. Fresh bread and hand stitched tea towels are a happy combination. And I think it's time I pull out those patterns and start stitching.
13 comments:
Oh, those are such cute patterns with the stick figures! The thick stitching on the newest set she gave you is beautiful!! I used my towels up that my mother gave me, but I think I saved the embroidery sections to frame...one day. Hmm, I stopped using damp towels over my bread raising, and went to using saran wrap. My dough was sticking to the towel too much and I hated to have to stop and scrape it all off. Maryland is damper than Texas!
Those are beautiful and such a treasure! The gifts we receive no matter how big or small from the ones we love mean so much and are treasured. So happy that Aunt C gave them to you. And yes someday framing them would be nice. I have a few hand written recipes from Gma H and my Mother framed as well.
My mom embroidered tea towels and I still use mine even though they are really tattered! My mom has been gone over 20 years but I still love those towels and cannot throw them out. My sister bought me a new set at a craft show about 10 years ago but they weren’t my mom’s so I put them in a drawer. Last year my nephew got married and he requested embroidered tea towels! I used the “new” tea towels as a prize during a bridal shower game! Those towels your MIL gave you are beautiful and too good to use! But I hope you use those towels and embroider new towels for your kids and grands. Unfortunately my sisters and I don’t know how to embroider to make new ones. I also don’t need another hobby! I loved this post!
Your Mom did lovely work on the tea towels. My mother's cousin embroidered several and gave them to me when I finished a quilt top for her many years ago. I've used them for years and there is only 1 left. It is stained but I think of her every time I use it.
My mom had kitchen curtains made out of day of the week tea towels but with a different regional slant. Sadly they have wasted away but they were fun while they lasted. Ceci
Maybe you could incorporate them into a small, wall hanging size quilt you could hang in the kitchen. That way they would be preserved, and you could admire them every day. I've seen where others have done this with antique handkerchiefs.
Where did they find the time to do such lovely things? My mother embroidered tea towels also. With a house full of kids, all meals made from scratch, ironing everything that came out of the laundry machine, I mean, where did she find the time? I don't have the towels anymore, but I do have the stamps. I don't do embroidery very well, but like anything else, it is something one can learn and get good at with perseverance. Your MIL's tea towels are just gorgeous! Thanks for sharing. ;^)
I did a set like the butterfly pattern. But, I am sure my back does not look as neat as hers! Wow!
Those are beautiful! Why do we save stuff like that? We found beautiful in the drawers when we divided my MILs stuff. No idea who made them which is sad.
Your mom did amazing work!! I bought a set of Martha Stewart days of the week flour sack towels at a yard sale probably 20-25 years ago. No lie, there is not one hole in them. They are stained and a little scorched in places, but I use them every day and will until I die.
Lovely work! What treasures. I cut my sewing teeth making towels and pillowcases back in the day. Mom always had hand embroidered things. Back in the "olden" days before TV, creating those daily treasures was her pleasure. Only the ones created by her mother were put on the shelf to save for "good."
Thank you for sharing these lovely ones. Love the western theme.
Just beautiful towels and I enjoyed your post. It reminds me that I have an embroidered tablecloth that my mom did and it has some stains which have kept me from using it. Why, I wonder now. I'll have to get it out and use it anyway! She's gone now so it means even more.
What a treasure! Your mom's work is so tidy on the back, mine was always such a mess, lol. I would have a hard time using them knowing that one day they would wear out, but at the same time I would want to honor my mom's hard work and see them every day. I love the DOW designs but do mine on the embroidery machine these days. Thankfully several designers have the vintage looking DOW designs (though they will never have that handmade look). I found an online source called Mary's Kitchen that sells a heavy weight flour sack towel in a good size (27x27). I have purchased several dozen from them and find them to be good quality and great for embroidery - I've embroidered a lot of them for family gifts over the years. If you're interested, the website is floursacktowels . com or do a search for 'Mary's kitchen towels'.
Those are lovely! I’ve been collecting patterns. Some vintage, some contemporary. Love that western set! I haven’t found a western set I like and one that’s easy to stitch without losing detail. (You might need to trace them and share!) l also struggle to find good quality tea towels to stitch on. Most are thin, or wrinkle horribly. Maybe once I finish my eldest grandson’s Christmas stocking I will stitch up a give away, because I. Still using the ones my grandma made me 30years ago…
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