It’s a Christmas song I’ve surely heard hundreds of times, and it never fails to bring on the festivity! Go ahead. Take a minute to listen! By the way, We Need A Little Christmas was written in 1966 for the Broadway musical, Mame, and The New Christy Minstrels recorded the song for their Christmas album that same year. While watching the video, see if you can pick out a young Kenny Rogers and Kim Carnes. 😉 I love that song, but last week I heard something new in its lyrics. Words that surprised me. Twice, easily missed between the peppy beat and cheerful words, is the idea of sadness. See? Haul out the holly Put up the tree before my spirit falls again Fill up the stocking I may be ... Keep Reading...
By
Transformation of our old house GUEST ROOM
Whew! How did we get to November 19 already? It's been a crazy-busy few weeks since my October Letters from Readers series, and every day I've been trying to get back here to chat with you. Finally . . . today's the day! I promised I'd give you an update on our old house renovation happenings next time we visited. But you don't reeeally want to know boring details like . . . the hot water heater had to be replaced unexpectedly last week, do you? Rather than multiple disjointed projects (because that's exactly how it feels around here: disjointed!), let's look at the transformation of the main guest room. One year ago (hard to believe, but November 16 was one year since we closed on our ... Keep Reading...
By
LETTERS FROM READERS
I hope you've enjoyed the past few weeks of letters from readers. I've enjoyed the walk down Memory Lane. There are many more letters received—and some common questions—that I haven't even mentioned yet. So, as we tie up loose ends for October, let's answer some of those now . . . in case you have some of the same ones! 1) Do you repair linens? I do some minor repairs on my own linens, but that's about it. Unfortunately, I don't have the seamstress skills of yesteryear, but I can point you in the direction of some who do. 2) Can embroidery that has been (improperly!) ironed flat be restored? Probably. Launder the piece so the fibers will become pliable again then iron (correctly!) on the ... Keep Reading...
By
LETTER FROM READER: The hidden beauty of damask
December 26, 2015 Hi Susan, I really appreciate your site! I was going through my china hutch and noticed my mom's linens had gotten very stained. Silly me thought they were safe in there all these years. I thought they were yellow age stains till I saw your comment about wood stains. Would the cleaning process be different? Looking forward to hearing from you. ☺ - Linda Did you notice the timing of Linda's linen sorting? The day after Christmas. I suspect that's a pretty common time for many of us to tackle such projects—when things start to slow down. Linda, how wonderful that you have linens from your mother! It's always good to pull linens out of storage on occasion and check them, so it sounds like you're on ... Keep Reading...
By
LETTER FROM READER: Identifying Scottish immigrant’s linens
August 2017 I purchased some vintage linens at an estate sale a few years ago. The previous owner was a Scottish immigrant who had worked in one of our town's first mercantiles built in 1872.... I don't know whether he purchased these through the store, or if he had them sent from his native Scotland, but I am interested in identifying and restoring them. Do you provide these services or can you direct me to someone who could? Thank you for your time! - Jill Hello, Jill. Thank you for your inquiry. Your linens have an intriguing story, and I’m so glad you want to restore them! If you’d like to send pics to me (close-up/flash off works best), I’ll be happy to take a look. I do not provide formal identification or ... Keep Reading...
By
LETTER FROM READER: Pretty please?
I hope you're enjoying the letters I've been sharing. Have you seen yourself in any of them? This post is a bit different: I'm featuring requests asking for my permission. The first time someone wrote and asked permission to use one of my photos, I was excited. I don't remember all of the details, but it was a farm equipment company somewhere in the Midwest, and they wanted to use this photograph from the Havin' a Hay Day post I did in June 2012. It was going to be part of the calendar they planned to send to their customers. I gave permission and requested they send me a calendar when it was printed. I was eager to see my photo in print! They promised they would . . . but I never ... Keep Reading...
By
LETTER FROM READER: Stains on Baptism Dress
January 2015 — before I made the switch to Mama's Miracle Linen Soak. Hi Susan, My name is Cathy, and I had a quick question about an old baptism dress I had when I was younger. It is about 24 years old, and it was never stored/cleaned properly. It has two medium brown stains on the left sleeve as well as some light brown spots on a bow that wraps around the dress. The dress has a layer of lace on top, and I was wondering if you could suggest what you think would be the best cleaning solution to try out first. I considered using Oxiclean, but from some of the stuff I've read, I feel like it might be too strong for such a delicate piece. Should I try Restoration Cleaner instead? I would really appreciate any ... Keep Reading...
By
LETTER FROM READER: Cleaning vintage hankies
September 2019 I read your message about cleaning linens, but I am not sure if this is a modification for cleaning old hankies. They aren't yellowed, but have small stains here and there that I want to try to remove. Some have colored crochet, so I am concerned about dunking the whole hanky. Any suggestions? - Rebecca Rebecca's letter reminded me that I have a box of hankies to launder, too . . . Old hankies definitely fall into the “vintage linens” category! I’m glad you want to return yours to pristine condition if possible. Before I answer your question, it would be helpful to see the stains, especially since you say the hankies aren’t yellowed. I’m not sure if we’re taking about typical storage/oxidation stains, ... Keep Reading...
