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June 22, 2006
Summer Projects 2006 installment #2 Or "My Highfalutin Ways"
(Summer Project #1 was the photos.)
In an ongoing and nearly impossible attempt be better organized I chose for my next Summer Project of 2006 to take better care of my table linens.
My table clothes, placemats, napkins and table runners have always been kept in a small chest in my dining room. With ever increasing amounts of people at my table and my habit of purchasing said linens from estate sales they long outgrew the little chest and needed a new home.
This week I pulled them all out. Sorted them. Checked for spots and yellowing then starched and steam ironed them all.
I had been saving the papertowel cardboard tubes to use for ths project and finally felt I had enough to accomplish my task. The tubes were split then placed over the bottom section of the coat hanger. Then the table clothes neatly hung so as to not sustain permanent creases. Then each hanger was covered with a drycleaners dress bag and knotted at the bottom to keep out dust.
Most often we use placemats and paper napkins at the table especially for dinner. On Sundays I like a properly set table. On special occassions (Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas) I pull out all the stops with the extra water glasses, bread plates and dessert spoons.
Mostly used at supper and sunday breakfast.
I did not grow up in a house were fine linens were used on the table. At my grandmother's table I can remember mostly the vinyl type table clothes that could be wiped off with a dishrag several times a day. If the main dining table were to be used I do remember a white table cloth with a white sheet under it to protect the table even more so from spills. My mother used mostly placemats, the plastic ones when we were younger and quilted ones when we were teenagers. I recall she had two white table clothes for the nice dining table. One was on it at all times for looks then other was actually used.
I find it much more work for myself to go to the extremes using damask and linens on the table. It is also a very nice treat to sit down at a pristine and well set table and dine like civilized folks. I don't put on airs. I like the pleasantries of dining well. I want my children to experience fine dining in our home. It teaches them proper manners for times when they are out of our home. I don't want them to come across like country hicks and not know which fork to use or which bread plate goes with their place setting.
I have also taught my children how to properly set the table. I am always amazed by the number of people who do not know which side the fork goes on or where to place a napkin. My children also take turns asking the blessing and saying the grace.
Colby loves books on butlery and etiquette and has a nice collection of books to refer for social occassions and reference. It is a finer thing in life that she also enjoys. One of our favorite books was written by a butler retired from the Queen's service.
There are those who might call this 'highfalutin' and wonder what's wrong with a paper plate, a dixie cup and scott napkins. There is nothing at all wrong with paper goods if you are having a cookout or picnic or have a house full of kids who mess up plenty and you have to put their name on a Dixie cup and make them use it over and over all day long so that you are not constantly washing glasses or have a sink piled up with dishes. (This happened to us as kids when there were 6 to 8 of us running around my grandparents house.)
I find there are few real pleasures in the world that don't come with a price tag. For us mealtime is and always has been a social occassion. It is the time of the day we all come together. No one is excused from being present at supper (within reason).
I take pride in serving Steven a good meal at least once a day which is normally our evening supper. He works so hard and provides for our every need and want. I do try to cater to him and provide him with pleasant respite daily. He deserves it.
The only way to teach my girls this is my showing action. How do children learn? By what they see every day. I want my chldren to see that when a man works hard for you and provides for you that you should offer him some comforts at home and go the extra effort to show him in return how much you care by similarly working hard at home.
That sounds very 1950's, the man is king of the castle, etc, etc, etc. So be it. I won't ever have to worry about his bread being buttered at some other table because nobody butters his bread the way I do. :-)
Anywho ...
Your local drycleaner will sell you a full roll of bags if you ask. They run between $28 and $48 a roll depending on the length of the bag. I purchased the longer dress bags.
Today I will be working in the closets to bag winter dresses and coats to prevent those dust stains that can happen to the shoulders.
Chop. Chop. Let's get busy. We are burning daylight. What little chore have you been putting off? Why not buckle down and get it done? Then you will have the entire summer to play!
don't put it on the table.
Posted by Angie at June 22, 2006 08:41 AM
Comments
I am always amazed that people dont know how to set a proper table!
You are busy busy busy!
I could not agree more with you teaching your girls " I want my chldren to see that when a man works hard for you and provides for you that you should offer him some comforts at home and go the extra effort to show him in return how much you care by similarly working hard at home."
Yes it does sound 1950's and most woman are going to be appauled by that way of thinking but I could not agree with you more!
Posted by: Kate at June 22, 2006 11:44 AM
Wow. You have way more energy than I. I think I have one tablecloth. And I'm not sure if I have four matching placemats. Paper napkins? Nope. Paper towels. And my laundry pile is still a mile high!
Posted by: InterstellarLass at June 22, 2006 11:51 AM
Our girls should dine together someday. How about we do a fancy high tea one of these days? I've always wanted to have a real tea party with them :)
What chores am I putting off? Ohhhhh pllllleeeeeaaaaasssseeee.....everything. I'm so sick of unpacking that I've just become okay with the mess. Of course my husband is itching to have a party. He called today and asked if 2 weeks from now was too soon. YES!!!!!!!!
Posted by: MommaK at June 22, 2006 03:42 PM
I love reading your blog. What a great idea for storing table linens!
