Patchwork napkins

Welcome to my stop on the Gen X Quilters' Patchwork Napkins blog hop!

No lie, napkins have been on my to-do list since I got my first sewing machine (that's, what, three machines ago now?). And it's so silly that I haven't made any yet, because they take No. Time. At all. So when I saw AnneMarie's adorable Patchwork Napkins PDF pattern, and she asked me to take part in her blog hop, I couldn't sign up fast enough.

This pattern really is easy, quick, and fun. And flexible too, which I love. You can choose either of two napkin sizes: Every Day (the size of a paper napkin), and Formal (more generous). I made the Formal size, because that's how we roll around here. (Kidding—I just have messy eaters!) The pattern also offers four different patchwork blocks to add to the corner of the napkin.

I did the log cabin blocks on both of my napkins. I grabbed a Kona Solids charm pack that I'd had in my sewing room for ages, pulled charms from two color families, and chopped them up for the blocks. A perfect use of that charm pack!

Even though I think the log cabin blocks are probably the most time-consuming of the four block options in the pattern, it still took me only about two hours to make two napkins. I'm definitely planning to make several more, for a complete set!

The self-binding instructions in the pattern are really clear and easy to follow. I wasn't very confident about self-binding, since I've only tried that method one other time, but sure enough, the binding turned out pretty great!