So far the refrigerator was done on New Year's day (I party hard don't I?) as was the spice cabinet. Now it was time to tackle the "linen closet".
Seriously, in an 1867 house there is no such thing.
People simply didn't have the amount of clothing and household linens that we have now. The few that they did have were, in general in smaller farm households like my own, kept in wardrobes. So the one eked out space we have on the outside of my son's room is our "linen closet" and needless to say it is comprised of a few shelves and an eteger we had for years that is now doing it's duty as a make do set of shelves.
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| Baby Kittens |
In cleaning out the linen closet, I came across two quilts made by Grandma Mert and another by Grandma Seale. Grandma Mert had made hers for her son, my father, when he was a baby. It was passed down to me when my son was born and gave him comfort through the first few years of life. It's quite cute with bears, ducks and other baby animals going through the chores of the week.
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| Maybe a Baby Elephant? |
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| Of Course a Duck Taking a Bath |
My hope is that this may have been an Aunt Martha pattern and I may be able to still get it from that company. To preserve this quilt, I think I may take the patches that are still usable and create new ones and put them in a quilt for future grandchildren and grand nieces/nephews.
In the meantime, it's time to start a new tradition I think. Time to break out the needle....
OOOOh I love old embroidery, and the transfers that bring back nostalgia! I have a collection of those, just never get to sit down and use them :)
ReplyDeleteWe live in an old 2 story house in a rural town, and it's just like farmhouses out in the country (very similar to ones I grew up in out on the farms), and very very little closet space, and some was added in but definitely not part of the original design. I like the charm of old houses though. Like dips in the floor where lots of time was spent (ours is in front of the stove), old double hung windows 7 feet tall, 12 foot ceilings, the way the floors and stairs creak only the way an old house does. It all adds to the charm.
BTW stopping in from Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth. :)
I love the embroidery patterns of old too! Now you have me inspired to dip into my stash again! We also have ZERO closets (old farmhouse) and no more wardrobe space so my bed linens are in plastic containers and my kitchen linens are in a basket in the kitchen and inside of a bench... We need to be creative sometimes and that makes life interesting. Thanks for sharing your family heirlooms with us at the Art of Home-Making Mondays :)
ReplyDeleteA lot of love went into every stitch. You are so fortunate to have received these family keepsakes.
ReplyDeleteDebra
How wonderful to be stumbling upon these beautiful heritage pieces! And yes, it's so true, we have so many clothes and other things these days... Enjoy the stitching!
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