Current Projects

This morning my daughter told me she wanted a pair of silk pajamas. She picked out this fabric from Gorgeous Fabrics and now all we have to do order the silk and decide which pattern. She rarely asks for anything, so we will add that to our Holiday Project list. While we decide on what pattern, I am working on my Thanksgiving Table Runner Project. We are having Thanksgiving at my house this year after a long break (my sister has had it at her house for several years, while I did Christmas). So this year we swapped, since she and Bill are traveling that week. My daughter and I were talking about decorations and our menu, because of course we like to show off a little bit. My sister always decorates the table beautifully and has a fabulous multi course meal planned, so we can't do any less. (not that we are competitive, mind you. Oh NO) We were brainstorming menu ideas and table decor and we came up with an idea for a Thanksgiving Table Runner that had all of our pictures on it and things that we were thankful for. We are gathering the pictures for that now. (and for our super top secret Christmas project that we will not be discussing YET) This is a good opportnity to test out the new Photo Fabric Play book we just got in as well. I'll use EQ Printables Fabric for the pictures, (they have the best print quality, IMHO) and autumn colored fabric for the runner. We'll use paintstiks and leaf rubbings to embellish, and also some Angelina as well.(I might use real leaves for the rubbings too) I'll test out some designs and ideas this weekend and see what I like. The nice thing about making a table runner is that it is normally about 13-15inches wide and 40-50 inches long, so it isn't too big to finish in a couple weekends, leaving me plenty of time to decide what the actual dinner will involve. My daughter wants to get a Virginia locally raised free range turkey, and we'll also have a ham, and pumpkin pie, and apple tart, but the rest of the menu is free form and subject to change. Of course my son always wants exactly what we had the year before, and the year before THAT, but my daughter and I like to sneak some new stuff in every year.
You have to be both sneaky and respectful about traditions, I think. Yes, make that same old corn bread stuffing, but also maybe try a new vegetable or dessert every year. Same with sewing; I love to try new techniques and fabrics whenever I do a new project to stretch my abilities a little bit.
After such stressful news in the papers and on TV this week, I'm thankful that I can sew something nice for my family and make this small corner of the planet a little bit nicer, and not think about all that other stuff for a while. Aren't you glad that you sew?