THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 15, 1996 TAG: 9609130079
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARCIA MANGUM, HOME & GARDEN EDITOR
LENGTH: 59 lines
VINTAGE LINENS will once again adorn the tables and beds throughout Norfolk's Hunter House Victorian Museum for ``A Passion for Linens'' show and sale Friday and Saturday.
The linens will be furnished by Sandy Patterson, an antiques dealer and owner of High Cotton Ltd. near Yorktown.
``It's the right linen, on the right furniture, in the right house, at the right time,'' Patterson says. ``It's a wonderful marriage.''
Margaret Elinsky, director of the Hunter House, said she saw Patterson's collection at another show. ``She had the most beautiful booth I'd ever seen.''
Elinsky later visited Patterson's shop and found it to be ``twice as beautiful.'' So last year she invited Patterson to do her first show at the museum.
Patterson will exhibit her collection of tablecloths, table runners, napkins, doilies, hand towels, bedspreads, pillow shams, pillows and handkerchiefs. She'll also a selection of small antiques, such as crystal pieces, tea sets and mustard and jam jars to accentuate the linens, Elinsky said.
The linens that will be presented have been collected since last year's show and have not been shown at Patterson's shop, Elinsky said.
``She has a little larger variety this year,'' she said. Some of the different items will include patchwork quilts, yo-yo quilts and mantel scarves.
``All of the linens are vintage linens, and they are all in excellent condition,'' Elinsky said. Vintage linens are at least 75 years old, generally from turn-of-the century estates.
The Hunter House was built in 1894, and many of the linens date to that period.
Patterson, who has a background in fashion merchandising and worked in retail management for about 25 years, combined her business background and love of antiques to open an antiques store when she moved to the Peninsula around 1989. She opened her current store about two years ago, with a focus on focus on turn-of-the century linens. She specializes in table and bed linens that tend to have a dressier look.
If visitors to the museum need advice on caring for their own linens, Patterson can answer their questions. She'll have a supply of cleaning solutions and products that she recommends.
She also will present informal talks at noon each day during the show about how the linens were once used and how they may be used in contemporary settings.
Few people use mantel cloths on mantels today, but the cloths can be used in other ways, Elinsky explained.
``One reason the museum is involved is we like to show how these linens were originally used,'' Elinsky said. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
HUNTER HOUSE VICTORIAN MUSEUM
The dining room of the Hunter House Victorian Museum is adorned with
Sandy Patterson's vintage linens, including banquet cloths,
tablecloths, placemats, napkins and tea cloths. by CNB