Tea Towel Parade

I recently enjoyed a post from Blue Mountain Daisy where Rachael shared some of her lovely tea towels. I found myself making little comments to myself out loud things like "oooh, that's cute" and "how lovely!". I like a good tea towel. One that is not only functional (and actually absorbs the water while drying dishes - I love linen!), but has a bit of personality as well. But I don't like paying an exorbitant amount of money for them either. I think that's why I love vintage and retro tea towels - they tend to satisfy all three of my requirements.

So, here are some of my tea towels in all their natural splendour (which means they haven't been ironed!).

What's a retro tea towel parade without a little brown?

Yes - I have tried the recipe and it's not bad!

This Women's Weekly tea towel is non standard size, but I love it!

 A bit of nature (not that I have been to Hervey Bay in Queensland).

Some Australiana (I haven't been to the Desert Oaks Resort in Erdunda, Northern Territory either, but I thank them for their tea towel!).

 Now, just a reminder that these are not ironed (I don't want you fainting with shock!).

Sticking with the Australiana theme with some native animals.

 A bit of Christmas linen. Very scrunched - just keeping it real!

And then there's this guy. Organised, neat, clean, composed and it looks like he's just had another inspirational food idea. This is the only chef that lives at our house by the way!

 One of my favourites - simply butterflies.

 Something slightly Western Australian - the Sturt Pea is actually South Australia's state floral emblem (ours is the Kangaroo Paw). However, as South Australia shares a border with Western Australia and the printing says Greetings from Balladonia, Western Australia (another place I haven't been to and it's unlikely I ever will), it's Western Australian enough from me. Because I need to be a bit more laid back about some things!

Yet another place I haven't visited, but almost did (sort of). Back when we only had half as many children as we do now, Tim and I looked at job opportunities overseas. Jersey was a possibility, but as it turned out, the closest we got to moving there was a few hours spent online looking at the local real estate, Jersey's proximity to Europe and tourist sites as promoted by Jersey.com. I'm sure that Jersey is far more attractive than the photos on my tea towel!

 And another of my favourites. This one continues to be well loved - look closely and you can see some little holes from all the love! I bought this Save the Children tea towel 15 years ago when the school at which I was teaching embarked on a fundraiser for the Save the Children fund. They also sold enamel pins in the variety of children shown on the tea towel. Whilst the purple is not quite as vibrant as it once was, it is still such a happy tea towel (and sometimes a bit of extra happiness is needed in the kitchen!).

Most of my tea towels have been found in op shops over the years, though a few of them also came from my mum's linen cupboard (she'll probably recognise them if she sees this post and will probably say something like "I wondered where those went!").

So, do you have any unusual, interesting or favourite tea towels?