7/25/21

Something Old

It was a beautiful morning for a visit to the Portland Farmer's Market. It's always fun to shop with Erik and Mae and listen as they discuss their coming week's menu. They are both excellent and imaginative cooks. I found the tomatoes and tomatillos I was looking for. I'll be making a Tomatillo-Apple Salsa today, and so I picked up the rest of the ingredients I'll need for that. I had several errands to run before I came home, and so it was after 1:00 p.m. by the time I had lunch. Days with lots of getting in and out of the car and being polite to the strangers I encounter always wears me down, and so I had a nap after lunch. It left precious little time for sewing.

It seemed like a good opportunity to open up my mother's cedar chest and rifle through the vintage linens there. When I finished the quilt blocks for Jenny's Flower Garden,


it left an opening on my WIP's dance card. (I still need to sew these quilt blocks into a quilt. That will happen soon.) That slot has now been filled with plans for a quilt I've wanted to make for a very long time. I'll call it a "Vintage Linen Sampler."


It's so seldom I open my mother's cedar chest that it's as if I'm looking at everything for the first time. What I'm going to show you are hand embroidered and hand crocheted doilies, dresser scarves, pillow cases, bedsheets, and other assorted linens. I can recall that we used some of these things in our home as I was growing up, but there is so much of it that it has mostly been inside my mother's cedar chest since before I was born. 

As I was going through, I noticed that many of these pieces are larger than I remembered them. For my quilt, I'd always thought about cutting these into pentagon shapes, and then filling in crazy-quilt style until I had quilt blocks the size I wanted them. As I looked at them yesterday, I realized my quilt would need to be more of a sampler, which each block made to accommodate the size of the vintage piece I select. I took a lot of pictures of these, and I'll tell you a little about them. The thing to notice about this first one is the hand-crocheted edging. I think I'll try cutting these close to the stitching and then using them as a sort of flange between seams.


These next two are the edges of pillow cases. I can only think they must have had very large feather pillows because these pillow cases were huge.



This next one is one of the smaller pieces. I always had this one in my room growing up. I loved the design. As I look at it, I'm thinking she may have used a print fabric and then stitched around it as she wanted to. The flowers appear to have been her own idea. I'll probably keep this piece whole and just sew it to a background. The quilt blocks will probably be large ones to accommodate the size of some of the stitcheries.


This next one is a little hankie. The fabric is very thin and transparent. I'll probably stitch it to something white to give it a little more heft. But look at my grandmother's beautiful hand embroidery.


It's hard to tell the backs from the fronts. I can promise you my backs don't look as pretty as hers.


Some of the pieces are small and will be simple to use. I want to try to preserve some of the little stitched edges in different ways.


Here's one done with variegated crochet thread. There were no zig-zag stitches in her day, and so that stitching where the lace meets the fabric is all done by hand.


There were a few monogrammed pieces. The "M" stood for "Maust," my mother's maiden name.


For sure I'll use these in my grandmother's honor.


Apparently she did this little hankie for my mom when she married. Her married name (my maiden name) was "Nelson."


And I have no idea whose baby this was for. Since it's pink, we can assume it was for a girl.


Now here's something of a treasure. I'm sure I've seen this before, but I'd forgotten about it. She was talking about a handkerchief both she and I carried in our weddings. I'm not sure when she married my grandfather, but we can do some figuring. My mother was their third child, and she was born in 1922. I'm guessing she probably married my grandfather somewhere in the 19teens. The handkerchief was a gift to her mother (my great-grandmother) from a Mrs. Rexroad(?)...not sure about that spelling.


Mrs. Rexroad gave it to my great-grandmother when my grandmother was 11. She only used it as her "wedding handkerchief" and then put it away. At some point she gave it to my mother for my use when I married. (My mom and dad eloped...always a sore spot between my mom and her parents.) My grandmother died in 1973, and Mike and I were only dating then. In any case, she passed it along for me to hold at my wedding. It is easily more than 100 years old, and possibly very, very old since I don't know any more about Mrs. Rexroad and how she happened to have it. Here is the lace she's referring to. It's much too precious to cut it up, and so this one will be put away for some future person to discover.


Here's the other side of the note. I don't know anything about the "horse piece," and it is not among these linens.


Here are a few more I pulled to use in my quilt.


Some of these are very small, like this one, which seems about the right size for a coaster.


Since I'll be cutting these from some large pieces, I'll end up with some larges pieces of white linen, and I'll use those in the quilt as well.



There is a Facebook group for Vintage Linen Quilts, and I've spent some time perusing Pinterest. The Facebook group makes it clear from the get-go that they don't cut these linens, but use them as whole pieces. I'm not going to do that. I'll cut the portions I want. There is going to be no one to hand these down too beyond my own adult children. I feel confident they have no interest in these things. In any case, how many centuries should they sit in my mother's cedar chest before they are brought out into the light to be enjoyed? It ends here. I think my grandmother would approve.

And then there's my all-too-common embroidery with its messy back. I've stitched all the leaves on my latest piece, and just the barn and tree branches are left before I move along.


This seems an especially good day to link up to 


There are some things to do today...making salsa for one thing. Also, the flower pots need watering. It's time for Sunday morning blueberry oatmeal pancakes, and then I'll get back to my quilting. Here's where I left it.


I'm looking forward to a leisurely day. I hope your Sunday is relaxing and enjoyable.

28 comments:

Barbara said...

Vintage books, old china, antiques; maybe I love old things so much because I feel impermanent myself. ~ Josh Lanyon

Anonymous said...

Barbara, these linens are such a treasure! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with as your start this new project…thanks so much for sharing the pictures!!
Sandra B
scb304@juno.com

Melisa- pinkernpunkinquilting said...

