Vintage linens 1

When I was looking for my summer bed skirt, I came across a mystery storage container. I just wasn't quite sure what was in it. What I found was a poncho that an aunt knitted for me when I was a kid as well as several vintage linens with crochet and embroidery. I want to share them with you over a few posts.

First, I want to ask you what you think these pieces might be?

 They were made by my Aunt Gerri from Wisconsin. When she passed several years ago, I inherited much of her crafty items. I was her only niece and I know that her embroidery gifts to me over the years nurtured my interest in needle crafts. 

At first I thought these might be kitchen towels, but I am not so sure anymore. You can see above that the motifs are centered as if to be hung as a towel, but the edges are not finished. Perhaps they are just embroidered pieces for use as something else.  

 The fabric is quite course and the bananas' fabric is quite dirty.

I realize that the plums aren't finished. You can see on the top left that there is still a flower and some leaves to be stitched.  I will have to do that as I have all of my aunt's floss. 

There are strawberries

and cherries? too.  

I am thinking that I may cut these into squares and place them in a quilt someday. Though quilting through the fabric will be difficult. Maybe I should use them as towels, but that doesn't appeal to my sense of saving the embroidery.

Besides Spring cleaning, I have been planting all of the flowers and veggies that I purchased. I planted two types of cherry tomato plants and one yellow bell pepper plant.

I usually get a good crop of tomatoes and only one pepper. 

I also planted some basil and scallions.

I was glad that I ventured to my local nursery early one day and bought a bunch of plants.

I always have two planters that flank the steps from the deck. These are filled with purple salvia, petunias, impatiens and creeping Jenny. 

 I never got around to saving the creeping Jenny from my pots last year so these are new. I usually plant it in my flower beds to keep over winter and then dig it up for the pots the next summer.

That is verbena in the pot below the second planting above. I don't know what the plant below is, but it looks good in this pot. I usually find a flowering plant that will hang out of the pot, but the nursery didn't have any.

Usually I can get a small version of the plant that is in this hanging basket for that blue pot.

Finally, I planted two pots that stand by the sliding doors to my living room.

They too have salvia, petunias and impatiens as well as that pink leafy plant you can see in the front of the red pot and some dianthus. I am hoping to plant the dianthus in the flower beds at the end of the season as they are usually perennials also.

As I was checking out of the nursery I saw a display of gazing balls and picked up this beauty.

My old purple gazing ball was looking quite sad.

I have a few more flowers that I have planted that I will share at a later time.

Thanks for stopping by!