I've really enjoyed my potted Pansies this spring; I plant them up in the fall in every available vessel on the patio, then they "winter over" (when all goes well) to provide spectacular color in the early spring. All the better to do dishes by and admire from our breakfast table. This season has been a particularly good one for the pansies; slow and fairly steady warming with no drastic, killing, frosts. As I was admiring the blooms a week or so ago I found myself thinking how nice it would be if the Pansies weren't so short-lived and could bloom on and on. That's when I remembered the doily. My grandmother crocheted doilies and my mother had brought me one a few years back adorned with a Pansy wreath as an outer border. Mom told me that my grandmother used to stiffen her doilies with a concentration of sugar water to get the edges to stand up. (Wasn't this an invitation for ants?) I had always admired, and cherished, the gift but hadn't used it because it was rather old and worn looking... frankly, it was just plain dingy.
A friend had recently shared her success over soaking antique linens and laces in a solution of Biz and warm water overnight; the results were stunning. I figured I had nothing to lose and stirred up a solution in the laundry room sink. After an hour or so the water looked more like tea than a pre-soak, I drained off the dirty water, (sugar build-up?) made up a new solution, and plunked the doily back down in the suds. The next morning the doily appeared as fresh and bright as a pot of Pansies, I only wish I had taken a "before" shot to compare with the "after"! I couldn't be happier with how it turned out, now I have a family heirloom to grace my Easter table next Sunday (sans sugar water, thank you!); one bearing a wreath of Pansies, and everlasting ones at that, the very best kind!...don't forget to comment on Saturday's MILESTONE post, six days remain...
Life is Good!
