Crochet Deer

I had a lot of things I could have been doing this weekend, but instead, I crocheted a deer.

...I have no regrets. It's adorable and it goes perfectly with my crocheted Christmas decor.

I used the Sherman the Deer pattern by SnuggleMe Stitches on Ravelry and scrap balls of yarn. In fact, it's a bit hard to tell, but the back two legs and part of one of the front legs is made with a different yarn than the rest of the body. I intended to use the same brown shade for the ears, but ran out exactly at the end (luckily) of the last leg.

Placemats, Napkins, and Table Runner Sewing Tutorial

With the holidays fast approaching, it's the perfect time to give your tablescape an update. I recently sewed new placemats, napkins, and a table runner because I felt like a change.

All of these projects are fairly simple and quick to sew up. The trickiest part is learning the mitered corner technique for the napkins (but it's worth it for them to hold up for a long time). The placemats are reversible to either show a solid color or the accent. The table runner is also reversible, cleverly matching my new placemats on one side and my old placemats on the other side. Plus, I like the warm neutral side to set out during the day. It *may* be because it matches the pillows I made here. Since I live in a condo, the dining area and living room are the same room.

I made my placemats a fairly standard size. My napkins, however, are simply the maximum size the piece of remnant fabric allowed (minus a bit more from a sewing error!). The table runner is just the size of fabric samples I had, which I thought was a nice size for my table.