I am supposed to be cleaning my sewing room, so I will blog instead! It is much more fun…
Yesterday I went to a really fun class held at Woodengate Quilts with inspiring teacher and friend Margaret Linderman.
We made napkins in two different styles. Of course, being the nutball I am, I had to pre-cut all my fabrics and then proceed to make two thousand and two napkins. They look great!
There were square napkins with mitered corners…
I might have gone a little overboard!
The mitered corners are really easy to do and the project is really fabric-friendly. A half yard of the inside fabric and 5/8 yard of the outside makes two napkins. The directions can be found in several sources, but I know that another wonderful teacher, Laura Nownes, has pictorial directions on her blog. You can find them at: http://seehowwesew.wordpress.com/2011/05/03/ahh-sweet-spring/
Of course, Margaret had a special project up her sleeve. She showed us how to make these cool, sort-of-half-circle-two-sided napkins…
You stitch and flip and topstitch and then…
They fold all cleverly up into little trees. I just love them. I made four napkins using this Art Gallery fabric to give as a gift to a special friend. They also look good in Christmas fabrics – just like little Christmas trees.
Between you and me, I don’t actually need to take a class, but the beauty of doing so is that you actually get your work done. You also see friends, get out of the house, and you always learn new things from your fellow students. One of the other students showed us how to use a threaded needle to pull out the corners; it works really well.
Besides all that, any chance to spend time with an amazing teacher like Margaret is just golden. Get out there and take a class! It’s fun!
Being a person who has to make absolutely everything out of fabric, I try to make gifts out of fabric for my friends and family. Often I get a project organized but then get too busy to make them and end up not having gifts for anyone. Oops! Now I have the gift for this year organized, I will be making them for everyone I know… if they are lucky!
Special note for you blog subscribers: What do you think of my photos from the new “photo booth,” my bathtub? Better color, eh? No yellow wall in there!
Hey Marvelous Maverick Quilter! Love your blog. Many thanks for the link! Did you get my e-mail? Let’s talk………..
Marvelous she is! Thank you for this wonderful blog about my good friend Margaret. The napkins are great and I just may have to try a couple or two.
Yes! They really hold up well. I ironed mine after the first wash or two and now they just come out of the was looking flat and fresh! That Margaret sure inspires us all!
Love those Mavericks! For any who live near Fort Worth or Dallas — stay tuned for a quilt exhibition (older quilts) at the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame opening in mid-January. “OFF THE WALL: MAVERICK QUILTS”.
OOOHHHH! I want to go!!! Can you send me information? (I probably can’t go – but I like to dream!)
Thank you for the comment.
Alethea
So Alethea, LOVE Margaret and her clever ideas! Nice post about a terrific creative woman. Turns out those napkins that fold into Christmas trees look a lot like the paper-pieced Christmas trees I featured on See How We Sew recently (www.seehowwesew.wordpress.com). If I were at all organized I’d make a set to go with the table runner I’m making. If I were organized . . . .Happy Holidays!