Autumn Leaves

Just one week ago, the leaves were green, still clinging to branches. Today, many of the leaves gather along the roadside, swirling and dancing to the beat of the wind. I don't mind autumn -- it's fresh, crisp and colourful, but we all know what comes next: winter. And winter is a season I'm not too fond of. I've shoveled enough snow, bought enough over-stuffed jackets and boots, and battled enough icy patches. I'm kind of over it.

So while it may be time to pull out the fall-themed tablecloths, I'll continue to wear my sandals for a few days more while enjoying the last drops of warmth.

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I have this mushroom and leaf-decorated vintage cloth with a burnt orange, and a lime border (which is hardly fall-like, at all). The 'bouquet' reminds me of a dried flower arrangement.

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The scattered maple leaves on this vintage tablecloth look just like the leaves that have fallen onto my street.

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I have two of these gold, orange and brown vintage tablecloths. With their homey, fall motifs, they'd be perfect for Thanksgiving.

Strawberry Shakes

I have many vintage tablecloths featuring apples, pears, grapes, cherries and pineapples, but these, with strawberries, are two of my favourite (hmm, maybe not ... tablecloths just might be like one's children -- it's impossible to have a favourite):





This one is off-white, just 31 X 35 inches, and feels like a heavy cotton.

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This much larger tablecloth has nine blocks of strawberries bordered by white blossoms. Although there are no holes, rips or stains, the somewhat faded colours prove that it was well-loved by the previous owner.

A Touch of Grey

Years go, when my dining room was painted grey, and matching the colour-scheme was important to me, finding a tablecloth with grey in it was a bonus.

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This lovely, heavy-weight tablecloth belonged to my grandmother, and was given to me by my mom. For years, I believed it was a piece of vintage fabric. It wasn't until I looked more closely and saw the "Harmony House" signature that I realized it might be a tablecloth. Click on photo below for a close-up of the signature and the lovely pink and yellow carnations:



"In 1940, Sears introduced the Harmony House brand as an interior-decorating scheme that used four basic colors that could be coordinated with each other..." Read more about it in the Sears Archives.

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The reds and pinks of the apples (or are they plums?) are still vibrant on this light-weight cotton tablecloth. I like how the fruit arches over the corners of the cloth.

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The cheery yellow squares and stylized wheat save this crisp, mid-weight vintage tablecloth from reminding diners of a rainy day.

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I'm not sure what kind of flower this is, but I love the leafy vine borders dividing the pattern.

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Checkered Past

The majority of my vintage tablecloths don't have tags. Is it a Wilendur? A Simtex or Startex? I have no idea. There are reputable sites that have helped me identify a few of my cloths: The Tablecloth Lovers Club, The Vintage Table, Sharon's Antiques, The Little Round Table, and more.

Today's featured tablecloths have both a checkered past and a checkered design -- I hope you enjoy!

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Gorgeous pink roses and olive-coloured leaves and border, with chartreuse and white (Harlequin) checks in the centre. This is a very heavy cotton, perhaps a blend, in excellent condition.

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A cheerful, yellow-checked tablecloth, littered with large daisies.

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A far more somber tablecloth with tiny, brown checks bordering brown and white roses (hmm ... or are they peonies?), daisies and dogwood.

Gold Rush

I decided to take photos of all my tablecloths, figuring it might take me a few hours. Two days later, and many moments spent regretting I'd ever taken on the task, I had a visual record of the 150 cloths in my collection. I tried taking pics of them on the table or hanging them outside, but that took far too long. Eventually, I found it was easiest just to lay them on the tiled floor in the front hall. My cat, Meeko, stayed with me throughout the whole ordeal, seeming to know that she wasn't to tread on the fabric (although she came very close):




I have two tablecloths with gold metallic paint. I can't imagine they'd survive laundering very well, as illustrated in this cloth that has just a shadow of the gold remaining on the flowers and borders (click on photo for closer inspection):






These sprays of pink carnations, below, include gold painted foliage and lines. As the cloth and gold paint are in excellent condition, I don't believe it's ever been washed:






I'll use these tablecloths for display, but never to eat upon -- it would be a shame to wash away their beauty.

The More the Merrier

Over the past couple of weeks, I've been going through my tablecloths. I've never done that before -- usually, I just slip my most recent acquisition into a pile of similarly coloured cloths. To be honest, I often use the same ones, over and over again, because they're at the top and easily accessible. Now, I'm taking a good look, and I've come across a few look alikes:

One is good:

Three are better:


Or in this case:

Five are better:

They must have been popular patterns, reproduced on different fabrics and in different sizes. I remember asking my mom to keep an eye out for tablecloths with poppies because I do like the pattern. It looks like we were successful in finding a few (for a closer look, click on photo).

Vintage Blues

Confession: my weakness is vintage tablecloths. I just counted them for this post, and discovered I have 150 in my collection -- many of which were purchased, for me, by my mom. I don't think we've ever spent more than $5.00 for a single one (usually about $3.00), yet most of the them are in great condition. When I spot a tablecloth in a thrift store, I won't turn my nose up at a few holes or frayed edges because that's proof the linens were well-loved by someone in the past. My own family has added some colourful gravy and tomato sauce stains to a couple of them, and that's okay -- each spot is a memory of good times spent together. In the past, my daughter (now 16) has spent hours ironing them for me. No child labour here -- I do pay her, but she seems to find the whole exercise somewhat relaxing. The arrangement is perfect because, let's face it, ironing is painful.

I gathered together some of my blue tablecloths for this photo. I suppose, with 150 in my collection, I'll be featuring more in the future.