What I must have is a Flower Bouquet and a Tablecloth on my Dinner Table. And whoe to the person who wants to remove my bouquet to make more room for another food item.
What I can't resist is a simple tablecloth, old or new, made of cotton or linen. Each one of these cloths' has a story to tell and I remember each and everyone of them. They all come from countries we have visited in Europe.
The embroidered, in cross stitch, linen cloth on top, was purchased many years ago at an Italian flea market. The simple red and white checkered cloth I found at the weekly market in Busseto, Italy. With a big smile, the vendor "threw in" a present, another cloth, this time blue and white.
The dark blue, with dots, tablecloth has a very special story to tell. It came from an Indigo textile dyeing and printing shop in the Burgenland of Austria. An elderly couple, whom we visited, spent the day with us demonstrating the time consuming art of printing fabric with natural indigo dyes.
The most remarkable part of their Atelier was the huge Roller Press, pulled by 4 large horses. It occupied the entire and very large building. It's purpose was to produce a very shiny material, made of cotton, which mimicked silk, a fabric the Austrian middle class could not afford.
Gina
