A little shout out goes out to my mom who arrived to French General (yes we really do have a new place!) with armloads of fresh laundry this past week!Every year I bring back loads of old dirty, patched, frayed (did I say stained??) household linens. And every year, my mom picks them all up from me, takes them home to her laundry room and scrubs, soaks, washes, dries and presses every one -- and then delivers it. Many times I don't even recognize the piece because of the beauty mom has found underneath the grime.
Right now she is working on a pair of old linen French flags (the kind of flags the French fly in front of the Marie)
and... because we can't determine the year (they are really old but not really delicate) mom doesn't know if she should soak them or not - lest the color runs. So we are stuck - to wash or not to wash. They are really dirty. Good luck mom!
6 comments:
Merci, Kaari! I feel I'm the lucky one because I get to handle all the old French linens and, while I'm at it, dream about who used the tea towels to dry her dishes and where were the nuns that wore these nighties? The addiction I have for France is just fed further....thanks to you! Mom
Wow - what a partnership! I HATE ironing, but when I actually get down to ironing vintage linens, I get the same feeling of associating with history that your mom describes there. Mind you, I ironed the two linen sheets I'd been using as table cloths at my party, and that made me think twice about having linen sheets on the bed...
I am lucky to have several antique linen tablecloths hand embroidered by women in Dawson City in The Yukon Territory over a hundred years ago and understand both the trepidation and the awe that is felt when caring for them!
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How wonderful! I love old linens and really started collecting more seriously this year. I'd love to know what your Mom uses to wash the old linens with. I haven't washed any of them yet as I don't want to ruin them. I saw an article somewhere that said to soak them in OxiClean. Would love to hear your comments or others!
Hi Kaari - just caught up with your blogs! I went to a French country flea market last week and bought a huge pile of antique linens including 9 convent nightdresses with an A P monogram. I could've done with your Mum (mine's away recuperating!). It was a pleasure to iron them. All those tiny fine gathers and the 'V' shapes let in to ease around the corners. The repairs are staggering. Even with a magnifying glass it's difficult to pick up on the stitches. All done by hand and probably by candlelight too. Just gorgeous.
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