Although I need to be creating Easter crafts, all my time is being spent on my impending dinner party.  Every detail must be thought through and every task completed. Since I have no staff (in my daydreams, I have a butler to help!) to make assignments to, I get to stay up late to make sure it all gets done.

I had wanted pale blue tablecloths, and after searching high and low, finally found some that would work.  However, they were all much too big for my tables.  I spent several hours measuring, cutting and sewing new seams.  Why would I spend so much time on this, you ask?  I am a firm believer that a tablecloth should hang down no more than 10 inches on all sides.

Though books and online resources suggest overhangs of anywhere from 4 to 15 inches for a dining table, I feel sticking to a shorter length is easier for the dining guests to deal with.  If the tablecloth is resting in a person’s lap, they could easily mistake it for their napkin. A shorter length is more practical. It also looks better when the chairs are pushed in.  The tablecloth can hang straight and not pool in the chair seat.

Of course, for a service table, floor length is beautiful and does not cause the same problems as at a dining table.

Bonus:  Do you know what a bobeshe is?  It is a small glass ring that slides over a candle to catch melting wax so that it doesn’t get on your table or candlestick.

Here is a really dark shot of one of my candlesticks, but maybe you can discern the bobeshe.