This year, as we get ready for Thanksgiving, I decided to look back to when I had a little more time for some inspiration. We’re hosting a big crowd of family, and these days we’re just barely keeping up with things, so If I don’t think about it now it’ll be white plates on plain tables.
A few years ago, in our old house, we hosted a small Thanksgiving dinner for our family and I used things from around the house to set a casual table that made me really happy:
It was a long table and I didn’t have any proper linens (still don’t) so I used a pair of linen curtains from Ikea as my tablecloth (dropcloths would have been easy too) and layered them with a pumpkin-colored Kantha quilt or “Nakshi Kantha.”
Kantha is a type of embroidery popular in India (in West Bengal) and it’s often used to make simple quilts out of old saris and cloth. I’m sure you’ve seen them, but I can’t get enough of them. I have a few in my own home and use them all the time- from picnic blankets, to throws on the sofa, to bedspreads to table cloths- I am in love. They’re all different and I can (and have) sift through piles of kanthas for hours to find my favorite ones to bring home.
{I picked up about 15 of my favorites from Market this year for our home furnishings store in Great Falls Virginia, opening December 7th. On a sidenote- I’m wanting to keep everything I find for the shop!!! Help I’m a hoarder!!!}