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The Kitchen Linens Book: Using, Sharing, and Cherishing the Fabrics of Our Daily Lives

Be It Ever So Humble, There's No Place Like Home

Just think for a minute

about what takes place on and around the kitchen or dining room table. It's where all our family dramas, major and minor, tend to unfold. It's where we prop our elbows and talk, or sit up straight and dine. It's where we sort through the mail, dash off a note, make a to-do list, or chat on the phone with a friend. It's where the day begins and often ends, and where all that occurs in between gets discussed and revisited. —EllynAnne Geisel, from the introduction of The Kitchen Linens Book

The Kitchen Linens Book

About the Book About EllynAnne Geisel Praise From the Linen Closet History of Kitchen Linens Blueberry-Coconut Muffins Buy Button
The Kitchen Linens Book: Using, Sharing, and Cherishing the Fabrics of Our Daily Lives

EllynAnne Geisel, author of the award-winning The Apron Book, invites you to pull up a chair at the kitchen table and share with her a love for vintage linens in The Kitchen Linens Book: Using, Sharing, and Cherishing the Fabrics of Our Daily Lives (Andrews McMeel Publishing, $19.99). EllynAnne relates her own and others' heartwarming memories and provides useful tips, facts, historical notes, and favorite recipes, all beautifully illustrated with color photos of tablecloths, napkins, towels, and other linens that have been passed down through the generations.

Soon you'll be walking down memory lane and spotting fabrics that remind you of a special someone, time, or place. But The Kitchen Linens Book is also much more. In these harder economic times, people are mending their clothes and stretching the food budget, driving less and recycling more. They're also home more, and as The Kitchen Linens Book shows, there's much to recommend our retreat. In the upbeat, down-home voice that endeared her to thousands of apron wearers, EllynAnne responds to the times with a look back at the 1930s, '40s, and '50s, regaling readers with stories From the Linen Closet, lore about vintage cloths, and inspiring advice on how to cheer family and friends with luncheons and picnics, Sunday suppers, and Thanksgiving spreads.

Filled with tips for everything from removing stains to ironing round tablecloths to simplifying Thanksgiving and brewing a proper pot of tea, The Kitchen Linens Book is the ultimate resource for the home.

Maybe you're a casual or dedicated collector, or just wondering what to do with Grandma's embroidered tablecloth that's been tucked away for years. Maybe you've got your own linen story to share with EllynAnne or want to create your own heirloom to be shared with future generations. Whatever the case, pull up a chair and join this intimate conversation. You'll be glad you did.

The Kitchen Linens Book is full of useful and enlightening information about those time-worn and lovingly created works that provided the backdrop to our lives. Here's just a sampling:

  • How to source and care for vintage linens, and how to use and reinvent them with flair and fun
  • Tips for entertaining, whether for a garden party, a picnic, tea time, or an energizing workday lunch with friends
  • Explanations of fibers, weaves, and decorative techniques
  • What makes for a good towel
  • How tea towels got their name, and where the phrase "set the table" originated
  • The joys of damask
The Kitchen Linens Book: Using, Sharing, and Cherishing the Fabrics of Our Daily Lives

How to Apply a Transfer

Butterick TRANSFER PATTERN for VINTAGE KITCHEN TOWEL MOTIF included with book!

  1. Set dry iron to “Linen” setting (350 degrees). Allow iron to reach proper temperature or transfer may not work.
  2. Place protective cloth over ironing board to keep excess ink from staining ironing board cover.
  3. Place fabric on ironing board, right side up, over the protective cloth.
  4. Place transfer face down on fabric.
  5. Place a clean sheet of paper directly over the transfer so that the entire inked surface is covered.
  6. Press firmly and evenly in slow, circular motion for 30 seconds, no longer. BE CAREFUL TO HOLD TRANSFER IN ONE PLACE TO AVOID SMEARING.
  7. Allow to cool for at least one minute before removing paper.

Online:

Author's web site: www.apronmemories.com/index.php

Author's Blog: http://apronmemories.blogspot.com/

The Kitchen Linens Book: Using, Sharing, and Cherishing the Fabrics of Our Daily Lives

Author: EllynAnne Geisel
ISBN: 978-0-7407-7763-9
Format: Hardcover, jacketed: 7 x 9, 152 pages
Price: $19.99 ($24.50 Canada)

Contact: Tammie Barker | (800) 851-8923, ext. 7499 | tbarker@amuniversal.com