Holiday Sewing Ideas

For lots of cool holday gift ideas visit Sewmamasew. There are a bunch of ideas for gifts to sew so if working on that handmade holiday don't miss it!

Simple Details

This year my family was lucky enough to get to host eight of our closest friends for the Thanksgiving meal. I didn't want to spend a lot on decor and really prefer things simple so I took this approach. I didn't have 10 matching place settings so I headed to the local box store for plain glass plates. For a large plate and small plate I spent $2.50 per place setting. I am actually going to clean out my hodge podge table ware and use these from now on. Napkins were $1.50 for two. The rest I already had on hand. The grass center piece is cut from the yard while gourds, pumpkins, and corn were from friends and the garden.

For the center of the table I chose unbleached parchment paper and scrapbook paper for place mats. The little bit of raffia makes it all look complete.

Lastly I used my leaf punch and some thread to label wine glasses for table assignments. In the past I have had a lot of anxiety about hosting. This simple set up could be used any time of year for a nice touch and not a lot of expense. With the help of my husband, sister and brother in law; it was really pretty low stress. I also had guests pitch in and bring something. Even though I forgot to make the gravy; it was fabulous!

Brussel Sprouts

One of the last lonely plants in the garden is this brussel sprout. It takes a very long time to actually get the sprouts ready to eat. I probably should have started this one earlier but it still seems to be holding its own out there despite the frost. The sprouts themselves are actually nestled in the axils of the leaves. Soon I will have to harvest and make myself a special treat! No one else in my house enjoys them quite like I do!

Mangle

I used this intimidating machine to iron my table cloths for the holiday. It worked famously. In case you do not know what this beast is...it is called a mangle. Translation: industrial sheet iron! My grandfather worked for Hilton Hotels back in the day so that is how it came to me. Pre wrinkle free fabrics the bed sheets in hotels and all the other linens were ironed by some poor sole who had to stand over this hot, heat generating beast.

It makes me laugh that it is called a Speed Queen. I suppose it is faster than the ironing board and definitely gets hotter! This thing will burn your flesh off in a hot second. So here's a post to doing things the old way, enjoying its simplicity, and remembering those family members long past. Is there something you enjoy doing "the old way"?

Mama Said Sew

I followed up on a lead from my friend Morgan this weekend and explored this little fabric shop in old town Ft. Collins. I was super happy I did! There were lots of cute things and the fabric options were fabulous! A lot of stuff in the vintage modern category that is my personal fav.

They had a super selection of Amy Butler and Oliver + S patterns. Several of the books on my wish list were right there on the shelf and probably the best part was they had an area for toddlers so mommy could shop uninterrupted! I love how these ladies think. It was like the fabric shop of my dreams came to life!

The shop has only been open 8 months. I want to make sure it stays around so please go visit them at Mama Said Sew.

Winter

Strawberries

Golden Sage

Burning Bush

It would appear that winter is finally here. I have been very spoiled by the prolonged 70 degree fall days! We have now had two snows in five days. Sigh. I am somewhat of a warm weather lover. The cold makes me well, grumpy. I need to be able to feel the sun on my face and warming my body. The running furnace dries out my hair, skin, throat, nose......sigh. The only plus I can see it that it is soup season! One large pot of something warming and hydrating to last the better part of the week. My kind of cooking I say! What is you favorite winter food?

New Gear

It is finally here! I am the proud owner of a Canon Rebel XS and I could not be happier about the idea of learning photography.....again! Quite a few of the photos from my senior year book are mine but that is probably the last time I took the art seriously. A point and shoot is fun but I really wanted to take it a bit further especially since I know what I am capable of! You can see that I did not have it long before fashioning a more appropriate camera strap! Now to read the manual.....