I have a thing for dishtowels. I love ‘em. I find ‘em, I paint ‘em, and I make ‘em. To me, they’re kitchen art. Here’s probably the reason why:
My great grandma made this dishtowel (the only one of hers we still have). Every year at Christmastime my mom would pull apart the tissue on a boxful of hand-embroidered (and ironed) flour-sack dishtowels that her grandma made for her, and get tears in her eyes, and show everyone who would look (we weren’t quite as into dish towels at the time as she was!). My mom hung them over the oven-door handles, so they were always there in the kitchen where we grew up.
So the minute I figured out what things made me happiest, I found an old 1950′s O’Keefe and Merrit stove just like my mom’s, had it refurbished, brought it home and that’s where I hang my dishtowels, on the handles, just like she did. I probably wouldn’t have been complete as a person until I did that. ♥
And ever since my stove became a dish towel “gallery,” I’ve been on a hunt.
To find the funnest most interesting dishtowels to hang there. Here’s one Joe found for me. I think he likes it ’cause his name is on it!
I bought this darling Mary Engelbreit towel ages ago and take good care of it. I don’t want it to ever wear out!
They don’t make ‘em like they used to!
♥
Then there’s my Beatrix Potter dishtowel . . .
…sent to me by my English girlfriend Rachel (half of you know her already because of her sweet blog http://www.mozartsgirl.blogspot.com/). She went up to the Lake District to Beatrix Potter’s house and got it for me there . . . so it’s a treasure! ♥
And I really don’t mind if some of my dishtowels are strange. Someone made this, see the tiny stitches? It has Christmas colors!
I made these chicken dishtowels to go with the “Island Farm” rug I designed… and if, by any chance you are in the mood to make some dishtowels, the pattern is here on this web site … just click on Shopping, and then in the menu on the left, click on “Love to Sew,” and scroll to where it says, “Patterns and Quilt designs.” (We have cupcakes you can applique too!)
Another good reason to be a dishtowel collector: everyone knows bread dough rises better under an old dishtowel.
Scones really do taste better wrapped in a vintage towel with crocheted edging.
Biscuits stay warmer in a basket, wrapped in an old embroidered dishtowel.
Dishes dry better on the Irish linen dishtowel we bought when traveling, designed by the wonderful British artist Pat Albeck. Nothing like dishtowels from a trip! Memories!
Our refrigerator door handle looks much better draped in old dishtowels.
Even the clothesline looks better decked out in dishtowels.
Lobster tastes better when you have a thick and thirsty dishtowel for a bib/napkin.
And every change of season is just better with dishtowels
Oh yes, I am crazy about dishtowels. For just a little money, they are decorating bang for the buck.
Changing them for the holidays or for the season is one of the fastest easiest decorating things there is! Just a little thing…makes a sweet difference.
Oh, I LOVE dish towels! I’m always on the hunt at flea markets and second-hand stores for old dish towels…they’re the best. If only they could talk of their past life with families, kitchens, kids, mothers, grandmothers, good food, and conversations around the table. Fascinating to think of the dishes they’ve dried and the clothes lines they’ve hung on. The old dish towels are soft with a kind of character about them.
Love the home-made-ness of them. No factory. Just love.
Wonderful dishtowel collection! My daughter is collecting dishtowels from different states they visit…so far… 2! Love the embroidered towels! I’ve made appliqued ones for my friends, but the embroidery is just too much WORK! I too, have seasonal dishtowels! What a great stove, no wonder your recipes are so good! And, what is it about a clothesline, I even like to see pictures of clothes on clotheslines! I may have already told you this, sorry if I’m repeating myself, but, when we were in Scotland and walking from the village back to our B&B, I took a picture of a clothesline with bloomers hanging on it (I think our B&B hostess told me they’re knickers). I should have taken a picture of our laundry hanging on lines (they used a pulley system) across the ceiling of the victorian kitchen over the AGA stove (the hostess insisted I hang them there to dry)! Good bloggin’, thanks!
Cute, thank you Joan!
I enjoyed reading your articles on embroidered dish towels. I have two of my great grandma’s dish towels that she had embroidered and crocheted edging. I came to think hey I would love to do it on my own dish towels with your art designs on it like birds, home, fruits and etc. That would be great. In quilt stores they have a little package with already designed pressed papers that I can press with iron on pillowcases or dishtowels then do embroidery. That would be neat……
I used to buy those and iron them on to dishtowels, pillow cases and baby’s bibs when I was little; I love to embroider.
Uwielbiam Twoje ściereczki. Są słodkie. Ja też mam kolekcję ściereczek, ale Twoje sa wyjątkowe. Pozdrawiam! Iza
Here’s what Google translate says she is saying : I love your cloth. They are sweet. I have a collection of cloth, but your are unique. Yours! Iza
I think we are talking about fabric…. now I will answer her, via Google translate
Dziękuję bardzo Iza … tak miło cię widzieć na mój blog Zapraszam ponownie! Susan
Which means:
Thank you so much Iza…so nice to see you on my blog! Come back soon! Susan
The magic of computer world!
