Over the years I have spent many hours at the ironing board. My love of cotton and linen required me to either lower my anti-wrinkle standards or plug in the old iron and pull out the spray starch!
Back in the day (which in this case means when I was 12 years old) I learned how to iron. On Saturday mornings the board would be set up along with a very heavy iron and a bottle of water with a sprinkle top... and I would "practice" the art of ironing out the wrinkles on a basket full of cotton pillow cases. All ironing for the week was done in one morning; a ritual of sorts.
I took that ritual with me into married life and for years ironed once a week...that's how it was done! Then after Nicole left for college and Chelsea and Katelyn were nine and seven, I went back to work. Coinciding with that was the addition of a new master bathroom; complete with a big walk-in closet and an ironing board that lived inside a cabinet. To use I merely opened the cabinet door and Voila...ironing board. It was sooo convenient that it became a permanent fixture in that closet...open and ready to use at any moment. It was often loaded with clean laundry that had yet to be put away...and yes all the ironing that used to be done in a day and now got done as needed. Suddenly my school of thought was...why iron ahead? That was just a waste of time! I prided myself in being organized and so while I ironed as needed...I did it the night before. That lasted for a couple of years.
You see where this is going...eventually I ironed hurriedly in the mornings...didn't iron...and yes, developed a lovely friendship with my neighborhood dry cleaners!!!
Skip ahead to present day and Katelyn's love of white cotton shirts with fancy details. When she happens across one (usually in Banana Republic or Anthropologie) she snaps it up! She likes to wear them to school...they pass dress code and look nothing like a polo or a t-shirt! So this week when I washed and put up the ironing board (no ironing board in the cupboard in this house) and ironed her white cotton shirts with all their glorious details...I enjoyed it and the trip down memory lane!
Hey Kim:
ReplyDeleteI'm over here from 31DBBB. I liked this very much - kind of reminded me of some of my own posts. Anyhow, I love to iron. I find it very therapeutic and have earned some good money when I've needed it by ironing for other people. Your daughter's shirts look complicated though!
Omyword, I LOVE to iron! Seriously, it's my therapy. I wait until I have a bunch to iron, find a good movie on TV and voila, I'm good to go for several hours. Nothing makes me happier than crisp ironed clothes. And, I LOVE that little white shirt of Kates, so cute!
ReplyDeleteHATE to iron...probably because I had a mom who loved it ;) I do remember loving to iron when I first learned. I felt like a real grown-up. I have rediscovered some of the joy of ironing since learning to sew. Ironing a crisp seam makes all the difference in sewing. But, I will have to invest in a better iron to really enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteI love, love, love for my dry cleaner to iron!
ReplyDeleteNicole, Rowenta irons are the best... makes all the difference in the world! Can't beat German engineering in cars & irons... who knew?
ReplyDeleteI have a Rowenta iron...and totally agree that it is the best iron ever!!
ReplyDeleteThat's the kind they have at The Smocking Bird where I take classes. Maybe when I sell a few more onesies I'll buy one!
ReplyDeleteHello Kim!
ReplyDeleteI can relate to your memories about ironing "back when"! Not only do I enjoy ironing, my husband irons very well. We eare enjoying ironed pillowcases and top sheets since our nest is empty and our guests love to be pampered with freshly ironed linens! Love, love, love your blog!