By
LETTER FROM READER: This one’s a great gift idea!
March 2017 What type of tool did you use to etch with on the glassware? You probably think that I'm crazy but this is new to me. Lol - Patricia The question was in response to a post (and tutorial) I did about etched glassware—and these glasses I made for Daughter the Younger. Hello, Patricia. Welcome to My Place to Yours! No, I don’t think you’re crazy at all! Any time a craft project is done the first time, there’s a learning curve—and what (sometimes in hindsight) seem like silly questions. Actually, I re-read my old post and realized I never actually *said* what I used to apply the etching cream, so your question has helped me improve my post. Thanks for that! HERE is the revised tutorial. I’d ... Keep Reading...
By
LETTER FROM READER: Tossing a family heirloom
October 2016 Your Oxyclean suggestion for old linen worked like a charm for a family heirloom. I was skeptical, but the alternative was to toss the old hand tatted lace tablecloth. It came out brand new! Thank you. - Josie Josie, I'm so glad you emailed! It always makes me happy when old beauties—especially family treasures—are returned to circulation, and just in time for the holidays. I'm happy I could help. Check out this beauty! This looks to me like a banquet-size cloth with several matching napkins. It would have been a shame to "toss it," don't you think? I commend Josie for taking the time to research how to clean her family's tablecloth—and then taking ... Keep Reading...
By
LETTER FROM READER: Four-generation wedding tradition
July 2017 My daughter is getting married in October, and she will stand under a chuppah. The top is my grandmother's 80-year-old beige linen tablecloth (Jewish custom). There are several brown spots on the cloth. What do you suggest? Will Oxiclean be too harsh on older, thinner linen? Help! We are desperate. My daughter wants to follow the custom, but we have to get rid of stains... Thanks. ~ Ellen, mother of Bride Ellen, how wonderful to have your grandmother's linen cloth for use in your daughter's wedding! I am honored that you contacted me with your question—and happy to help get your family's treasure back into circulation. You mentioned "brown spots" on the cloth. I'm guessing they are simply ... Keep Reading...
By
LETTER FROM READER: This one made me hope
I know it's a long shot, but can I entice you? Those were the words of a blog reader (and longtime friend!) who knew my Renaissance Man was scheduled to be out of country on my birthday—and also knew I had multiple reasons to want to get away from small-town America. She and her husband recently retired and moved to be near their five grandchildren, and I was eager to see their new home and stomping grounds—and meet their first granddaughter! Her words were accompanied by a dangling carrot . . . I wasn't sure it was a good time to make the trip, but I reeeaaally wanted to, and my sweet husband immediately said, "Do it!" Fortunately, I had just enough airline miles to pull it ... Keep Reading...
By
LETTER FROM READER: This one made me cry
A couple of months ago, I opened my email and saw this subject line: Your Grandmother's Powerful & Brave Article Hi, Susan. Thank you so much for sharing your grandmother's article about her experience with and recovery from breast cancer. It was so kind and generous of her to write the article to encourage other women at a time when there were not many supportive resources and - as you said - the word Cancer and the condition were not spoken about. I teach bioethics, and I'd like to share the article with students in my fall class because they will be unable to imagine how different things were not so long ago. I hope that offering the article for them to read would be okay with you? Wow. Yes! Please do offer the ... Keep Reading...
By
LETTER FROM READER: Young mother’s nightmare
It was Fall, and she was three years old. She went to Sunday School in the sweetest little long sleeve dress, but when I picked her up an hour later, there was green paint all over those beautiful sleeves. My heart sank. Carbona Stain Devils weren't around back in the mid-1980s, and I had no idea how to get out the tempera paint. I tried, but no luck. Final answer: My wonderful mother to the rescue . . . The dress was precious with short sleeves, too! So when I received this letter, believe me, I felt this Mama's pain! Hi Susan, I thought you might have an answer as to what product to use that would take out paints on children's clothing. Not sure why, but some of the paints that are used ... Keep Reading...
By
LETTER FROM READER: Success story—and thank you
On New Years Eve 2015, I received an email. The subject line: Getting stains out of an old blanket As I clicked on the email, I was sure it would be another (always welcome!) request for "how to" advice—but it wasn't. It was a success story! And Kim—a total stranger—wrote to say thank you. Made my day! Kim had discovered one of my posts via a Google search (thanks, Google!)—and then followed my linen care instructions all the way to CLEAN! With her permission, here's the back story... I had a baby blanket (that had never been used but had been in storage for 18 years) that was made and given to me by my grandmother to put in my hope chest. I wasn't able to have kids, so in the chest it stayed ... Keep Reading...
By
Letters from Readers
How to have envy-of-the-neighborhood ferns If you've been a reader here for awhile (thank you very much!), you know I love huge, cascading ferns on my front porch. Sadly, this first year in our new-to-us old house, porch ferns weren't at the top of the to-do list . . . but they will be in the Spring! One of my favorite things about this early Fall time of year is seeing the seasons blend together. One on its way out; the other on its way in. Today is the first in a series of letters from you readers. I love the fabulous confabs we have! Over the course of the next few weeks, I look forward to sharing more letters with you. Today's letter is from Jeff. I really don't think he ... Keep Reading...
