Easing Into Fall ~ Tablescape Reprise

  

 I've heard that people favor the time of year they were born and if that's the case, then it makes perfect sense that Fall should be my favorite season.  It is.

I posted this table last year and am working on a similar table now...but alas, I did not finish as I've been working on something else,  something that I'm so anxious to share because it's pretty big, but I have to get thumbs up from someone else first.   Hopefully very soon I can share this exciting news with you!  So, for now, let's get back to the table.  I think this table hints at the season to come, and would have been really cute set outside or even better yet, inside a barn, or even better in an apple orchard!  You can read my depressing apple poem at the end of this post.  I wrote it in my mind while on a tractor with, I think, Kalyn's kindergarten class to a local apple orchard....a long time ago.  

A big strip of burlap fabric makes a super simple and rustic long runner for the table.  It sets the whole mood of 'casual'.  I have set many tables with cloths that don't fully cover the table and leave some of the wood exposed.  I love this look. My table is worn and rugged but it did not start out that way.  I still run across this very table in magazines but it still looks brand new there.  I like that we've worn this baby in.  It looks like an antique now because it's been weathered naturally ( if you call a family of eight natural). 

Inexpensive dish towels were used in place of chargers or placemats.  They are tri-folded lengthwise and allowed to hang over the edge of the table. They help define each space.  I bought these at Tuesday Morning for only a few dollars per pack of six.  I now wish I'd purchased some of the other colors they had at the time; blue, green, and black.

I crumbled up a little Raffia at each place setting as I think it conjures up the image of hay, and I love the added texture.  This is easily removed before dinner as it may prove to be a little cumbersome to eat around (that's what Ashton thinks).

I began setting the table with these Royal Doulton plates...

 ...such a pretty pattern...

...with the sweetest little butterfly trying to hide amongst the fruits and flowers...

...and then I got to the last place setting only to realize I had seven plates, not eight.

Improv time.

Take away three of the Royal Doulton plates and bring in four of these Ridgway plates for a mixed table setting.  I like mixing it up anyway.

 Aren't these pretty?  I have one of each of the plates in my every day set of mix-n-match red transferware plates.  The rest of them are for sale in my Etsy shop, English Transferware.

This one has a pretty border as well.

I chose to use my faux bamboo flatware (Horchow)

 and old fashioned, mock bubble glasses (Walmart).

Believe it or not I couldn't find one of my napkins either.  I mixed them up and then wound up finding the missing one...so you might notice this in some of the photos.  What's uniform is that I tied a few strands of hemp around each napkin instead of using napkin rings.  I love this stuff.  I've found so many uses for this as of late, including my demijohn project.

I've wanted to use these grapevine spheres as a centerpiece for a while now and this seemed a perfect match.  I scrunched up a gingham tablecloth, laid a leafy, fruity garland on top and then wedged the forms into the greenery so they would be stable and not roll around.  To further evoke the feeling of Fall, I placed a few apples here and there.  Simple centerpiece!  The grapevine balls  are from Hobby Lobby, and if I remember correctly, they are only $2-3 (when you buy them half off).  

Shawn remarked a couple of times about how much he liked this tablesetting.  I hope you all like it too!

An Apple Unpicked

I took ride upon the tractor,

Bushel at my breast

Through fields of amber,

Past the birds empty nest.

On through leaves of crimson,

I arrived to look down the lane

Where apples should be upon the trees-

But already had been slain

I could see no fruit was there,

Not one apple in the trees

I just stood...still, and quiet,

And listened to the buzzing bees

Never did I pluck from the tree

A singe fruit, round and red-

Only off the ground I lifted

An apple bruised and fallen dead.

Never I got what I thought,

To pick my apple from the tree-

To taste a bite, deliciously ripe-

The experience was not meant for me.

Nancy M Roberts ©2002

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