Linen and Lace

I love linens and lace.    I have a couple of my grandmother's damask tablecloths and napkins and I have a beautiful lace cloth of Husband Jim's mother's.     These were the start of my "collection".

The drawers of napkins are bulging and the drawer of tablecloth are full.    Extras are stored upstairs (and often forgot about!)

Sunday dinners were always taken in the dining room.   The table was always covered with either a damask or a lace tablecloth.    Real napkins (which were used for every meal) were at every place.

Estate Sales are a wonderful resource for old linens.    Years ago they were mere pennies.    Today, they're a bit pricier and often more than my meager purse will allow.

But with bulging linen drawers, there is really no need for additional linens.     We can have a houseful and offer a linen napkin to each guest!      But at each estate sale, I am always drawn to the "linen room"

A few weeks ago, we went to an Estate Sale -- it was the second day and so everything under $100 was half price . . . 

And the "linen room", I found . . .

A tray cloth -- mother always insisted that a cloth be placed on a tray before use.

A very fine linen tray cloth with a monogram.

A loner -- a single!

One damask napkin with the same monogram in the corner.

True treasure -- a big pile of damask napkins!

And a pile of napkins -- all monogrammed.

Fine napkins come in three sizes -- small breakfast ones, medium size luncheon ones and extra large dinner ones.

Notice how much bigger the dinner napkin is than the luncheon napkin

There were seven of the luncheon napkins and 12 of the dinner ones!    And I don't have any napkins as large as these -- they'll be great the next time we have company for dinner.

And the monogram?

A wonderful full monogram

Are they wedding linens where Miss "T" (Emma Rose) filled her linen cupboard with finely embroidered damask napkins in preparation of her marriage?

Are they napkins that the "T's"(Edgar and Ruth)  bought later in their marriage, after college and perhaps law school and embarking upon a successful career felt the need to entertain and so ordered linens so that they could?

I'll never know but I simply adore the "T's" napkins!

And the price?    For all of them?    $5!!!

For every day at every meal, there is

Always a napkin in a silver ring

Always a linen napkin in a silver napkin ring.    Whether it is just us or we have company.    When it is just us, we'll use the  the napkin for several meals.    For company, they get used just once.

And the lace?

A lace tablecloth perfect for company.

Tablecloths for almost always when we dine, the table is covered with a pretty cloth.    We prefer white -- whether lace

A "bridge" cloth is a perfect tablecloth for breakfast for the two of us.

Or linen.

Whether it is . . .

I use lace more because it requires less ironing!

For company

Lace is good for a casual breakfast as well.

Or just us.

We do treasure our vintage linens at Linderhof and enjoying using them on a daily basis and also enjoy their care (although if we've had a lot of company in a week, a small mound of napkins that need ironing seems almost as big as a mountain during a busy week!)

I'm sharing my linens for Show and Tell Friday with Cindy at My Romantic Home