Whispering Words

linen w writing

All those boxes and envelopes of hankies and linens piled up in the dining room got to me this morning.  On this dreary, cold and rainy first day of Spring what could be better than to sort through the mostly flowered hankies and linens.

I came across the one above in a box Linda sent me.  She wrote that her mother and Grandmother made them then spread them across “dresser tops, buffets, coffee tables…arm chairs and couches.”  It’s a great example of using what you have.  You can still see the faded words, “Wheat Mixed Feed” on this embroidered feed bag.   I can see using this piece in a quilt.  The whispering words and the pink flower telling the story of a time when we used what we had and brought it to beauty.

patch on linenAnother one from Linda’s box.  I find this white on white patch, stains and all just exquisite. All texture and subtly.  In this patch I see so much about the person who made it.  It’s as perfect as something hand done can be.  And of course speaks of a time when we mended instead of throwing away. It seems a ghost of another life, a portal to another time.

7 thoughts on “Whispering Words

  1. Love it…for many of my growing up years my homemade dresses were made from flour sacks. Some of them were quite beautiful, but then my mother and grandmother were very skilled needle women. To this day I think of them when I see sacking material so this blog post just screamed their names.

  2. “…the story of a time when we used what we had and brought it to beauty.”
    “…speaks of a time when we mended instead of throwing away.”

    I love that you say these things. I love that you can see beauty and art in a stained, mended old hankie that most people would see as junk and throw away.

    Would be so cool if you could author a book about these hankies. It would be neat if it were in a format like this blog post: a picture of the hanky and then a brief reflection. I would buy the book and enjoy it thoroughly!

  3. I enjoy seeing other peoples hankies that they have kept for years.
    Is it not wonderful that we can’t part with such memories.

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