there's no place like gnome.

Today, in the latest episode of “Things I Really Don’t Need to Sew but Do Anyways” are cloth napkins.

I’ve been a pretty big fan the last couple years. Of cloth napkins, that is. I’ve got a stack that have served me well. It’s all I use – whether I’m by myself or have guests at my table. It just makes me feel fancy and put together, even if it’s grilled cheese on my plate. But here’s the thing: these cloth napkins I’ve been using, I didn’t make them.  I bought them. And it had just gotten to the point where I couldn’t live with that. Plus – they were all the same color. Or the same design. I needed some homemade variety!

The push came when I was the first host for our Lent book&supper club. We are reading this book (It’s quite delightful with delicious recipes.) and there is a group of women who are meeting weekly over supper to discuss what we’ve read. I hosted this last Tuesday. I NEEDED to have new cloth napkins by then. There was no other option (in my project-minded brain).

So I set about cutting and sewing napkins. I made five. The five pictured below. But five isn’t enough!  And so there is a stack of seven more waiting to be sewn in my craft room. Why does a person who rarely hosts more than two or three or four people at her house for a meal need a dozen cloth napkins?  (When, mind you, all those cloth napkins she had before are still in the drawer too.) Because the fabric is pretty and I simply couldn’t stop.

My weekender tote and I are in Montana. We arrived by train last Thursday and have been hanging out ever since. Here’s what’s been happening:

Thursday: Train arrives on time to Havre, MT. Picked up at the train station by Melissa and her three adorable munchkins – H, H, & H. Meet newest munchkin, Hadley Hope. We paint. Settle in. Meet Melissa’s twin sister and her daughter, who have also come to stay, all the way from Alaska. YAY to it all!
Friday: Travel to Fort Benton for our annual lunch trip to the cutest little coffee shop. Make glitter playdough and hang out for the rest of the day. Sprinkle pancakes for supper. YAY!

Saturday: Cookie day! Mix dough, roll, and bake. YAY! Saturday afternoon it all began to turn into a BOO. I started to not feel well; retreated to my room. Stomach flu hits. Huge, gigantic BOO.

Sunday: This was to be the day that Paige and I officially became godparents to Miss Hadley in church. I was sick in bed instead. BOO. Eventually return to the land of the living by evening for some toast, after naps and many episodes of Game of Thrones on my iPad in my windowless basement room. 

Monday: Head for Essex at Glacier for our conference. Snow, mountains, and trees. Feeling better. YAY.

Today: Currently on break from class.  Hanging by the fire at the inn, cross stitching and quilting. Class again tonight, once more tomorrow morning, and then we are back to Big Sandy for one more night before the train ride home.  It’s gone too quickly, especially with losing two days due to icky sickness!

Views of the afternoon (You’ll have to tilt your head on the last one – the WordPress app won’t let me edit or delete it.):