June Weddings in Vintage Linens

I have a collection of vintage linens, needlepoint, embroidery, and other handwork. Because in the past June was traditionally the most popular month for weddings (now it’s August), I decided to share a few of my pieces that illustrate weddings. How I appreciate the time that was spent on these special pieces. It would be fun to frame some in some way.

This is a series of dish towels that depict the wedding day. Here is the bride coming down the stairs ready to wed. Some of these vintage patterns are still for sale so it is difficult to determine what is vintage and what is not but I don’t care. I just really love the visuals.

The bride with her flower girl.

The flower girl but it looks like it wasn’t finished.

The Bride and Groom.

Cutting the cake.

Another dish towel series depicting a courtship and marriage. Here is the proposal. I love the background details.

The formal wedding portrait.

Off to the honeymoon. Love the details on the clothing.

Now a family and on a walk. Love all the details here. I really should use all these dish towels but I don’t have the heart to, at least not for now!

This is a small square tablecloth with wedding related images in the four corners.

These were used sometimes over small tables set for card games or tea parties.

These small guest towels aren’t wedding related but they are fun to share. I put them out sometimes for guests.

This is a fun hankie that depicts the different traditional gifts given for each wedding anniversary.

An unusual humorous hankie that illustrates a marriage game with circles for the scores. This may be from the late 50’s or early 60’s. I love the bold colors on this one. I bought all these items at antique malls or on Ebay. I don’t collect anymore, I have run out of room!

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Hanging Vintage Hankies

Many years ago I started collecting vintage hankies. It started when I found a poinsettia Christmas hankie in my mother’s things after she died. I remembered her carrying it. Soon after I was wandering around an antique mall and found another one, and why have one when you can have two…or three or… They were easy to store, inexpensive, and fun to look for when out and about because you didn’t find them that often. Then Ebay came along and they were too easy to find and there were too many collectors driving up the prices so I stopped collecting. But meanwhile I have a very large collection of hankies. Some are so pretty that I decided to frame them, some permanently, and some that are changed out from time to time. I bought a few large and small frames that I use over and over and the background is heavy white paper. This one is a larger Valentine hankie and it is on the wall in the guest room year round but I have some that I swap out for different holidays and seasons. I really love the graphics on this one and the red and blue color combination. I also use hankies as table top decorations sometimes.

I used to hang this one during the Fall season sometimes. I also have a large collection of hankies that are shaped like different leaves in different colors and sometimes I put one of those up as well. Some of these hankies are a bit crooked but I didn’t take the time to straighten them. Some are an odd shape anyway and can’t be straightened!

For a while years ago I hung my hankies as a valance over my kitchen window changing them depending on the season or holiday. I put these up every fall for a few years until we remodeled the kitchen.

Not a great photo but the only one I could find of these hankies. I have about 100 different poinsettia hankies. My mother loved poinsettias and these remind me of her whenever I see them.

This is a large frame with just a heavy white paper background and I swap out hankies depending on the season or holiday. I put this one up at Christmas time. It is one of my favorites.

This is a smaller hankie that was sold by McCalls magazine apparently. It hangs in my guest room at Christmas time because the tree in there always has a gingerbread and candy theme. I used a red frame for this one.

This one is another Christmas favorite that hangs in the hall during the holidays.

I have several California Souvenir hankies and I have framed a couple for our bedroom. I love the colorful graphics.

You can still find vintage hankies on Ebay and in antique malls although some of the best designs have been snatched up by collectors over the years. When I was buying them they were each a dollar or two but now some of the most prized and unusual ones can cost $20 to $30 and up because there are so few of them left.

I started a Facebook Group, Vintage Hankies, Handkerchiefs, https://www.facebook.com/groups/897980928627111 to share photos of my hankies. I am hoping that others will join and share their hankies too!

The Humble Cocktail Napkin

Many years ago I created a collection of unusual vintage cloth cocktail napkins which is ironic because I am not really a drinker. I was attracted to their colors, their humorous and witty sayings, and their small size. I read that the first cocktail napkins were created in ancient China for tea cups. Their use in the United States developed and increased with the rise of cocktail drinking during Prohibition and in the 1940’s and 1950’s. With the increased use of paper napkins, cloth cocktail napkins fell out of favor, housewives didn’t want to wash and iron them constantly. The one above is part of a series illustrated by Carl Tait. He was an illustrator who decorated vintage linens and his creations are now very popular and in high demand.

These can still be used not only for cocktails but other drinks as well and they are quite a conversation piece when they appear. I also think any of them would be really cute if they were framed alone or as a group.

These might have been used for serving cocktails while playing bridge or other card games. I don’t think they are vintage but I have seen vintage ones like these before.

I love the expressions on the ladies’ faces and all the different hats!

The images were just drawn on the fabric. That bird is a wonder!

She is well put together, the flowers on her dress, the earrings, the hat!

Love the hanging cherries!

These cocktail napkins have designs that appear to be appliques that were attached by hand. I love the story the set tells and the added anatomical embellishments!

The handwork is amazing, such tiny stitches!

I have a whole series of sayings like this one but some are not appropriate to share!

Another series with appliques, I love all the different fabric that was used. These however have an added surprise as the next photos show.

I have another somewhat similar series but they are a bit risque so I won’t share them.

Because I am a second generation Californian, (both my parents were born here too), I was really happy to find these. There are several in the series.

I suggest watching for cocktail napkins and using them, for whatever drink you serve!

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Give Me that Old Time Religion

Who went to a church that had a board like this on the wall in front? I did! I grew up in a small town in east central California. We lived across the street from our small church and my mother was the organist, we were in our pew every Sunday morning.

Lilies at Easter

I found this Church Register Board at an Antique Mall many years ago. It had some missing wood but as soon as I saw it, I knew it was coming home with me. Too many memories of looking at a similar one every Sunday morning when I was growing up. For years I displayed family photos and vintage holiday post cards on it because I didn’t have the words and letters it needed.

Then some years ago, I was browsing Etsy and found these vintage cardboard words for a Church Register Board. I was delighted and immediately bought them. It was displayed like that for several years.

A few weeks ago I was on Etsy again and decided to do a search just in case there were more words I could buy and someone was selling these vintage cardboard numbers! Unfortunately they didn’t have all the numbers but I bought what they had. I would love to find the word Hymns so I could put up the page numbers of my favorite ones but no luck yet. The Board is on the wall in our Family Room, I really enjoy seeing it there and it takes me back to Sunday mornings in our small church.

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