Home Decor

I haven't posted about sewing in awhile, but that isn't because I am not doing it. I am just working on projects that are taking a little more time.

I am shifting gears from sewing for my kids to sewing for our home. I am not a big home decor person. I never have time to shop and there's this sentimental part of me that wants the things in our home to mean something. We have a piece of art from our vacation in Hawaii, for example. But it doesn't really resonate with me to just pick up something from a random store for my home. I know this is crazy and my home is pretty bare as a result.

Before we left for vacation, I started working on a quilt. I am pretty new to quilting. I made a baby quilt for Indigo when I was about 17 weeks pregnant with her. At that point I didn't officially know if she was a girl or a boy, but in my being, I knew she was a girl, which is why this supposed-to-be-unisex quilt has a bit of a girlish slant.

The second (baby) quilt I made was for a friend whom I adore in the adoption community. I made it for her son when she brought him home from China this past May. Boy, I sure hope it's holding up for her. I hadn't done a lot of sewing at that point, but it's the thought that counts (right?!).

This is my first non-baby quilt. I finished the top today. This quilt is the combination of Anna Maria Horner's Folk Dance Quilt and Amy Butler's Thea's Puzzle Quilt.


It's not finished -- this is just the top:


Today, I decided to make a tablecloth and some cloth napkins to match. It was my paternal grandparents' 55th anniversary recently. I was thinking about my grandmother's penchant for making everything so lovely. Everything she does, she does beautifully. She wraps gifts so perfectly, it almost pains one to unwrap them. I can remember eating fabulous dinners at her home and she always had linens on her table. I can still feel the cloth napkin in my hands. This seemed so fancy to me as a child. I can't say I really got it then. I do now. It's not about making things look "perfect", it's about making people feel special... and important. You are so special that I put beautiful linens on my table. I would like to do that for my family, too. Not at every meal... or every day for that matter... but maybe a few times a week.

We bought a very inexpensive kitchen table knowing that we would gather there often and that kids will be kids. We didn't want to cringe when they accidentally did this or that to it. I thought it would be fun to make this table more beautiful, and in doing so, have a set of linens that would always remind me of my grandmother. The "main" fabric is from Laura Gunn's Latern Bloom collection.

I used this tutorial to make the cloth napkins. I used the mitered corners option.

Happy Anniversary, Grandma and Grandpa! We love you!

Rachel, Dan, Jude and Indigo