Draping the colors of autumn on a fireplace mantel evoke the seasonal abundance of harvest time. Sew triangular pennant shapes selecting fabrics in the brilliant golds, yellows, oranges, browns and reds that remind us of the changing colors of leaves and of the season’s annual transition from the in

A fabric with "nap" has gone through a manufacturing finishing process that raises the fiber ends to the surface where they are then shorn, brushed or simply left upright. This creates a sculpted surface texture as the raised fibers all lie in one direction.

With the last of summer lingering, and the approaching cooler weather signaling the coming autumn, our sewing projects take on a compelling urgency. Like squirrels foraging for winter, we search the fabric stores and our own fabric stash for just the right complementary autumn colors.

Prims are a form of folk art - handmade decorative crafts assembled from fabrics of muted gingham, plaids, natural linens, tea-colored muslin, and burlap. Often accented with weathered boards, punched tins, and tied with twine of jute or raffia - prim crafts suggest a nostalgia for times past.