Linen goes back thousands of years, in ancient Egypt it was sometimes used as currency. It was a symbol of light and purity, displayed as wealth and mummies were wrapped in linen. Woven from hand spun yarns, the older linens were coarse in comparison to the modern linen of today. As a vegetable fiber, it is strong, smooth, lint free and gets softer the more it is washed. It wears out in areas where it is constantly creased in the same place and it is these sharp folds that breaking linen threads occurs. It is resistant to moths and beetles, dirt and stains,no lint or pilling, dry cleaned, machine washed or steamed and moderate shrinkage. But, it should not be tumbled dry too much as it is easier to iron when damp.
The wrinkles in linen is the character and charm that I love about this fabric, I don't iron it, just smooth it out as it dries on the line. The small slubs, or random small knots may lessen it's quality, but I consider it a natural tendency with the flax quality that I cherish it all the more.
This piece, Australian Cockatoos, was given to me as a gift from Billy's family. I have several of these linen tea towels, each with beautiful images from Australia on them. Bags are the one item I love to make for myself. A strap of cotton I crochet with natural, red and green and hand stitched the sides for a unusual fun bag. I tend to wear solid colors, so I use a bag, bandanna head cloth or jewelry to play up my wardrobe with, and I felt like sewing on this restful Sunday.
