I am so very excited today!
Why? My friend Susan is here!
She and I LOVE linens!
Susan has a much more extensive collection than I do,
much more knowledge, and much passion for vintage handiworks.
much more knowledge, and much passion for vintage handiworks.
She collects, restores and sells linens like I do,
so I asked her to please come to my place and share with us about linens.
Thank you for all the work you put into this post, Susan!
I wonder how many of us have certain patterns, textures and styles in common?
Well, enough talking, go ahead Susan:
~
What a pleasure to spend today with you here at Goodbye, House! Hello, Home!
Leslie, thanks for the opportunity to share with your readers while your wrist is healing ...
Leslie loves linens -- and so do I --
so we thought it would be fun to talk about something many of us have: family linens.
What about you? Do you have only a single treasured hankie or doily ...
or did you inherit trunks full of family pieces?
Perhaps, like me, you’re somewhere in between.
Today at My Place to Yours, I’m posting about some of my personal family pieces.
I hope you’ll stop by there, too. But for now, let’s talk about family linens ... in general.
Because I’ve bought and sold vintage linens for years,
I’ve seen the linen collections of many families.
Do any of these look like your family’s treasures?
Some pieces are bright and colorful ... fun and festive ...
Others are softly colored ... elegant ... meticulously worked by hand on the finest of linen.
Some pieces are delicately detailed -- like this child’s pillow sham ...
If you’re lucky, they’ll “talk” to you -- and give clues to their past!
This doily and hankie were found as shown ...
in a small plastic bag with a handwritten note on a piece of tape. It reads:
1. Square doily given to me on my birth, 4/6/43 - found in my old pink ceramic cradle.
2. Handkerchief given to us by Signe & Arthur in Sweden.
Or how about this ...
Val - Here’s a sheet and pair of pillow cases from the auction where I got so many (?) things.
The sheet is a little short. (Ellen ironed them for you.)
Wouldn’t you just love to know who “Signe & Arthur” ... and Val ... and Ellen were?
I certainly would!
Sometimes, if you know what estate something came from,
you can make a good guess about a piece’s previous owner ...
Other times, the clues are a bit more limited ...
If you discover linens with clues in your family’s collection,
it can be exciting to think about their past -- perhaps even research it.
Family linens always make me feel connected to ancestors who came before me --
even those I never met. How I wish I knew more of the stories ...
it can be exciting to think about their past -- perhaps even research it.
Family linens always make me feel connected to ancestors who came before me --
even those I never met. How I wish I knew more of the stories ...
More often than not, however, the linens I see are from families about which I know nothing.
I can only wonder ...
Did the family have ties to “the South?”
Perhaps ties to Asia ...
Was this silk piece brought to the U.S. by a military man returning home from duty overseas?
A missionary family perhaps?
No clues ... but I love that they appear to have been enjoyed!
On the other hand, when I come across vintage linens with original tags
-- or in their original boxes -- I feel conflicted. As a seller, part of me says, “Yea!”
After all, something in its original condition means it’s more collectible ... and brings more profit!
But quite honestly, there’s also a little piece of my heart that breaks
when I find beauties that were packed away for a “someday” that never came ...
I think the linens that break a little bigger piece of my heart are the ones like this pair of pillowcases. Someone created these with the most beautiful handwork
... tiny stitches on fine linen ... but they were never enjoyed.
How do I know?
Because the sizing is still on the fabric and the pattern marks are still visible ...
They’ve never been washed.
They were painstakingly created then carefully folded and put away ... for “someday.”
Yet again ... the “someday” that never came.
If you call me “sentimental,” you’ll be right.
I absolutely love buying vintage linens at auction
(read more about that favorite pastime in a guest post I did HERE),
but I’ll admit that it isn’t always easy, especially when I’m attending an auction
where vintage linens from several estates are being sold.
As I look through the boxes, I’m sometimes overcome with emotion.
Some of the linens -- once upon a time -- were obviously cherished
and lovingly cared for by their owners.
Neatly folded, some even have clues: little notes pinned to them saying who made the piece
... who it belonged to ... on what special occasion it was received.
How did they get to an auction -- where their stories are now only “best guesses?”
Why is there no family who wants them?
Other pieces, once-beautiful works of art,
were neglected and unappreciated by their most recent owners.
Heaped unfolded into boxes, stains and lack of care are obvious.
That makes me sad ...
Leslie and I have something else in common.
About herself, she says, “most of all I love turning ugly and abandoned things into beautiful and useful ones, for this is what Jesus' love has done for me!”
That’s how I feel when working with vintage linens.
Restoring them when possible ... reinventing them when they no longer achieve their original intent.
Giving them another chance ... to be appreciated, enjoyed, and part of someone’s family.
All of these pieces were given up on.
(You can read about the bedspread restoration HERE.)
If you have family treasures that are packed away, I hope you’ll consider pulling them out, cleaning them up, and getting them back into circulation!
My all-time favorite linen cleaner is available HERE in my Etsy shop.
If you have “how-to” questions, just email me!
So now you know:
My name is Susan, and I rescue abandoned linens.
I lovingly restore them-- then list them in My Place to Yours at Etsy.
If you want to start (or add to) a family linen collection,
I hope you’ll stop by and see the treasures I’m offering.
If you see something in this post that you like, just let me know; it’s probably available.
Likewise, if you’re looking for something in particular, just ask; I just might have it in my stash!
You can be sure of one thing:
New-to-you pieces (wherever you find them) may not have originated in your family,
but you can be their newest caretaker ... making your own memories
... and sharing them with future generations.
That’s what I’m doing with mine.
Stop by My Place to Yours and I’ll show you ...
~
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