What I love the most about you give us is that you give us the courage to be ourselves; our uniqueness, to put our crazy-inspired ideas to good use, not worry what others will think of our ideas, and to remember to give the people who have touched our lives credit for doing just that. Most of all, you teach us how to make others smile when we’ve finished having tea with our girlfriends and our hearts are again warm again and life feels good once more. Just one more time: we love you, Susan!!
I can’t tell you how much I appreciate words like this. They make my day! Thank you so much! xoxo
Thank you, Susan. You cheer me each day. Thank you.
You being here, does the same for me!
I have stove envy
Understandable. It’s a marshmallow in the kitchen, what’s not to love!?
We embroidered dishtowels once in 7th grade home ec. I wish I still had it.
I LOVE your stove! I would love to have an old-fashioned looking one. A house we got to live in one winter had an old white stove similar to that – but smaller.
My first house on the island came equipped with a stove of that era; when I sold the house, the people got rid of the stove!!! I couldn’t believe it. I should have taken it with me, but I was thinking, “oh they need that darling thing!”
Love your website! It’s my new favorite, and it makes me smile. How do you care for your dishtowels? I have a lot of my grandma’s dishtowels and linens, and so far I just keep them in a drawer because I’m afraid of ruining them! I’d love to put them out and use them, but would hate to just put them in the washing machine and dryer. Wondering what you do to keep them looking so fresh. Thanks.
I wash them in the washer in warm water, but I hang them on a rack in the pantry to dry. Maybe you should use just one. You should try to get them out of the drawer if you can! Just be sure to save one forever.
Thank you, Susan! I’ll do that.
Hi Susan,
Your home is just absolutely lovely! So welcoming, calming and relaxing -the feeling of a safe haven in this troubled time. Thank you for the reminders of the pure joy of the simpler treasures of life! My daughter and I also share your love of dishtowels and we are delighted to be encouraging my son’s girlfriend into this pleasure!! I was happily reminded of sitting at my kitchen table(years ago) with my sisters, cross stitching dishtowels for Christmas gifts -so wish I had some of those gems. Also love the vintage Christmas Books so count me in the drawing of your special treat! Merry Merry Christmas, to you, Joe and your beautiful felines.
A dear friend gave me your “Homemade Recipes” binder for Christmas this year and I went to your website this morning and have spent hours there! I was familiar with your work but never had visited your website before (what was I thinking!?!). What a lovely way to end 2011…relaxing in my kitchen, reading about things I love, too, like glass, dishtowels, England, etc., and all the while surrounded by my cat Tinsel and my beloved dog, Baxter. Your website will be a favorite place to visit in 2012. Happy New Year to you!!!
So nice to hear Lori, Happy New Year!!
weeeee! Love your dish towels and I too have long been a fan of your stove<3 We have an older stove now that I love love love and although we are going to remodel the kitchen this spring the one appliance that simply MUST NOT be replaced is our stove, lol. My grandma just gave me the most darling dish towels. They are white cloth w/ red ric rack at the bottom. One has a lamb embroidered standing on a stool playing with yarn and the other is a kitty playing w/ yarn. I adore them! I just today hung little lamby on the handle of the warming drawer door, after putting the christmas one away:) Amazing how such small touches bring such great big joy and contentment!
The dishtowels sound darling! I have a special place in my heart for ric rack! Those touches, I know just how you feel!
Oh, I have a thing for dishtowels too! At Thanksgiving, we were cleaning out the old farmhouse that my husband’s mom and dad lived in (his mom died 10 years ago and his dad lives in town, now)…but we uncovered a box of linens she had embroidered at some point…blue bird days of the week dishtowels!!! We brought them home, and have them in a nice little stack with some other linens to put in a hope chest for our lovely grand-daughter…we thought we had found buried treasure!! The clothesline looks like a work of art with those dish towels hanging on it…I will have to add to my collection just for a photo op!
That sounds like buried treasure to me! What a great find!
Oh I love dish towels, too! I love that feeling of just “happy” when I put a new one out and hang it on the stove handle at the start of a new season. It’s just one of those simple pleasures in life that can make you smile. Thank you for sharing yours, Susan! I am new to your site and I am really loving it
So happy you’re here Melissa — it’s like the secret meeting place for dish-towel aficionados!
I love the pictures of your dishtowels Susan! I just started doing embroidery dishtowels this last week. Im doing them in memory of my mom who died a year ago. Ive been doing cross stitch pictures for awhile, but something said “Dishtowels!”. I like to think its a nudge from heaven!!!
Fun!