Jane Sassaman quilt artist, fabric designer, author and teacher

Happy Holidays everyone! We were lucky to get a dusting of snow for a traditional white Christmas here. Inside we are keeping the holiday decor simple this year! The house is small so it just takes a few tweaks to alter its attitude. I love the joyful combination of red and white any time of year, but it is especially welcome in the gray days of winter.

Greg found this wonderful table in a resale shop. It’s just what we’ve been looking for… large, clean and not too precious to use. So this is its first Christmas with us and I was excited to dress it up for the holidays.

I started by making three runners, a long one for the center of the table in the Early Birds Strawberry Poka Dot fabric and two shorter ones in the Strawberry Cheeky Checks. I quilted then with a thick denim stitch so the thread would show up nicely on both sides.

The napkins are made with the reversible Pint Size Party Napkin Pattern in the dots and the checks, too, but with Strawberry Prairie Poppies for the reverse side. Although the Poppies are traditional Christmas colors, they are lighter and brighter variations lending a contemporary feeling.

Each runner is pointed at both ends and each point has a button hole to hold interchangeable decorations. I made simple yarn tassels for this variation, but I could button on something different for other occasions… hearts or rosettes for Valentines, for example.

Here you can see it viewed from the little loft above. I think the simplicity and color make this a very inviting setting. But being a Libra I had to make this project appropriate for my friends who celebrate different holidays, too, so…

I made each runner reversible. On this side we’re using the Blueberry color ways of the dots and checks. I think this is just as pretty as the red table… and a nice excuse to get out some Willowware.  Just an easy change of color can really make a difference in a room. There is a Plum color way of these fabrics, too, that could be fabulous for a spring table setting.

These napkins used the Bleeding Hearts and Iris fabric from my previous FreeSpirit collection, Garden Divas. The little bit of contrasting color adds some excitement. Notice that in both versions we have paired the checked napkins with the dotted runners and visa versa.

Don’t the cyclamen go nicely with the blue, too? We could even use both the red and blue runners and napkins together for a July 4th event, as well.

In any case, I’m hoping that this post adds a little more color and light to your holiday season. Don’t forget to take a little time out for fabric fondling this week, too!