Welcoming Spring

This weekend was a busy but good one. I had two goals for the two days; Sew all of our spring napkins, and finish planting all of the cold weather crops for this week. I also managed to plant all of our herbs and tomatoes for indoor growth.

I have really wanted to get my sewing going again, it has been three years since I learned, and I have consistently put it aside for my knitting love.

I was given Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross as a gift a few weeks back, and I was just dying to get started on a few of the projects. My style has been craving fun, vibrant prints and colors, and on a recent excursion to Fancy Tiger, I found myself coming home with super fun prints by Amy Butler, Heather Bailey and Heather Ross (BTW, if you are ever in Denver and you like fantastic fabrics and handmade clothing, you have to check Fancy Tiger out).


The first three projects on my list were the Fat Quarter Napkins, the Sunday Dinner Hostess Apron, and the Good-Guests-Do-The-Dishes Dish Towel.

This weekend I made 24 fat quarter napkins for Spring. I love the two-sided napkins, and the more vibrant and fun the fabric, the better. My family LOVES them, and they are already getting a ton of good use. Our family is doing all that we can to reduce our waste and consumption, so having reusable napkins has always been high on the list. I did modify the pattern heavily, but that was just because my preference is for more square rather then rectangular napkins. I cut the fabric to 19"x17" squares, and then instead of a 1" straight top stitch, I used a 1/2" zigzag top stitch

My kids love to watch and help with dying yarn, and they were just as enthusiastic about sewing with me. I set my older son on his own machine, and my younger son literally sat behind me for hours at a time watching me, and of course helping me every time I needed to take out a pin.



My husband and I are working on redoing most of our house right now, and sewing for the house is becoming a major priority. It is neat to look around the room and think of all of the ways that I can make it so much more livable, with out spending a fortune.

This was a fast and fulfilling project, and Heather's book is a wonderful investment for any level of sewer. One of the best parts of this napkin project is that there are literally endless ways that you can customize these napkins to fit your own style. It is a great way to practice your sewing skills, and to use a variety of sizes, shapes and stitches. I would highly recommend it. The directions are some of the clearest that I have seen, and I love the way that she uses hand drawn pictures to take you through each step. I am a highly visual person, and so being able to really "see" where the pattern is going is very important and effective for me.

Next up is the apron and dish towels!