just some napkins.

 

These are my grandmother's salt and pepper shakers. She had many more sets, but theses are the ones I have. These colors are so her. She found her true design sensibility in about 1965 and never strayed from that aesthetic. I thought they looked lovely with the napkins I made the other day. Serging a stack of fabric squares was the best thing I did that day. So relaxing. I thought (briefly) about serging all my fabric into napkins, to give away as gifts, just so I could keep doing this serging of squares. This sounds insane, but I don't have a ton of fabric (it's true, my stash is really small!) and I get visually tired of fabrics easily, so I am always looking for ways to use it up, clear it out, and move on. Unloading it on friends and on Grammie helps a ton. Grammie never gives up a fabric. She still has fabric scraps from clothes she sewed for me when I was 3. I'm serious.

A few things:

• These rubber stamps are making me really happy—they are drawn by Ward Jenkins. You can buy them at Rubber Soul. (Thanks for the tweet, Claire!)
• There is a new e-book Crafty Tree Trimmings that Diane Gilleland has put together—it looks very cool and some of the profits go to a great cause. Please take a look.
• I was very pleased to find these free Cicely Mary Barker flower fairy coloring pages. They print small (half sheet) but are perfect to keep in my bag when we are out and bored.
• I'm going to re-release an out-of-print Mailorder next week (as a PDF for $8), which I think would be a nice one to have for the holidays. No electricity required for this project! Except to print the PDF.
• I saw Coco avant Chanel this week and liked it a lot. I had heard it was slow moving and Coco was not the most sympathetic of characters. Both were true, but that didn't stop me from enjoying it.
• I re-found this Finnish vintage paper doll site from my own archives and am in love with it all over again. Click on the smaller thumbnails and print!

Comments

[Jessie Stimpson]

Love those paperdolls! I've been looking for some good ones online to print up and this are awesome for my girls! I recently found these vintage sewing/lacing cards online to print up, too: http://www.lulu.com/includes/source_doc_view.php?fMID=2253009

I had to get them through lulu.com, but they were free!

[Jody]

Love the napkins and the salt and pepper. Really pretty colors. My daughter will enjoy the paper doll- thanks for the link.

[Maribeth]

My grandmother had a salt and pepper shaker collection. Wow, there are things I never thought you could shake a condiment out of. The paper doll site is neat. Some sewing inspiration in there.

[Jannette]

Many thanks for the paper dolls link - they're brilliant.. And what a fantastic dress, in an earlier post; inspired, your-covering-up-the-hole solution!

[Cheryl Arkison]

What fabric is that Amy, I do like it. Obviously your Grammie and I have similar tastes because I LOVE those salt and pepper shakers!

[NerdGirl]

I have a few salt & pepper shaker sets from my grandma's collection...maybe I should make some napkins to go with them! Your napkins are inspiring me!

[Jennifer]

Great shakes, and they look really good with your new napkins. I love using cloth napkins, so many fun patterns to choose from. Thanks for all the links, some really great stuff.

[Laura M.]

What a great pairing, they look like they came together! I have a totally dumb question. I have a serger and have used it for inside seams but never on the outside of something like a napkin because I don't get what you do at the ends. I know normally you chain off but what do you do on these napkins (If it's not too much of a pain to explain!)? Either way, take care!

[meg]

Do you still keep all your fabric in garbage bags? I always thought that was wonderfully insane!

[Barbara]

I have been wanting and wanting to make napkins, thanks for the inspiration. Now I just need to find my manual and remember how to make rolled hems....

[Natalie]

It's like a treasure box, this post, with all these fun links. Thank you!

[Elisa]

can't wait for the mailorder, no matter which one it is, they are all great!

[amy k.]

um, yes and no. it recently moved to laundry hampers and last week (after a year!!) just got re-organized! but I will confess to some garbage filled with scraps in the garage, you know, just in case.

[christina]

seeing those salt and pepper shakers reminded me of this photo I just saw.

http://ellaminnowpeas.tumblr.com/post/242151617/new-drawing-corner-via-little-birds

off to check out those paper dolls!

[amy k.]

hey thanks!

you can either use fray check, or trim the ends and let them fray a bit cause who cares (this is what I do) or make the chain long and thread it through a needle and then thread it back under the serged part-this is what I do if it is going to show on clothes. but I have really haven't too much of a fraying issue. I do nothing nothing or fray check.

[kelly]

I had to laugh when I read about your Grammie keeping every scrap of fabric. Mine does the same thing. :)

I know for a fact that she has some flannel from a nightgown she made me when I was 6. Wow.

[sarai]

I haven't seen Coco Avant Chanel yet, but I'm kind of glad to hear she isn't portrayed as terribly sympathetic. She was a brilliant woman, but she certainly had her share of personal flaws.

[tia]

I get visually tired of fabrics, too.

Also, thanks for the flower fairies color sheet link. My girls will adore coloring them as we're constantly printing coloring sheets for them.

[Miranda]

I totally get what you're saying about wanting to turn all of your fabric into napkins. And oh how I love Rummber Soul! I was just in the shop a month ago and could have bought their entire inventory.

[Ward]

Wow! Thanks for the link, Amy! I had a lot of fun drawing these holiday stamps. If there's enough interest we'll create more year-round stamps for everyone to enjoy!

Thanks again for the mention!

