A recent sort out of the kitchen drawers uncovered a surprisingly, one might even say embarrassingly,
large trove of beautiful dishcloths in mint condition.
We do love linens with great graphics. Others know this and have gifted us many pretty and useful cloths for special occasions, as souvenirs of trips to areas known for their textile tradition, or just because. We of course have helped the collection grow.
These kinds of purchases are relatively inexpensive, very packable in both luggage and kitchen drawers, and easy to rationalize. It is a small sacrifice to have to jettison a sad pair of undies to make room in the suitcase, or relegate a dingy old towel from an overstuffed pantry shelf to the rag bin*.
That's how the cotton plant circle of life goes.
We can see that these examples are indeed lovely and could be useful, if we would actually use them.
"It's too good to use", is the sentiment that has allowed us to find brand new items at estate sales again and again.
So obviously we are not the only ones saving our best for some "good enough" occasion, and although it might be nice of us to help out someone's future eBay enterprise by leaving pristine period pieces for them to buy at the sale of our own estate, we have decided that it's time to cut the tags and enjoy!
Even if we could take our fine collection of linens with us, we dearly hope that wherever we are going after this there are no dirty dishes.
4 comments:
Oh, baby, you've hit another sore spot in my life, though it would appear that my addiction is a little less (though not by much). Some of my saved ones have been loomed by purveyors to kings and queens and are more like art. But I guess "art", draped over the handle of the oven, is not all that bad as a kitchen decoration.
Drool! Buy a wire bin shelving unit for the wall, and display all these precious towels cleverly folded. If you can't use them because they are too special, at least you can enjoy them as art. Or, fold them and press well, and frame. A mass on the wall would be so pretty! If you cut off the tags, keep them and frame as a collage. A million lives ago, I decided my Delft s & p I got as a wedding gift was too pretty not to use. The kids were little, accidents happen, no more s&p. I really enjoyed using them for a while, though, and they didn't sit around in a closet. At least towels don't break. They are like people ... Get softer and a bit more faded with age.
Newest idea: wash and dry and carefully cut and make a quilt!
Wow! I love these, and realize all of mine ARE used. None saved, so go for it. You'll have to rotate the drawer though cause you have so many good ones for your new kitchen . Perfect timing I say,
Post a Comment