Napkins for Karen

I found this fantastic vintage '70s fabric on clearance during a ladies' weekend in St. Michaels, Md., a few years ago. Couldn't make myself cut into for the longest time, but when dinner napkins showed up on my SIL's birthday wish list, I knew what I had to do. They'll be perfect with Karen's famous homemade bread and broccoli-cheese soup. Which, by the way, is one of my favorite meals. Karen. If you're reading this.

A Sewing Lesson

During Christmas break, we invited three girls over for a sewing lesson. My niece received a sewing machine for Christmas and was eager to break it in, and two of my daughter's best friends are also interested in sewing. We used Simplicity pattern 3553 (Learn to Sew series) and some fun flannel from JoAnn Fabrics. Four hours (and one glass of wine) later, they modeled the result:










Every single one of us was tickled with those pants. I'm not sure I'd do it again with so many girls at once (four little lead feet on those pedals had me kinda stressed), but it was a wonderful feeling to see them so excited about sewing.