Sweet Sheets

I love good sheets. The higher the thread count, the softer the sleep. I own fleece and flannel sheets for the chilling winter and nothing is better than soft cotton sheets on a warm summer night.

I think I might have f0und my favorite set of sheets to date....

Last week, at an estate sale, I found a treasure trove of vintage sheets. All softly worn, with a history that remains silent but gives me hints:

I can picture the owner of these sheets. She is a frugal homemaker of the early/mid sixties. She mends tablecloths and embellishes towels. She creates her own potholders out of scraps from the sewing that she does for her children. One day she is shopping at Woolworths to take advantage of the sheet sale there. Percale Sheets, 100% cotton! Finest Quality for the Price! 5.99 a full set! She uses her budgeted household money to purchase this linen need. She loves the fact that they are white since bleaching and air drying will only add to their crispness. She continues to buy her white percale sheets at these sales for years.

In years to come, she has picked up a part time job at Goldblatts. The children are all in school and she wants to help the college funds by working in the linen department. She loves watching the changes in sheets. For years she has known sheets to be pristine white or at best pastels. She knows that she can count on her grandmother to tat the edges of the pillowcases for flourish, but she usually puts away these treasures 'for special use'.

One day, her department head shows her the latest shipment. They both ooh and ahh over the newest style of sheets....White sheets adorned with purple and blue roses! And there is another color choice as well....yellow and orange roses! She knew that moment that a set of each of these new and colorful sheets would have to go on layaway for purchase when she could save enough to take them home.

For years, she used the sheets regularly. She loved being able to place them on the bed when their family was visiting from Tuscola. She knew that they would be impressed with their sister having the latest fashion in sheets. Faithfully laundering and folding and mending throughout the years, she made good on her investment, which may have seem frivolous at the time.....

Speed forward to 2009...

She has been gone for years now, her belongings packed in boxes in her son's garage waiting for the time to be able to go through it all and ferreted out what is sale worthy and what can be tossed.

The wonderful, wonderful stories behind vintage linens. More than just the softness they provide, the legacy and lessons, help me sleep better.

Thank you for faithfully preserving and keeping them for me.....