Every Sunday we have a different topic and get to show and tell. This week our theme is Hankies.When I was little my Grandma Lena would take us shopping at thrift stores, she was ahead of her time and went even before it was popular. She would look for linens, pretty dishes and hankies. I remember her taking them home carefully washing them and starching and ironing them to perfection. These she kept in the tray of her cedar chest, neatly piled in little stacks. I was allowed to look but not touch....I would sneak and open the chest and peek at all the pretty embroidery and little flowers on the white snowy cloth dreaming.
Now that I am a grown up woman of forty something, I still feel like that little girl every time a find a new hankie to add to my own collection.....
Today, I asked my mom if I could take some pictures of my grandma's hankies and she said they were still in the cedar chest, but to hard to get to. She handed me this hat box, as I started to take them out, I noticed they were, all white on white and heavily embroidered with lots of monograms. I said mom you don't have any colored hankies? She said these are my favorites and the kind I like to collect....
My mom Mary aka Fairy Godmother loves to iron...her hankies are pristine....unlike her daughter's Pinkie
Beautiful and look at all that lovely tatting on the edge
More of Mom's hankies
Another pretty monogram, I wonder who's loving hands worked so hard to create this work of art?
This morning at a Yard sale I picked up this crochet book...These are Pinkie's favorite hankies. I do know how to crochet, but working with fine thread is very tedious and I believe a art form of itself...
Here is one of my hankie basket, when I buy my hankies, sometimes at thrift stores or yard sales they need to me laundered then pressed. Here is a basket wait to be iron and sorted.....I use my hankies to make dolls and doll clothing with...my very favorites I keep in a drawer of my china buffet....
I like the colorful hankies, but my favorites are the ones with fancy edging and tatting, I also like elaborate
embroidery and handwork....I guess there isn't a hankie I don't really like...
Here are some of the hankie Angels I have made , some have wings from old quilt scraps
I try and sort my hankies by color purples and violets....
more purples...
Blues and pinks and reds....
Soft shades of pale blue....
Pretty shades of cherry reds....
These are some of my favorite lacey white hankies, I love all the fancy edging.....
Well sorry about that I don't know what happen to picture? I use the hankies for my dolls skirts and aprons
Here are a couple of my favorite hankie envelopes....I try and pick these up when I can find them...I wonder if my grandma Lena new what she started when she took me to the stores with her? She taught me to appreciate beauty and fine things, she had an eye for beauty and wonderful taste...
Wow !!! Lots of beauties there. Amazing collection ! Karen ~ Ciderantiques
Posted by: Karen | April 14, 2008 at 04:09 PM
Lovely! My daughter had one of those little hankie dolls--she took it with her to church often.
:)
Cathy
Posted by: cathy | April 14, 2008 at 05:36 PM