Small Repurposing Project

Ah, the rush and excitement of the holiday season is over and I am getting back into my sewing room and next sewing projects.  Thank you, everyone, for stopping to read my end of the year review and especially your comments.  I'm not yet ready to publicly commit to my sewing goals for the year but I am mulling over some ideas, inspired by the many other goals and resolutions I read in blogland.  
In the meantime here's a small repurposing project that I did just before Christmas.  I have this collection of gossamer thin, beautifully embroidered hankies.  

Hankies drying

Many of them are probably my mother's and grandmother's but I can't tell you any more detailed provenance than that.  Years ago I thought I would be turning these into garment embellishment....you know, during the Laura Ashley flower-y period.  That really wasn't the most flattering look for me then and by now I'd look more like Miss Haversham covered in doilies.  

So what to do with them?  I did a long, cleaning soak for all of them and then decided to use them as cocktail napkins.  We do casual entertaining with wine and appetizers and these former handkerchiefs are sturdy and just the right size.  I kept the all white ones as napkins 

and will take the printed ones to my sewing retreat later this month as giveaways to my more creative friends.  

So excitied about this upcoming event.  But what to bring for projects?

I'm also cutting out some TNT knit tops and dresses to keep in my project drawer.  I read more than one book at a time and can sew more than one project at a time.      I don't advise this as an approach for everyone but it seems that my scattered brain likes to take a break from a challenging project and create something new and easy before tackling the next steps.  

I've also been reading and after-Christmas sale shopping.  Santa brought me a Kindle Fire and I'm in love with it.  I have two entirely different library books on it right now and enjoy the convenience of selecting which one I want to read any given evening. 
Speaking of books, I have two more that I enjoyed immensely during the last month.  Both were recommended to me and I'm glad I took the advice of friends since I found both of them entertaining and full of some thoughtful ideas as well.  They're not new books and even the Amazon reviews are divided but they worked for me.

Yes, I might be the last person on the planet to read this one but I must admit I thoroughly enjoyed the first two sections.  However, the last "love" section is sort of like looking at someone's vacation slides.  Mildly interesting but not as exciting as it was for the actual trip takers.  So too with love affairs.  They are much better as stories for the lovers than for the observers.  

This last one I listened to while bike riding and walking and also thoroughly enjoyed.  I was a little anxious about it when I first heard the title several years ago.  As more and more of us are wont to say these days, "I'm not religious but I am spiritual."  But I have tremendous respect for my truly humble, religious friends (and contempt for those who use religion for control and power) so I didn't want to read some snarky take on religious believers, ala Bill Maher's "Religulous."  But this book was charming, a little educational and self-deprecating.  
I think the conclusion from both these choices is to listen to friends who have similar viewpoints and your book choices won't go too far wrong.  Hey, that's probably true for most other areas as well.