Feed sacks from the old country store...

There is something about this time of year that brings out my love of family, home and...the country. Maybe it comes from living in Washington DC and Atlanta after growing up here and moving away. Whatever it is, the mountains of North Carolina are home and always will be.

My grandparents owned a country store. In fact, my great grandfather first operated the store in the early 1900s. He came from Virginia after hearing about how beautiful the area was.

Balfour and Betsy Edwards Farwell

David T. Knight was an educated man and had married one of the finest ladies in Danville VA, Miss Emma Evelyn Edwards, a first cousin to the Langhorne sisters, one of whom became Lady Nancy Astor.  They settled in here in Balsam, NC.

The store was a source of income for my great grandmother when her husband passed away at a young age. She was a school teacher, so her sister and brother-in-law ran the store for her.

George Knight

It eventually passed to my grandfather, then to my uncle. It has been closed for years and stands untouched.

In the 1990s my grandmother made a little sachet of Balsam pine needles for me fashioned after a feed sack. I kept it all these years because she made it and it still smells so good...

Naturally the fascination people have for feed sacks would rub off on me eventually, but I wanted to use them in a more personal way. Luckily, my grandfather was very fastidious. He took his feed sacks and folded them very carefully and stored them in a large can in the old smokehouse. My father pulled them out some time ago, and I knew I had to do something with them. I just wasn't sure what! I was finally inspired to make a table runner out of a couple of them and set a table that reminds me of the old store. Now, my grandmothers would roll over in their graves if they thought a feed sack was on the table, but I love how they turned out. I think my grandmother would smile too because she was always taking something others would throw away and making something beautiful out of it.

I put two feed sacks running in the opposite direction so the print would go toward each end. I added some yardage on each end with a ruffle to give it a feminine touch.

I used Mikasa "Italian Countryside" dinner plates, Hull "Brown Drip" vintage luncheon plates, and a red salad plate. I used vintage "Old Williamsburg" Imperial Glass goblets in amber along with my "Italian Countryside" flatware. 

The napkins are the same ones I used last week that I made from the check fabric. They are so durable for everyday and I love the country look!

I love the colors in these sacks and there were several matching ones. I soaked them in vinegar before washing to keep the colors from fading as they are meant to be bleached white.

My mother let me borrow this enamel coffee pot when our power was out so much. I love it and I hope she forgets I have it. 

If you have visited me much, you know I have an affection for...weeds. This time of year they are just abundant with vibrant color, and I couldn't pass these up! Love them in the vintage brown and cream pitcher.

I also discovered this old coffee can in the smokehouse. Naturally, I asked my dad for it. My mother does not know I have it yet.

What actually inspired all this country flavor was the corner cabinet my husband is making for me. We have been working on it for two years, and we have gotten it this far. It still needs doors, though. In the meantime I am using it for much needed storage. I really wanted that country store feel so I got out my brown and cream pottery, some old photos and some things that might have been used in an old store.

The photo below is of my great grandmother when she was a "May Queen" at Trinity College, which is now Duke University.

I love this rooster cookie jar...

The trim on the cabinet was in my grandparent's house. We are using several pieces of it to finish this cabinet as I love recycling and repurposing old things.

I hope you enjoyed my country store table with the feed sack runner! What a fun way to remember the past but bring it into the present. Are there things in your house that remind you of loved ones and family members? I encourage you to get them out and use them. There is nothing so comforting as using something that you know generations of your family has used. I know it makes me feel like I'm safe at home.

I will be joining "Tablescape Thursday" at BNOTP

and

Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground
 so be sure to go by there. 

Thank you so much for visiting!! I have enjoyed so much the wonderful comments from my outdoor post yesterday, and I cannot wait to get around and visit everyone! 

Anita