Zebra Disappointment

I'm afraid you are sick to death of hearing about my porch. Hey -- any excuse to put up pictures of my favorite people, y'know...This is a picture of my two favorite Linda's during our bookclub lunch. And the other day, remember the picture of my Fritatta breakfast? In both cases, the table is set with the stunning Zebra striped placemats. You can only imagine how much I've enjoyed them!

And, just using them always made me smile because I purchased them during my trip to Canada to visit my friend Marion (who I know reads this blog!). I was sooo delighted that day when I found the fabulous zebra striped placemats at our favorite Home Sense store. The fun & funky souvenir of my trip -- and I could actually pack into my suitcase without paying a $75 overweight fee! I knew they were PERFECT. And I have enjoyed them so much -- they added a great touch of panache to my zebra-theme porch meals.

Even though I only used them for special occasions, as you know, it's been a VERY busy summer -- so I finally had to launder them. IMAGINE MY DISAPPOINTMENT when they came out of the washing machine, full of hard lumps in the corners. OMG.

But it just proves the point -- ONCE AGAIN -- that you're getter off SEWING -- because I would have used a washable BATTING. DUH!

Can you see what was inside the placemats? I opened a seam to take this picture. It was some kind of cheesy, paper-like stiffener. I would never call it interfacing -- but it had that feel to it. UGH. After just one washing, it turned into big lumps. They would never be worth the time it would take to fix them. So -- SAY GOODBYE...

I never throw zebra out. Sooner or later, I'll recycle the zebra fabric. I could use it in the denim recycle project...that's right -- I still might need a butt gusset....