Table Top Swap

This past month I've participated in a new swap called the Table Top swap which is a spin-off swap from the Potholder Pass and led by the fantabulous (yes that's a word!) Amy Friend (during quiet time).

Since we use cloth napkins almost exclusively, I thought it would be a fun swap to participate in. I've made napkins before, so I figured why not, how hard can it be?? {Dramatic foreshadowing}... queue the spooky music...all was not well.... more on that later.

As it turns out my swap partner was also the swap mama, so I had to keep all photos under wraps until she received her package so that it would be a surprise since she knew very well who was sending her the napkins.  So here they are:



I thought that these captured her 'style' pretty well.  I hope so!

The edging is composed of paper-pieced octagons on both sides sandwiching the lecien cotton linen in the middle which makes them reversible.  I think they turned out great if I do say so myself.  

Now for the drama....As it turns out this month-long endeavor was just fraught with disaster. First my paper pieces were lost in the mail.  Really lost. They still haven't arrived, but thankfully the lovely people at paper pieces just sent me out a new package.

Meanwhile, waiting for the mail, I was getting a bit nervous about the whole project being so late, so I started on a 2nd set of napkins with crochet edgings inspired by Synnoeve Kristiansen Dyresen's (fellow Table Top Swapper) lovely post here.  So I was working on both projects intermittently.   Then various other things happened, after ironing my pieced and sewn together strips of octagons the first 2 complete sets of edgings just opened up.  Like a flower after the rain, they just refused to keep their shape! Ugh, so disappointing after all those hours of careful piecing.  I was about chuck the entire thing in the bin and just go with the crochet napkins which were all done at this point.  But I really liked my original idea and I'm not one to be swayed so easily. I have ironed paper pieced things before and usually they hold their shape beautifully, so I began to suspect my iron was the culprit. After a good nights sleep I decided to try again.

This time the ironed pieces held and were nicely sandwiched and sewn onto the linen piece. Since the first one turned out pretty well, I decided to proceed knowing full well that this was now going to take me the better part of the day and, as it turns out, also the night. But by midnight all 4 napkins were done.

But, of course there is more.  Only 3 napkins seemed to be in residence.  The mysterious 4th napkin had gone missing! Oh no!  How can this happen?  I searched high and low and it was not to be found! UGH  Ok this was actually all on the mail day and as it was nearing midnight, I decided that clearer and calmer heads would prevail the next day.  I was spent! exhausted! I had reached my limit!  I haven't mentioned that I was battling some kind of cold bug through all this.

The next morning, I decided to search the car, where said missing napkin had last been spotted and did finally find it (hallelujah!) wedged between the seat and the door.  Phew!! After that I decided to use the crochet/consolation prize napkins as padding to keep the bonus chocolate safe! and sent the entire package off to Amy!   I sure hope she likes them!

If you read all that, you deserve a prize!  I think we all deserve a tall drink after going through that sewing drama.

Now off to rest some more, before the next swap if they ever let me back into another swap that is!

Happy Sewing!