Remember the old linens that I went out and bought on Sunday? I discovered something I hadn't originally noticed when I was trying them out for the Anne Frank quilt. One, which is an old tea towel has crocheted lace inserts at each end. On one end the initials J.J. are worked into the pattern. At the other end the date 1914. I suppose that means it is about 93 years old. No wonder it looks a bit worn.1914 was a memorable year. It was the year the Austrian archduke Franz Ferdinand and his pregnant wife were assassinated in Sarajevo. This was the event that triggered the First World War that same year.
It was the year Charlie Chaplin created his character, The Little Tramp.
It was the year the Panama Canal opened.
It was the year our house was built.
I don't know what this all means, or what any of these things have to do with each other, but it got me wondering about the year 1914 and who made that tea towel and why they would put the year on it. And it made me wonder if, 93 years from now, someone will pluck some bit of textile that I created from a basket in an antique shop and wonder about the person who made it.
I love stuff like this. It is almost like a mystery.
ReplyDeleteInteresting train of thought! i'm sure that's just what will happen with your work. i sometimes wonder if someone, years from now, will see some of my paintings done since the new millenium, which i sign and date as '05 or '06 etc, and wonder if that was 1905 or 2005?
ReplyDelete1. I love your house. I want it. Here in Camden, but your house, here.
ReplyDelete2. I can see a whole new quilt growing out of the 1914 tea towel
and
3. The Anne Frank quilt is going to be awesome (or is, I just can't see it yet!).....just from the top photo I can tell it works....way to go!
Cheers, Sarah
I love those magical little connections! Don't they make the world feel wonderful?
ReplyDeleteThat is so interesting that the linens were created the same year as your house. Cool.
ReplyDeleteMore than interesting, Shelina!
ReplyDeleteTerry, you need to frame that portion of the towel and hang it over your front door (inside, I mean).
Neat little "coincidences"! Is that tea towel, Hardanger? Sort of looks like it, but I can't tell so well. I absolutely love old linens and doilies, etc. Sometimes I when I enter antique shops, I specifically look for those.
ReplyDeleteIsn't that a wonderful connection (and wonderful teatowel!) I always think about the person that darned a beautiful linen table cloth I have, with such care.
ReplyDelete