When John's mother Alta bought a new sewing machine, she started with simple embroidery and, by nature, progressed beyond what the average seamstress would take on. Her first project was a large piece of white cotton (20" X 32") turned and hemmed with embroidered triangles in various colors. She made eight or ten for me for a Christmas present.
I enjoyed those table napkins so much. Especially men would comment on how much they appreciated the full-size napkins that actually covered the lap and stayed put. Her handiwork was so handy as a bib for babies and grown ups eating crab or artichokes dipped in butter or bar-b-que ribs. Obviously, they were saved for guests. And after each use, they were washed and ironed and put away for the next special occasion.
When my napkins were several years old, we went to California to visit our families. When helping Alta clean up after a meal, she handed me a cloth that looked all the world like my wonderful napkins. The only difference was that she did not iron hers. I was so surprised that she wanted me to use it as a drying rag. As it turns out, that was her intent all along. We had a good laugh together about my mistaking them as napkins.
I still have one "napkin" which I use as a dish cloth, but I caught myself this morning moving it to the bottom of the stack. After all, it is still my most special one.
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2 comments:
Thank you for this nice memory mom. I love reading your work.
I still have a special collection of Grandpa Hugh hankies, but I can't bring myself to use them for a runny nose. ...at least I think they're hankies! Hmmm.
Love you Mom!
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