What beautiful linens. I have a love for pieces such as these too. Love the embroidery work on the pillowcases. Have a great day.

Sherrie said...

Hi,
I really enjoyed looking at your linens...it brings back lots of memories of my mother embroidering. Thanks for sharing all your
pictures...have a great day!

Mary C said...

It's a wonderful way to honor your family! I look forward to seeing how you lay it out.

MissPat said...

I remember linens like these used by my mother, grandmother, and my father's aunt. The bigger pieces were called dresser scarves. I know I embroidered pillowcases and probably other pieces, too. My paternal grandmother was the maker and taught me. I don't think my mother ever did any needlework or sewing, other than replacing buttons. Unfortunately, I have none of these vintage items and precious little else from my growing up years. But then again, I don't have to fret about disposing of them.
Pat

Sandra W said...

I have seen some beautiful hankies framed and they were beautiful. Preserved and on display.

Marti M said...

Check out Cindy Needham, she does wonderful things with old linens. She has a lot of information on her blog! She makes quilts and little framed quilted pieces. If you ever get a chance she is also a great teacher!

AnnieO said...

I have a lot of those types of handmade/embroidered linens as well, and there are some beautiful ideas on Pinterest for quilts, I agree. My MIL was the youngest of the sisters and the last to pass away, at age 98, and didn't have a daughter, so I got them. I'll watch your ideas bloom with interest!

Patti said...

Barbara, Such lovely linens and a treasure because they are from your family. You might want to check out Rhonda Dort. She shares information on cleaning linens and has a facebook page with ideas and quilt alongs using old linens. There might be something that will inspire you.

Joan G said...

Loved seeing your vintage linens! I also inherited some beautiful embroidered pieces and was trying to figure out how to preserve and honor the heritage behind them. I will be watching your project with great interest. Thanks for the info about the Facebook group and thanks to Marti M for the referral to Cindy Needham. I will check both out. I also inherited quilt blocks and fabric from my Great Grandmother and am trying to figure out the best way to finish a small quilt she started. Unfortunately, the fabric colors are not too appealing (she used what she had available).

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing those beautiful vintage linens with us, they are a treasure and I'm sure your grandmother would be happy you will be using them. Hopefully someday your pieces will be treasured by someone else, like you have treasured them.

Anorina @SameliasMum said...

Thank you for taking us on a journey into your treasure chest.

Magpie's Mumblings said...

Great fun to see your collection of vintage linens. You might be interested to read an article on Rhonda Dort's blog about cleaning them https://rhondadort.com/2021/07/23/cleaning-vintage-linens-and-quilts/

Terri in BC said...

I have one of these projects on my never-ending list as well. If you want to see some great ideas, you should check out Kelly Cline on Facebook, and if you are interested, I could invite you to her private group, Quilting Vintage (only open by invitation). I love her cousin's quilt, made with vintage linens with modified churn dash borders around each one. Now you've inspired me to dig mine out.

Jenny said...

Those vintage linens are so beautiful, even more so as they were stitched by your Mum. Thanks so much for sharing with us. Whatever idea you come up with is sure to be gorgeous. I have a box of hand crocheted doilies made by my husbands grandmother and I would like to make them into a quilt top. They are all different sizes so I'll need to come up with a plan, i think.

Quilting Babcia said...

Now we know where you get your love of embroidery projects. Those linens are some of the most exquisite I've ever seen. They definitely need to come out of the cedar chest and shine again.

Kate said...

Beautiful linens and such fine stitching on them. You should definitely bring them out into the light day. My grandmother had a lot of those type of linen as well. I'm not sure what happened to them when she passed. Those are such a treasure.

Nancy said...

While it will take some mental acrobatics to plan the quilt with your vintage pieces, it will truly be a treasure! I so enjoyed seeing these old pieces. Mrs. Rexroad was a whiz with lace. And that embroidered hanky- so thin! Every piece is lovely and the floss colors have stayed so vibrant. Have fun. Love your other work, too. The Dahlia is so interesting to watch your progress.

Carol in Texas said...

Barbara, what a treasure trove! I have a large box of my mother’s old linens done by her mother and grandmother. I also have a few from Peter’s mother and grandmother. So many of them are age spotted and yellowed. Young brides needed table linens, bridge table linens, etc. How different are out lives! Your linens are beautifully embroidered and preserved. Good luck with you project!

piecefulwendy said...

I have many handwork pieces from my grandmother, mother, aunts. Such beautiful work, front and back. Someday I'll figure out what to do with them, but for now they are stored away. Will be interesting to follow your progress on this one!

neesa said...

I too have many pieces from my Grandmother. I just finished a wall hanging collage of crocheted doilies and another of small aprons made from the larger ones. Cindy Needham has some beautiful ideas for making small (or you could enlarge them) pieces from old doilies and hankies. I can't wait to see what you come up with.
Linda

Ioleen said...

Thank you for sharing these treasures. Amazing hand work done beautifully.

KMSC said...

I have a bin of my mother's hankies and I would love to incorporate them in a quilt. I'll be interested in what you do with your grandmother's linens.

Dorothy said...

How wonderful that you have family linens and notes of their history to go with them, whereas some of us have neither. Can't wait to see your finish for them. You are blessed to have them

Terri in BC said...

Here is a link to my inspiration for making a quilt with my vintage linens. http://www.kellyclinequilting.com/2018/08/a-true-heirloom-quilt/ It's moving rapidly up the to-do list now!

QuiltGranma said...

and here I just posted 2 articles regarding vintage linens and doilies into quilts to facebook today. My grandmother's sister in law was a very fine embroiderer, whom Grandma praised for her perfect backs. What was the purpose of that one piece that you had in your room as a kid?

Vicki W said...

I loved seeing your vintage linens! Thanks for sharing.