Friday, July 15, 2011

Fruity tea towels....


Our niece is getting married in a week
so I've been stitching something fun to tuck in with the gift.
Fruity tea towels, what else?

Pattern from  Hoop Love.
Flour sack towels here.

Did you ever receive embroidered tea towels or pillowcases as a wedding gift?  I did.  My sister-in-law made us pillowcases (praying hands) and Hubby's grandma loved to embroider things to give away.  There were dresser scarves, pillowcases, and later on she made embroidered quilts for the babies.  The volunteers at the nursing home put her embroidered blocks together for her and sewed them into quilts.  I remember visiting Grandma one Sunday and she was not embroidering.  She said she did not work on Sunday so she didn't embroider, but instead she wrote her letters on her day of rest.  Grandma embroidered until she was 103.  I hope I'm still embroidering at that age.

21 comments:

  1. Sunday is an excellent day to write letters. Granny = SMART. Your tea towels are beautiful. I did embroider pillowcases for a bride and groom long ago. My granny taught me to embroider. Something I like to do for babies is to buy tiny white undershirts and a fleet of applique bugs. A simple black loopy line behind the bug makes a cute little show.

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  2. These are very fresh & sweet and I have no doubt your niece will enjoy them and find them very useful!! I use mine all the time.

    It's such a joy to receive a handcrafted gift. In the 'old days' it was rare for a bride or new mommy to receive a store bought gift. These days, it seems to be more rare for a bride or new mommy to receive a home-crafted gift.

    Joyce

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  3. Very sweet tea towels....handmade is so much better than store bought gifts...my opinion anyway :)
    Blessings

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  4. These tea towels are great. I did receive embroidered treasures for wedding gifts. My maternal grandmother embroidered a beautiful tablecloth and napkins for me...

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  5. Generation of women embroidered. Growing up I would sit and watch all of these women embroider and talk. I have done it and now my daughter in law started embroidering. It is just something that is so peaceful to stay busy with your hands.
    I love your towels. I hope I am still embroidering until I am 103 too.

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  6. So, so sweet.
    I love personal gifts that one has made with their own hands!
    I've been doing t-towels lately too.
    I love the old patterns.
    This is my 1st visit-I enjoy stopping by!

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  7. Those are absolutely beautiful and Grandma sounds like someone I would have loved to know!

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  8. G'day. Oh Gumbo Lily, those tea towels are so sweet. I just love them. What a beautiful gift they will make, one that will be treasured. Take care. Liz..

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  9. My mom taught me how to embroider when I was four on a tea towel. I still have it. It was a beet. Love, love, love tea towels. I even had a trouseau full of them. That dates me even though non of my friend had them, but my mom and Grandma did and saw to it that each of my sisters and I had a respectable one as well.

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  10. I love your tea towels! I'm hoping to embroider something for my little granddaughter's room. Maybe one of the cute little tea towel animal transfers on a gingham background.

    Your embroidery is such a thoughtful gift!

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  11. These are really cute, Jody. And the fabrics you chose look great with the floss you chose. You always make me want to get out the needle and thread.

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  12. Those are adorable! How happy they will make the new couple's kitchen look.
    Blessings,
    GG

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  13. Those are so cute! I never received any embroidered anything back then. But I don't think I would have appreciated it anyway as I wasn't into any of that. Now I love embroidered linens and have quite a few vintage pillowcases.

    Those towels will make them smile!

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  14. Cute, cute, Jody. What a lovely gift to give. I have a drawer full of embroidered dish towels from various people in my life. I love each one of them and think about the giver when I use them. Good work, friend.

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  15. Love the tea towels! If the Man and I ever renew our vows, perhaps you'll send us some. We didn't receive anything embroidered for wedding gifts, though we did get an ice cream maker, which I thought an inspired gift. Just imagine if someone had given us an embroidered ice cream maker. Bliss!

    xofrances

    p.s. totally agree with PP--Sunday is an excellent day for writing letters.

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  16. Somehow I missed this post and I'm certainly glad I checked back. I LOVE the tea towels! They couldn't be any cuter, and the fabric choices... I sure hope that your niece is the type to appreciate these potential heirlooms!!

    You hope to still be embroidering at 103? I hope to make it to 103! ;)

    Blessings, Debbie

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  17. You are so creative and I love all your embroidery. I think they are excellent gifts. I need to get back to doing some towels too. I've got some started but still waiting for me to get back to them.

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  18. You are so creative and I love all your embroidery. I need to get back to mine of which you inspired!

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  19. I LOVE your towels! They are so cute. This might be a dumb question . . . but I would love to know how you attach and finish off the fabric that you add to the bottom of these. I've only added fabric to the bottom of my tea towels once -- I was copying something I saw at the fabric store. I cut out fairly large triangles, used fabric fusing on them, ironed them onto the bottom edge of my towel, then sewed by hand (running stitch) around the edges of the triangles, leaving a seam allowance of about 1/4-inch. I figured they will fray when washed and be cute that way. But I would love to know your method. Because I want to learn to get better at this! Thanks for any help. Your work is so beautiful

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    Replies
    1. I just sewed a strip of fabric, turned both raw edges in 1/4" and then laid it over the tea towel and topstitched it. Here's another link to a cute way to finish dish towels:
      http://www.modabakeshop.com/2009/08/jelly-towels.html

      Jody

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