Posted by: miss e at June 22, 2006 10:02 PM
Did you know that fabric specialists discourage the use of plastic bag storage for white linens? They can turn yellow when they are stored in plastic; much more quickly that they would otherwise. Martha recommends acid-free tissue to wrap them, after rolling them on an acid-free tube. Do I do this? NO. I do what you do.....LOL
On holidays and with special gatherings, I use linen cloths and cloth napkins for the adults, paper or plastic plates and cups for the children. I write their names on their first cup of the day with magic marker, otherwise, each of the 6 to 9 kids would use 5-6 cups during the course of the day. Can't have that!
Posted by: kenju at June 22, 2006 11:40 PM
The third from the bottom... is that from Pampered chef? I have those dish towels, and I LOVE them!
Thanks for the neat trick about the paper towel roll on the hangers! I will put that to good use :) I'm gone for a week of camping. Have a good week Angie :)
Posted by: Jennifer at June 23, 2006 07:30 AM
My mother used to iron her linen tablecloths and then roll them around big cardboard tubes. Wrapping paper tubes were good, but if you can get tubes from a fabric shop, that's even better. Then you roll the whole mess in brown paper and tape it shut.
The difference between my mother and me is that she watched Masterpiece Theater while she ironed; I listen to books on CD.
Oh, and Angie--if you want to teach how to set the table--you'd better switch the knife and spoon in your graphic! LOL!
Posted by: Poppy at June 23, 2006 04:31 PM
You have some great ideas. But if you store your linens like this for a long time the acid from the paper towel roll could turn your linens yellow. I don't know this from experience as I don't own any table linens or placements, but my husband is a picture framer and hates cardboard because of the acid in it.
Posted by: Jackie at June 23, 2006 04:52 PM
The cardboard tubes are covered in acid free paper before using. I see I forgot to say that. D'oh! The dry cleaner bags are only to keep the dust off. This house is extremely dusty. If I had enough pillowcases to use as storage bags I would use those or muslin bags. I don't have those and I don't plan to go to that expense. I use the tablecloths and launder them so often there real is more damage done in the wash and use than a bag could ever cause.
The place setting is set to a informal setting where a spoon is used last in the meal. Working your way from the outside in using the utensils. Were I to be serving something which the spoon is needed I would place the spoon on the other side of the knife which is more common.
Posted by: Angie at June 23, 2006 06:25 PM
That's news to me. I always learned that the spoon is always to the right of the knife--but if you use more than one of any kind of utensil, you place them in the order used, working from outside to inside. I also learned that the blade of the knife should be facing the plate. Of course, I'm also the know-it-all who has had two damp linen tablecloths in zip-lock bags in the icebox--waiting for the time to iron them--for longer than I care to admit, LOL!
Posted by: Poppy at June 24, 2006 12:22 AM
Angie,
You are my hero. I love a well set table and good manners.I take care of my 13 yr. old autistic nephew and we have taught him to set a nice table.
I wish everyone loved and cared for their family the way you do. Your baby boy is just too cute.
As I work also my boyfriend has dinner ready and the house clean for me on his nights off.I hope that the boys also learn how to keep a house.
Their college roomates will thank us ! The bee
Posted by: THE BEE at June 24, 2006 04:38 AM
Wow!
You are one busy bee. I need to get my butt in gear and get my family back on track. We've been lazy - eating at the kitchen island. With the Grandbugs here, we've been dining in the dining room - complete with dishes and real glasses (not plastic cups).
As soon as I get the piano out of the dining room and my new hutch purchased and delivered, I'll put the china where it belongs and we, too, can be civilized. That should take another 6 months. I'd like it all to be ready for Christmas... we shall see.
LBC
Posted by: LadyBug Crossing at June 25, 2006 08:17 AM
Unfortunately in a house full of boys, the biggest having grown up in a small farm house with his Uncle eating out of the pot he cooked his can of chili in...I've got a long road ahead of me. I'm happy to know that I set the table properly though! Right down to the cocktail fork ;0) As for your linens..WOW!! I'm impressed! I only use the nice ones for special occasions. It's inevitable that chocolate, drinks, something will be spilled on them within two minutes of sitting down to eat. We're working on it ;0)
Posted by: J&J's Mom at June 25, 2006 11:10 AM
J&J's Mom--one thing you can try is setting a nice table, then adding a placemat for the places where the real messies sit. I do this for my daughter for when we're eating something really messy, like spaghetti with red sauce. She has fine motor issues, and I don't see the point of letting her wreck a perfectly nice tablecloth ... on the other hand, I don't want to be using plastic placemats for the next 15 years, either! So it's a good compromise.
Posted by: Poppy at June 25, 2006 04:15 PM
I have a weakness for linens. I like the Williams-Sonoma style. My daughters love setting the table, but I doubt we'd pass any etiquette test. I just go by color and feel.
: )
Posted by: Raehan at June 26, 2006 05:20 PM
oh my, I'm WAY out of my league here. No table linens for me. And my kids set the table, so it's done imperfectly, at best.
But as far as projects go: I'm taking every scrap recipe I have floating around and I'm typing them up while I watch the Red Sox so that I can make an ORGANIZED cookbook out of a clippy mess.
My only worry is that I know just what recipe I'm looking for because I remember what it looks like (magazine cut out, newspaper rip out, etc)...I'm worried I'll never be able to find things. Double edged sword, this organization thing.
Posted by: jenny at June 28, 2006 10:26 AM