stuff that makes me smile

I forgot to mention back in November that I had a birthday.  And that my Mother had sent me a birthday present which is now one of my all-time favorite gifts, and makes me smile on a daily basis:

Custom cloth napkins!  I had been wanting new cloth napkins for some time, since my old ones are so old and stained (we use cloth for most meals here at home).  I had even been looking on etsy to see if I could buy some new ones*, but never saw any I liked enough to spend money on.  

So when my parents were visiting this past summer, Mom and I went to a favorite local fabric store, and while we were poking around, I caught sight of the bins of "fat quarters."  And I started pulling some out, fanticizing about mismatched but yet coordinating napkin fabrics, playing with colors and pattern, esp. those colors that don't really match me or my house so I rarely get to use (like orange and bright green).  Mom asked me what I was doing, and when I told her, she offered to make me the napkins for my birthday.  Hooray!!!!  So then I started hunting out fabrics in earnest, laying possibilities out on the floor of the store.  (There were walls of excellent fabrics along the walls of the store, but I purposefully limited myself to the display of fat quarters, just to make it so much less daunting of a project.)

And I LOVE the results!

While I was laying out my final choices, I had two separate ladies stop and ask what project I was planning (I am sure they were crafty women and were curious how I planned on using all these odd fabrics together), and when they heard it was a set of napkins, they were surprised, and each said how much they loved the idea.  One woman even said she needed a gift for a niece and thought that might be a great idea.  (So, if any of you local friends who sew want to go into business with me. . . I have the Etsy shop already--I'll pick the fabrics, you do the sewing, I'll manage the online store, and I'll give you a very fair share in the profits! ; ) 

I already had the perfect basket to store them in when they are not in use!

And while this is not at all a very good photo, here is a glimpse of what the table looks like when set with them:

It was hard to wait until my birthday in November.  But now they are used and loved every day--and the girls LOVE to pick out their "new" napkin every time they need one. (Smiley always chooses the orange ones. ; ) 

And you see, it gets better. Because not only did I need new napkins, but I needed a new system for keeping them neat between uses, since often when you use one it does not really get dirty, so you hate to throw it in the wash but then you also can't put it back in the drawer with the truly clean ones. . .  So, I found a beautiful solution to the problem:

Napkin rings made from old silverware!  Each one is different, so each family member can tell whose is whose.  (I had wanted to find napkin rings that were from old utensils with initials on them--wouldn't that have been perfect?!  But I couldn't find any, and liked the workmanship of this seller**, so these are what everyone got in their Christmas stockings this year!) 

So now, after the meal is over, each child decides if his or her napkin can be used again or if it needs to go in the wash.  If it is clean enough, it is rolled up and put in the person's napkin ring until the next meal.  And then it goes in this pretty green bowl my dear Becky gave me for a present a few years ago, which lives on the microwave stand by the kitchen table:

I am very glad to have this microwave stand on loan from DH's parents (since my counter space is so limited!) but it is decidedly more utilitarian than attractive.  And the cupboards above are pretty high on my "can't wait to do something about that" list, but are also doing their job.  BUT how happy it makes me to have those two new bits of prettiness brightening up my kitchen!  Both the basket of folded napkins and the bowl of napkins in rings (nestled inside a burlwood bowl) are practical but also add beauty to my kitchen and my day. 

Even when I launder them, I get a smile.  Because I want to keep them beautiful as long as possible, I confess I am line drying them, so I won't accidentally set any stains and I can pull the seams smooth--but it makes me happy to do that too, and I enjoy seeing them strung on the clothesline over the fireplace. : )  

Mother, thank you so much!


*Yes, I understand that they can be really easy to make. For those of you crafty people who sew and who have a sewing machine conviently located in your house. I do have a sewing machine, thanks to my Mother, but no place to keep in in the house, and actually no idea how to use it, despite said Mother's patient instruction several years ago. This is truly one of those times when my itsy-bitsy house logistics create a Catch 22, because while I would eventually learn to use it and enjoy it if it were set up in the house and always ready to go, it is so hard to justify the precious real-estate for something that I likely won't learn to use for some time, and even then would not use very often. Oh, these are times when I start coveting other houses--even one more small closet would be lovely! But in the meantime, I am so thankful for a talented and thoughtful Mother. : )

**And check out the absolutely stunning bracelets made of reclaimed silver utensils by the same artisans!