I hadn’t realized tea towels (sometimes called dish towels) were so popular among collectors, quilters, and fabric artists until I read a mystery novel where the heroine visited a shop run by an acquaintance.  She marveled at the collection of tea towels displayed there…many of them imported from other countries.
I’d always thought of tea/dish towels as something we used in the kitchen for drying dishes and cutlery.  Yes, these often were attractive and might have been souvenir towels from places where a relative or we traveled.  But they generally were serviceable items.
So I became curious to learn more.  …read more