I’m working my way through the items I inherited from my grandmother and I have been asking myself, What Would Martha Do, to help me find creative display methods.
I’m puzzled by a few items. Maybe you can tell me what you think Martha would do with them.
First up is this tea towel. It’s made of a very nicely textured linen and it is hand stitched. It’s likely my grandmother stitched it (or maybe her mother). It is slightly yellowed, but is generally in very good condition. I would never use it for dishes. It’s rather large to frame. Any ideas? The only thing I can come up with is to make it into a throw pillow, but I’m not sure where I would put it. What do you think Martha would do? I think it is beautiful and would like to find a way to use it.
Next up is the picnic basket. It is a regrettably bright yellow color, but it’s very old, with a hinged top. My mom remembers my grandmother using it when she was a kid for family picnics. It seems to me that stripping this would be a Herculean task because of the woven wood. I don’t think you could ever get in between the strips of wood to clean it all off. So what would Martha do? Paint it another color (white? blue?)? And what would she do with it? I can see Martha placing this in a guest bathroom and filling it with towels and toiletries. That sounds great, but it won’t work in my house since we have one bath, the kids have a bath and there is a small half bath downstairs. Tell me what you think Martha would do!
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The basket is so nice! I would paint it white and put flowers in it(in their pot, so the basket doesn’t get dirty), and put it on the porch. Or if you knit, it would be a nice container for your wool or cotton…
The only idea for the towel is to make it into a throw pillow to put on the bed; or trasform it into a nice bag to be hanged in the kitchen like this: http://miaslandliv.blogspot.com/2009/06/joys-of-blogging.html; I think is so nice!
Hope you have a great day, bye!
Another idea that Martha would have (maybe) is to make the towel into a nice valance (well, don’t know its dimension though…) or a tablecloth for tea time.
I like the idea of painting the basket and putting flowers in it on the porch. I have white wicker furniture on the porch and that would be pretty.
It’s about the size of a kitchen towel, so not big enough for a tablecloth. Thanks for the ideas!
You’re welcome! I’m glad you found my ideas useful.
🙂 Please,let us know! It would be nice to know your final use of your beloved towel and basket.
I will. I’ve got several of these projects in progress and will keep everyone updated.
I had some pillow cases that had “tatting” on the edges from my grandma. A friend made one into a keepsake doll for me and each of my sisters. I can display it on a little chair that I hang on the wall.
That’s a lovely idea.
If you have a guest room, pretty-up the basket and fill with guest towels, current magazines, and anything else to help your guest(s) feel at home.
Very cute. No guest room here though, at least until the kids grow up and move out!