Making progress . . . sorta.

So, partner. Hope this is starting to look good to you. Of course, I have nothing solid to show you but this should give you an idea of the general direction I am headed for your project. I'm thinking tablecloth. And maybe a set of placemats—but do you use placemats? I know we don't in our home but something makes me think they'd be awfully pretty.

I've been tossing around 2 ideas for the tablecloth—and then a variation on each.

The first is for the top to all be a solid linen but the part that hangs down around the edges of your table to be strips of fabric pieced together. I'd probably put some kind of sashing between the linen and the strips. This is the one I'd most likely consider making placemats that match. They could also be reversible.

With this option, I'm also trying to decide if I'd want to do log cabins or something in the corners or if I would just continue straight piecing.

The second idea, which I think I'm actually leaning toward, would be to do a simple strip of pieced fabrics down the center of an otherwise linen tablecloth. I'm thinking that I would use some thermolam in there so that the "runner" element of the tablecloth would actually be insulated. This way it would act is a built-in set of trivets. I know we'd love that at my house!

Now, the flip side on both of these ideas—literally—is that these could be reversible. One completely different set of fabrics on each side. My mind keeps going to the really vibrant Anna Maria Horner Garden Party on one side and the more calm, but happy, Denyse Schmidt County Fair Home Dec on the other. Two looks rolled into one.

I have a zillion ideas buzzing around in my head for you! Just can't quite choose. I'm worrying a bit that these are to much "me" and maybe not enough "you" . . . if you know what I mean.