A friend gave me a tablecloth

Actually, I have several tucked away! Through the years it seemed that every time an elderly lady in the family died, nobody wanted any of the linens except my mother, so she took them -- table cloths, napkins, trivets, tea towels, and all sorts of little things with a variety of lovely hand-work. Now I have them, and they are treasures! There is a lot of embroidery, plenty of tatting, crochet thread work, and some small pieces with very small linen centers and fantastic crochet lace work. The only thing those ladies didn't seem to do was cutwork. I really enjoy having a variety of the linens, many clearly antique, and actually use many of them. I have even spread out some of the small won't-fit-my-tables table cloths over the backs of my sofa and a favorite chair just because they're pretty, and change them with the seasons.

I have a few of them, two that I made years ago and 1 that my mother made. I've used them and washed them often. I know there's another one that I gave away when I moved here to Florida and I think they still use it too.

Lucille

Me, too. I have a really nice one with blue edging, that is embroidered, with some open work, and matching napkins. I think my mother did it - I sometimes use it as a decorative toppers. I have a handful, and a bunch of embroidered - well, XS, napkins.

Ellice

Somewhere among my linens is a crocheted tablecloth that my grandmother made. That one I don't use very often, but it's still in good condition. I should look for it, shouldn't I?

Mirjam wrote

Mirjam, what is pacjine???

Dawne

Maybe machine spelled with artistic license??

OOOps Sorry Typo mistake it should be Machine ,, They first folded the edges , sew it with machine , than added the blanket stich around it ,,, mirjam

I have a very sentimental little tea cloth made for me by a pack of Brownies over 30 years ago when I moved away from Saskatoon. It has all of their names written on little brownie emblems crayonned in yellows, and a bit of yellow and orange lace sewn around the edge.

Dawne

OH DAWNE , that is WONDERFUL what do you do with it ? use it or hang it on the wall. When my daughter finnished school i suggested all embroider their names on a tablecloth, several years ago i met the teacher , who told me she still has it on the wall and loves it !!!! In my daughter`s Bath Mitzwa , i asked guests to sign a tablecloth ,which i than embroidered for her [ took some years]. mirjam

Dawne, this sounds just so sweet. Lucky you.

Ellice

Some people never understand that it is the gifts like this that stand the test of time. Do you have it framed and up on the wall ? That would be what I think of as a bedroom piece.

I remember some years ago a big discussion here about giving needlework as a gift, how people felt if the recipient didn't really appreciate it etc. The one that struck me as the strangest was the person who was offended because the recipient put the piece up in her bedroom. Where would you look at it more ? My bedroom walls are covered in photos from my great-grandmother down to my great-granddaughters and when I am stuck in bed it is a pleasure to lie there and look at all the things I treasure.

I have a nice thistle worked for me by my aunt for my 60th birthday with a note on the back that although I resemble a thistle, she loves me anyway lol Under that is a photo of her wedding, with me as bridesmaid. Sadly we are the only three left alive who were there, I'll be over there and taking them out to dinner for their 66th anniversary.

lucretia borgia ( snipped-for-privacy@florence.it) writes: (snip)

Guess where all but one of my maidens are hanging. Jim.

Thanks for the giggle Jim. Which one isn't in your bedroom???

LOL

The Naked Maja by Goya. It is just too big. Jim.

e:

I inherited a couple of embroidered tablecloths when my mom died because I do more needlework than my three sisters do. They are WAAAAAY too big for my dining room table (the tablecloths, not my sisters), :-) so I use them to cover the top of the queen sized bed in the guest room - when it's not so covered with stuff that we can barely find the bed, that is. :-)

I'm looking forward to cleaning up the guest room in a couple of weeks when I FINALLY can quit the job I hate in the cabinet plant and go back to mail order entry for the season at Harry & David. I'll have the evenings to myself while DH is at work so I'll be able to get in there and try to find a place for everything. I'd rather stitch than clean, naturally, but my sister & BIL are coming for the weekend in late October and, though we've emailed and talked on the phone, we haven't seen each other in person for 5 years and they haven't been up here for a visit in about 10 years. I can't wait! Liz from Humbug

Have a great time with your family.

Cheyrl

What a good use for the tablecloth!

Hope you've had other visitors in the past ten years. I find that have visitors once in a while gives me the needed incentive for "deep" cleaning.

Have a wonderful visit!

Sue

LIZ I hope for your family they will come more often !!! Could you turn the tablecloth as Curtains . mirjam