It’s been a while since I “raided” my stash of vintage estate kitchen towels that are in new, never used condition, most which still have the original price tags. Because we do our dishes by hand we use about three kitchen towels daily including one that lines our dish drying rack. Some have been in service for many years withstanding weekly laundering. A good old-fashioned kitchen towel will fade gently over years, not two washings like so much of what is sold today, and becomes more soft as time goes on. Then, after their golden years the perfect fading and softness gives way to becoming too thin to be absorbent. At that point they get transitioned into dusting rags or bedding for our degus. Sometimes I’m not sure if one is too special or unique to use, like this circa 1960s kitschy towel with an important message:
Although it seems to have never been used the previous owner had displayed it on their wall evidenced by two tiny pinholes at the top. I have no problem adding this to my dish drying rotation because it’s not something I would hang on my wall, but I think the graphics would be treasured by someone. I wonder if I should sell it? Give it as a gift to a bunny lover? I’d feel kind of guilty using it. I think I may be putting too much thought into this! It’s just a towel…
Simple Living New England 
This piece is quite unique – perhaps selling it on could be a good idea.
Someone who is fond of the message might use it in a display way.
You could use another one from your stash instead 🙂
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Thank you. It’s true that it’s unique since right now I didn’t see any others of this particular one listed online which makes it easier to sell, usually!
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That is too pretty! 💖 I googled the Ulster Irish linens and they’re about $34.99 on eBay, so maybe another option is putting it up for bids? Something to consider! 🙂
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Thank you, I may do that or sell it locally. 🙂
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I don’t know, when I love something I use it. And I really love the old kitchen towels. I have many that are decades old, many unique, and still going strong! They are the work horses in my kitchen, but they also give me delight.
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I agree! The thing is I don’t love this towel but I think someone else would. I do have some, though that I love too much to use because I enjoy looking at them as one would look at art so i don’t want them to fade away. Yet at some point I think I will actually use them. I would enjoy seeing your collection…maybe you can include some in a future post! 😀
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Since you aren’t in love with it, I would probably send it back to the universe so that someone might love it. I will try to remember to include some shots of my favorite linens in the future!
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I can understand why you don’t fancy this particular tea towel: the illustration is a bit too “cartoonish” and the message is not that original. Why don’t you sell this one on Ebay and buy something else from the Ulster Weavers. There are also a few tea towels with an American motif.
https://www.ulsterweavers.com/
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You are correct, it’s definitely not my style! I also had no idea that Ulster was still producing towels, thank you!
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Thanks everyone for your input. I’ve decided to sell it. 🙂
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I have several old German kitchen towels I retrieved from my mother’s house when she passed in 2000. I don’t know how old they were then but I use them every day. They’re still in great condition. One or two of the nicer ones I don’t use as often because I want to keep them as long as possible.
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I can understand that!
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