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.