[Katie]

Soooo....is there a way to make the paper dolls bigger? Or do they print out about the same size they are on the screen?

[Sarah]

Love the stamps as well! You can also find them locally in Portland at Paper Zone (at least the one in Beaverton, haven't checked the one in SE).

[strongrrl]

Thanks for the coloring pages link. Perfect for a little one about to be trapped on a plane for 14 hours!

[Judy]

Loved the paper dolls link especially but all of the links were fun to visit. A cup of tea and a visit to your site = fun morning!

[amy k.]

oh good tip!! and they are having a big sale starting tomorrow-

[amy k.]

um, yes year-round stamps PLEASE!!

[amy k.]

bigger indeed! click on the image and they do enlarge-

[daniela]

wow! thanks so much for the mention about our new stamps by ward jenkins. aren't they fun?? and psyched to find your blog....love it! thanks again!

[tif]

ohhhh.... once again you and I agree on many things. Loved Coco! Love Ward! and must print paper dolls now!

[emily]

I am very glad someone in our party liked "Coco", but I just want to point out that my issues with it were not just that it is slow (see my praise of "Bright Star") or that she was unlikable (here I'll refer to my habit of almost always preferring villains). The Emily-movie-sin that Coco the protagonist committed was, well, being a dud. An inscrutable dud. I am not charmed by or curious about inscrutability, in fact, I think it mainly an unfortunate affect of hipsters. And I don't think it belies a richer inner world than the average person possesses.

I think this is a difficulty when one attempts to make a film about a person who's interior and intellect is where most of the interest and action lies. Viewing their actions externally, it's difficult to understand or care about their motivations, relationships, or ambitions.

Also, and this is hardly the film's fault, but it follows a very similar arch to La Vie En Rose (singing in gutters - then depending on rich older men - then finally, life-altering tragedy involving the one true love). And La Vie En Rose is so good and well-rounded, and it was hard not to compare.

-End unsolicited critique-

Um, and the napkins and egg-shakers are insanely sweet. :)

[emily]

PS: So that I'm not just beating up the movie, I should point out that the details and scenes actually pertaining to her aesthetic and eye are fascinating. I wish there had been a bit more of that...and less love triangle.

[amy k.]

typepad is being weird and my comments are actually replies to other comments on this post, but you can't tell that-so they seem very random, sorry!!!

[Trish Preston]

Like the salt and pepper shakers. I have a thing for vintage sets too. and I like the idea of the napkins for christmas gifts - I think that's a great "green" gift to give. I made my mom some placemats a couple of years ago - this would be a nice addition to those. Cool.

[Prudence Octavia]

those stamps are GORGEOUS. I need them right now........

[jenny]

I agree, the napkins go wonderfully with the salt and pepper shakers. I envy your skill with the serger. I think that my machine and I speak very different languages because I can NEVER get mine to do what I want. I think I need to learn to speak tension-ese!

[Jodz]

I love the salt and pepper shakers. What fab colours.

[Selena]

I just can't fathom anyone not having a large fabric collection. I don't even sew as much as I desire and yet my fabric seems to breed over night.
I love the cloth napkins. We only use cloth around here but mostly vintage Vera. I've yet to try to make my own. Maybe I should so my fabric could go to good use.

[Kimberly]

I'd love to be in on the receiving end of someone relaxing and whipping up cutie-patootie napkins out of their scraps for me.
My daughter was married recently and didn't want much throw-a-way type things at her wedding. We used vintage salt and pepper shakers on all the tables, then let folks have them as gifts. We got to hear a lot of grandma memories.
I also commented on the too short dress as one of your cute pics can be seen two ways.

[steph]

i loved this post, i get visually tired of fabric quickly too. i was invited to sell my sewing wares at a handmade holiday party in december. i rounded up all my thrifted sheets all over the house and made aprons with them. i feel so liberated ! hopefully i sell them all !

[Tea Potty]

Thank goodness for grandmothers who keep everything! It's amazing what treasures they've got stashed away. I just dug out my grandmother's old WWII hankies for Veteran's Day. Thank you for the great links.

[UK lass in US]

I want a serger. I'd love to make pretty napkins like that and have an easier way to seam clothes. Unfortunately I've been nagging my husband to stop eating out so much so that we can save money (although with the way I cook, I don't blame him for wanting to eat out...), so I'm trying to work out a way to swing that conversation around to 'oh, but a serger would be an investment'....

[suzanne]

Love your blog and thanks a lot for the info re. these great rubber stamps - so hard to find cool ones. And, for the dolls - they are awesome.

[Katrine K]

Thanks for the wonderful links!

[abby jenkins]

I may not be a Grandmother but I do keep every scrap of fabric, much to my husband's shagrin. Glad I do as I am pulling them all, well not all, out today to make some Christmas ornaments inspired by Fantastic Mr. Fox. Details to follow on my blog.

Happy to stumble across yours, I'll be back!

[Cloth Diapers]

I love those napkins. Surely something in my several thousand yard stash needs to be napkins this week... Hmmmm Need to destash on napkins. Great idea!

[Stephanie]

I love the salt and pepper shakers! I've been wondering about Coco avant Chanel, glad you liked it!

[Practical Polly]

Tse, your grandmother has fabric scraps from when you were three? I have just inherited my grandmother's fabric scraps. Some of them she inherited from her mother. And I shall bequeath some of them to my children (although possibly in the form of napkins- genius!)