Tuesday, November 30, 2010

catching the drips

Our Thanksgiving was great.  My dad was here this year; it was so nice that he wasn't traveling with the WVU basketball team. I can't remember the last time he's been home for Thanksgiving. His presence was a real treat.  The meal was delicious, although I thought the turkey was a bit dry - but that's why we had gravy! 
My aunt made the best pumpkin upside down cake and the kids all played a game of football when the weather cleared. The day was spent visiting, eating, napping and doing dishes.  As the mountain of dishes was washed we used my newly sewn dish mat
 I made this dish mat for all those dishes that aren't allowed to go into the dishwasher.  I typically have used tea towels and they would end up very soggy.  But this dish mat worked great....it caught all the drips and stayed absorbent til the last glass was put away.  The back of it is an old bath towel that I re purposed and it works much better at catching those drips than a cotton tea towel. And it looks pretty!
 I made two...one for us and one for a gift.  These would make great hostess gifts over the holiday season.  You could make them in a Christmas/winter theme or coordinate them to match your hostess's kitchen.  They are fast and satisfying and they made dish washing a little bit more fun.  I've got a couple more to make for Christmas presents....I just need to round up some more 'out of commission towels' to reuse.  This week we're putting away the turkeys and pilgrims and pulling out the Christmas decorations....I hope your week is full of new inspiration as well!  happy last day of November.

16 comments:

aspiritofsimplicity said...

What a pretty dish mat. I think you may have inspired me to make a few of these myself.

Meg said...

What a great idea! I had more than one soggy dishtowel on Thursday. I'm so glad you had a special Thanksgiving!

From All Stitched Up said...

Your Thanksgiving looked great. I love the dishmat too. I thought I was the only one who put the dishes to dry on a dishtowel.

Stephanie said...

You're one smart cookie! I too had soggy dish towels at my house on Thursday. I will definitely whip one of these up before Christmas Eve brunch at my house. Glad to hear your dad was with you this holiday, it's nice to have family all together.

Designs on 47th Street said...

Oh yes, I definitely had a few soggy dish towels. Your creative towel is so pretty and useful, Lisa. So nice you had your dad around for TG. I still miss my Daddy after almost 20 yrs.

Happy Decorating!

Donna

At Home Mommy Knits said...

I'm so glad you had a lovely Thanksgiving. Love all your autumn decorations and I LOVE the pencil pouch you posted about a couple of post ago (catching up on my blogs :). Have a wonderful week.

Leslie said...

What a clever idea! And so pretty, too. That will make a great gift.

Gloria said...

It looks like you had a wonderful Thanksgiving...:) That is great your dad got to be there. I am happy for you.

Your dish mat is so pretty! I viewed the tutorial, thanks for posting the link for it. I always use a towel on the counter top to unload dishes out of the dishwasher, and for the hand- washed dishes. This is such a nice alternative to a regular towel! I should try and make myself one...:)Gifts would be good too!

How wonderful for you that you are going to have your Christmas decorations displayed with your fresh new paint in your home! That is always a plus!! :) Enjoy!

~ The Jolly Bee ~ said...

I have two of those dish mats in rotation at all times, but both of mine are looking a little worn. Maybe it's time to play keeping up with Lisa and make some new ones. Your fabric choices are spot-on! Love 'em.

Tonya Gunn said...

What a beautiful table.
Great idea to make a drying cloth too.
Warm wishes, Tonya

Kristyn Knits said...

Looks like the holiday was wonderful. Your skill at decorating your home continues to amaze me. Everything looks so put together and magazine-like. LOVE the dish mat. You're so thoughtful to think of using something you love as a gift idea.

Larissa said...

Your thanksgiving looks wonderful. I love your 'entertaining' posts and the ease with which you host and feed family and friends. Your dish mat is so cute - i actually have a plastic dish rack because i wash dishes every night but i need to make one of these too - for all the overflow!

Anonymous said...

Your Thanksgiving looks lovely, and your dish mat is a great idea. We could certainly use a few. I'm just curious to know: what is the cup full of holes used for? (Or am I not seeing it clearly?)

Kristyn Knits said...

LOVE your new header!!

Tracy said...

Hi, Lisa! Loved seeing & hearing about Thanksgiving! And the dish mat is a GREAT idea! We're now back from our Thanksgiving/USA trip--had wonderful time! I'm slowing getting to visiting and such though, as I've not been feeling too well in recent days--but getting there. Great to be catching up with you and back in blogland. :o) Happy Days ((HUGS))

cathleen said...

Really pretty, Lisa. Have I told you lately how much I appreciate your visits? You are a sweetheart!