Fieldstone Hill Design

Wednesday, December 8, 2010 by {darlene}

Yesterday, I posted on our heirloom Christmas stockings, and how we reinvented my precious collection of table linens, inherited from my Grandmother.

Today, I want to share pictures of the tree skirt that we had fashioned from one of her delicate and beautiful tablecloths.

Here is how it was made:

1. First, I had a circular under-skirt made of heavy, ivory linen {wish I could tell you I sewed it myself. unfortunately, that is not my gift! But if you can sew, this project has practically no cost, save the fabric of the under-skirt}. This is the first thing that is placed under the tree. It is beautiful all by itself, in its simplicity.

2. Then, I had the heirloom tablecloth made into a tree skirt. The rectangular tablecloth was cut right down the center, and connected at the ends in order to make a long rectangular shape. Then it was given a top seam, similar to a rod pocket on a curtain. Long satin ribbon is inside that ‘rod pocket,’ and that is how the skirt is gathered to become a circle. We did it this way so that we could feature the beautiful crewel-work edging on the tablecloth, and so we would not have to cut this decorative edging on the tablecloth.

3. Ivory satin ribbons were added to the ends, and when the tree skirt loosley gathers under the tree, it is connected with these ribbons that match up.

My seamstress must have asked me 5 times: “Are you SURE you want me to cut it?” {once she was done with it, she was sold. She told me she will be making some things out of her own heirlooms. yay!}.

The whole process was very affordable, and it cost me less for the 2 skirts and 6 stockings than it would have for one modestly priced store-bought tree skirt.

Maybe you have an heirloom of your own that can be repurposed this Christmas?
{darlene}

ditto :: the most enticing, little Nook ever

Tuesday, December 7, 2010 by {darlene}

Stop what you are doing and curl up with a book. or just your thoughts.

sigh. I am so jealous of this space.
Everyone thinks that Huge, Large, Big is all the rage.
ah. I beg to differ!

nothing says comfort. snuggle. safe. intimate. quiet: like a Nook.

{house beautiful}

ditto :: {what I would steal from this space}:

definitely the windows. to have a window in a Nook invites daydreaming, praying, and endless pondering. And how I LOVE the circular window. Like a porthole to another world.
two places to sit. facing. Although you cannot see it in this picture, I am ever so hopeful that there is another seat, just across the way, with the same delightful cushion. Can you imagine having a date right here, in your own home? A cup of perfect coffee and two in their Nook.
a small, airy table that blocks no light, but offers just the right spot for your notebook and cup.
seats wide enough to pull up your knees and curl into a C. A detail that could be easily missed!
hand hewn beams and antique pine floors. They never get old.
a colorful and creative and fluffy cushion. Down, no doubt. This detail could be under-estimated, but a fine and brave fabric really does elevate your space to a new level of beautiful.
details that ask you to stay a while: the soft blanket and the binoculars. Practical beauty.
I am guessing that the curtain off to the left actually closes up to offer privacy from the outside. But I like that it offers privacy to the Nook as well. Why not?
Fresh flowers. A creative space is not complete without a touch of true Creation.

the smaller the better. the smaller the cozier. the smaller, the more often used to curl up and dream.

Aren’t you ready to start planning your very own Nook?

{darlene}

For more “beautiful ditto” posts {my favorite!}, click HERE.
The Christmas tree skirts, mentioned in this post, will be posted tomorrow.

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heirlooms :: Christmas stockings

Monday, December 6, 2010 by {darlene}

Many years ago, I inherited my grandmother’s fine table linens.

They sat and sat and sat in the linen closet. Too beautiful and fragile for me to risk using too often. Too difficult to maintain.
But I finally came up with the perfect way to make these treasured heirlooms a part of our family, and a way to free them from just sitting in the closet.

I had them made into our Christmas stockings, tree skirt, and ribbons.

Today, I want to share our pics of the heirloom Christmas stockings. If you have similarly neglected, but beloved heirloom table linens, I would definitely recommend upcycling them in this way.

I did not make these myself, because I am not much of a seamstress. But, this was not an expensive project. I had a huge discussion with the seamstress beforehand that went something like this:

“are you SURE you want me to cut up your grandmother’s linens?”

“yes!”

“are you SURE????”

“I am convinced that my grandmother would want me to enjoy these beauties, instead of leaving them in a box inside my closet!”

{a year later, my seamstress did the same thing to her grandmother’s linens. happy joy!}

The stocking itself is made from lined, sturdy, matching white linen. I did have to purchase the additional linen for this “foot” part of the stocking, but if I had wanted to, I could have used an old linen tablecloth.

heirloom stockings

Then atop each stocking is a different heirloom napkin:

heirloom stockings

Now, these beauties are no longer hidden away!

We treasure these heirlooms afresh year after year after year. I smile at knowing my grandmother’s treasured beauties are not sitting in some linen closet in my home!

This is not the only way that we have repurposed these treasured linens.
Click here to see how I made a tree skirt and ribbons from the rest of my grandmother’s heirloom table linens.

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