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Friday, August 2, 2013

Old Time Laundry






I love vignettes with old washboards and I wanted to do one of my own. Maybe it's because I love old linens that I find his old wash day relic appealing. But I notice that I am not alone! Isn't it practically required in country decorating to own one or two? Mine is always stowed low against a wall in the corner of my dining room almost out of sight.



A couple of vintage gowns hanging softly in the late afternoon light share the same corner.





A small baby gown is as cheery as garden flowers to me, and I think they can be displayed just about anywhere.




But my real inspiration came from the heavy cotton laundry bag I just found.  It appeared at the same market as the embroidered one I featured here. Isn't it odd how you can get a theme going when you're out junking?




How long ago did it have to be in order to have only a three digit phone number do you suppose?




My enamelware felt like the perfect foil for a pile of soft linen.




An old wooden spool. . .









A creamy homespun napkin with monogram. Don't you love the texture?









My collection of very old table and bed linen is really quite small. Incredibly smooth and soft to the touch after a century of use.




Another beautiful monogram, and soft worn pins. These are actually worn off at the ends with years of use. I find old clothespins irresistible when they turn up! 




I may have to leave this cheery little corner display up for a little while!

















Welcome to August!
 I hope you have a wonderful weekend planned.

Jacqueline







26 comments:

  1. Lovely.. happy weekend with love Janice

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  2. You bring back memories with this post. I remember my Mom and my Grandma had a washboard like that and helped them do the laundry on it. Do you remember the ringer washing machines? I got my fingers caught in the rollers one time. Glad I don't have them anymore. HA! HA!

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  3. I would leave it up too, it's gorgeous! Oh and I love your new header!!

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  4. It's not just a lovely post, it is a post that inspires me to get back to vintage shopping. I've missed flea market shopping this summer. Thanks to you beautiful lady I'm going to get back into it.

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  5. You have an eye for wonderful linens and you have an eye for display.

    I gave away my washboard when we downsized to our little cottage. Now you make me regret giving it away. I had forgotten I ever owned one.

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  6. I love a laundry post. Yours is very beautiful, soft and romantic. Makes me not mind washing so much.
    Happy weekend!
    Hugs,
    Patti

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  7. Great post! I love thinking about old time laundry -- when we were just married there was a ringer washer in the apartment. I used it for about 6 months, then bought an automatic -- no dryer, however, until 10 years later! BTW, we had a 3-digit number in the 1950's. After that, I remember going to a number with a prefix. Have a happy laundry day! Sally

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  8. Pretty post, Jacqueline, but have to tell you, I'm swooning over the vignette in your header. The resting lion is a fab piece!

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  9. More fabulous linens and a monogram on anything is pure delight.
    Our concrete laundry tubs at home had a built in washboard on one and I remember only too well using it and the wringer washer. My mother never wanted any other type and only used lines outside and in the basement to dry clothes.
    I just bought some stainless steel clothes pegs that are from Italy I believe (Lee Valley) and I love them.
    Judith

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  10. Hi J,
    Even your corners are full of beauty:-) Clothes pins, wash boards, and white laundry, just feel like breezy summer days to me. Glad the sales are treating you good, it is funny when shopping creates a theme, you have to wonder if all those laundry bags were there all along, waiting for you and you just hadn't noticed them yet :-)
    Happy Weekend!
    Hugs,
    B

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  11. Super schöne Bilder, ich liebe alte Wäscheklammern.

    Great post! I love thinking about old time laundry

    Liebe Grüße aus Berlin Germany
    Chabby Chic

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  12. How beautiful everything is! How cleverly displayed!
    I so love white. I wish I had my Grandma's washboard .. and yes, I also caught my fingers in the ringer Salmagundi!!

    hugs
    Jacqui

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  13. Oh, gosh~this post brought back so many memories of my grandmother. Yes, she had a ringer washer, too, but she had the softest wash rags and they always smelled so good!

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  14. What a great find your laundry bag was! Everything is so crisp and white, just screams summer and I can even smell the clean linen smell.

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  15. What a beautiful post with such charming linens. Maybe if we had three number phone numbers today no one would need speed dial! LOL!!!

    Cynthia

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  16. I have a washboard that my Grandfather used back in the day. It has metal for the washing part, so I have it in my laundry room and made magnets out of clothes pins to hang pictures on it. When I get weary of folding my family's clothes, I look at their photos to remind me who I am doing it for. Really helps inspire me to do laundry.
    *Smiles*

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  17. That's such a pretty corner - the linen just calls out to be stroked.
    I love wash days in the summertime, as I truly enjoying pegging out the laundry in the sunshine.

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  18. I can remember the ringer washer so well, I put my arm in all the way up to my underarm, I was only about 4 but I remember everything my mother running in the room. Makes me laugh now but I do remember screaming:)

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  19. Love seeing the laundry hung out to dry. There is something so nostalgic about it. I still hang my sheets all year round, even between the rain drops.

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  20. This post just makes me happy. Love old linens, washboards and clothes pins. Actually, doing laundry and hanging it out on the line makes me very happy. Beautiful pictures ~

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  21. This is such a beautiful corner Jacqueline! So vintage and timeworn. Love it! I love the old nightgowns so much. Can you imagine the work they used to put into even their nightclothes? So lovely!
    hugs from me...

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  22. Just love your white monogrammed linens!
    Hugs, Lynnie

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  23. Mmmmm! What a sweet vignette! Love it!

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  24. There's just something about laundry... washing it, hanging it on the line, ironing. And you capture that beauty and simplicity in these photos perfectly! I love old clothespins and use them around the house for all manner of clipping and holding. I especially love the little peg ones... we used to make dollies with them by drawing faces on them, glueing yarn on for hair and attaching fabric for dresses.

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