Are We Walking to Alaska

Are We Walking to Alaska
Are We Walking to Alaska - A True Story

Monday, November 13, 2017

Embroidered Tea Towels

Recently a dear friend asked me to again show the tea towels that I embroidered.  This was a few years ago - I really had a blast doing them.

The patterns are Aunt Martha patterns - still available from the original company.  Just don't buy them from ebay - the prices there are a tad outrageous - and they are probably getting the patterns from Aunt Martha (Colonial Patterns) and reselling to unsuspecting shoppers who don't know they are still currently in production)

So let's look at the dish towels.
This is the first set I made - these are for me.
Each maiden has a hat and matching trim on her skirt of appliqued fabric
With buttonhole embroidery
Happy little birds have a busy week

Tea time

Kittens on the go


Raggedy Ann - busy all week

Playful puppies



Silly dishes - singing and dancing




Sassie Susie - helpful all week


Mice - hard at work



Turtles having a good time


 I did a few sets of just two towels  - chickens
 Zany dishes

 And I had to do a set of teddy bears

Do you call them tea towels - or dishtowels?

Mosaic Monday
All the patterns are still available from Aunt Martha's - the company I've been using since I was a kid.  You find them at colonialpatterns.com 

Mosaics are made with ipiccy.com, picasa.com and fotor.com

18 comments:

The Tea Lady's Journal said...

I like to call them Tea Towels. Wow, that is a whole lot of wonderful stitches. Your Tea Towel collections are great. Do you use them, or mainly for display. Either way they will bring a smile to your day.

Debra She Who Seeks said...

My grandma, mom and I all embroidered these types of tea towels in the 60s and 70s! I still have a pair of pillowcases I embroidered in a similar style with kittens.

eileeninmd said...

Hello, I like these pretty designs with the days of the week. You embroidery looks beautiful, well done. Happy Monday, enjoy your day and new week!

Snap said...

I call them tea towels one day and dishtowels another! Ha! I remember my mother sitting and embroidering patterns from Aunt Martha. Fun that "she" still has patterns. Lovely!

Bettina Groh said...

Very nice stitching!!! Too many doing this type of work today don't get the great lines you do!!

Kim said...

Be still my beating heart!! Oh my, how gorgeous and fun all the "tea towels" are. Down here under we call them tea towels. Your embroidery skills, JoAnn, are amazing. Oh to have all these pretties as a collection. It is truly a most amazing collection and you my lovely friend, have the most amazing embroidery skills.

Michelle said...

These are lovely and remind me of my grandmother's towels!

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

Oh my goodness! I liked the Maidens best until I saw Sassie Susie...those are SO cute too! It would hard to pic a favorite...love the puppy dogs! You really do the neatest stitching. I should try to embroidery again. I used to love doing handwork! Hugs!

Rose said...

Oh, I had not seen them before, or don't remember it. I love them all...had not seen the mouse or turtle ones. (designs) Some of the others I have seen...some I am not sure one way or the other.

Tomoko said...

Oh,Your post makes me smile and my heart warm.It is quite hard to choose the best as they all pretty.I would say the Happy little birds have a busy week is my favorite.
Such a wonderful collection.
Happy day to you!

Maggie said...

We call them tea towels in the UK and these are some of the prettiest that I have ever seen, such beautiful hand stitching and each design a work of art, thanks for sharing them with the MM crowd this week.

Powell River Books said...

Such nice fine stitches. In her later years my grandmother did lots of embroidery. By then it was mostly cross-stitch, but I do have some old fancy tea towels she made. - Margy

Lorrie said...

These are all really lovely tea towels. It's hard to choose a favourite, but the red roses are edging to the top for me. Beautifully stitched, JoAnn.

Kay said...

You do such beautiful work! And you have so many wonderful pieces in so many cute patterns. I'm tickled that these classic patterns are still in production. They're very dear.

Louca por porcelana said...

Just wonderful!!!Great job!!!LOOOOVE all of them!Adorable!

Judy at GoldCountryCottage said...

Oh, JoAnn, the longer I know you, the more talented you become. Aren't you glad you know me?!! haha..You really do beautiful work. All the t-towels are just perfect. Reminds me of my grandmother when I hear them called that. You do have busy hands..xxoJudy

Angie said...

JoAnn - you have made me so happy! Many years ago, my Mother gave me a set of dish towels that she had embroidered, and in one of my many moves, they have been lost. In looking at your work, I know they must have been an Aunt Martha pattern, because they were very similar to the first design you show. I am determined to re-create them!!! I only hope I can achieve the same quality that you and my Mom demonstrate!

Mia said...

Wow! Beautiful stitcheries!!!!!!!!!!! Kisses, my friend.