Prims By the Water

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Pillow Talk

Hello all!
Went to therapy this morning
before work at 6am...and the process
of un-thawing my frozen shoulder continues.
One good thing I keep hearing about my shoulder,
is everyone has seen worse.

Today I am feeling a bit tired,
so before I grab my own pillow and lay down,
I want to discuss some pillow talk with you all.


(feathers in this pillow came from my gramma B's)

Did you know that Ticking fabric is used to make
both featherbeds and pillows because it is closely woven 
so that the feathers cannot come out of it?

Featherbeds and pillows were only for the rich
 between the 14th century and up until the 19th century.
Ordinary folks could not afford them,
 unless you owned your own farm where you raised
ducks and geese.


Servant girls were sometimes allowed
 to take the feathers which
were plucked for their master's suppers
 to save for their own beds and pillows
for when they were married. It was one of the perks
of being a servant to certain rich households.

Featherbeds and pillows were so valuable,
that many families added these items into their wills.
(my mom has my gramma's, but it was not in her will)


 Did you know it takes approximately 50 lbs
of feathers to make a featherbed....and that was before
a queen or king bed came into fashion.

Chicken feathers are too sharp to use and they do not
have enough down (belly feathers)
Since down feathers are smaller and softer,
they are primarily used for pillows.
Ducks and geese feathers are used.

Early pioneer settlers used featherbeds as insulation
in the Winter. They would sandwich themselves in bed,
 and have one on the bottom and one on top.
(gramma B did this for my sister and I in her farmhouse)

Feather beds and pillows would need
 to be re-arranged each day,
or fluffed out as Gramma H would say.

Even though both my gramma's had many beds and pillows,
they continued to save feathers to add more feathers
to the ones they had every 2 or 3 years.

My mom re-ticked my gramma B's pillow 
and gifted it to me a few years back.
The old blue tick was getting to many holes,
and my mom could not save it any longer. 
She did complain that the new ticking fabric is not
like the old kind, so I will be on the hunt now for 
some of the older fabric.

Do you have feather pillows or beds in your home?
If so, how do you like them?
I prefer feather pillows over the foam ones.

Pillow Talk Blessings To All!
Janice





6 comments:

  1. Great information.
    I grew up on a small farm and my mom saved feathers and made her own pillows. Too bad I don't have one of them :( She even made me a featherbed!

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  2. I had my grandmothers feather bed, it was so wonderful to sleep under

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  3. No, I don't due to allergies in our home, but I do love the old pillow ticking

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  4. Thanks for the information on pillows and feather beds, very interesting loved the photos as well, hope your shoulder gets better sooner than later. Have to get in your wonderful store soon.

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  5. I love all this information you shared on feather pillows and beds. Ticking fabric has always been a favorite of mine just for the look but it is interesting that the tight weave was specific to bedding needs too. How fantastic that you have both the memories and a pillow from your Grandmother. These sorts of treasures are the riches we have to fill our homes with the love and sweet memories of our heritage and the lives lived decades ago. Thanks for sharing and I hope that should continues to get better soon!

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  6. This is so interesting to me. I do not have any, but have always loved them. Hubby and I recently bought 2 of the My Pillows. Mine was just too thick/fluffy, so yesterday I pulled out some of the foam "chips" and now it is much more comfy for my skinny neck! lol

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