Chandelier Table Runner

 A very small and simple finish this week.  Another one that has been sitting in the binding pile for about 18months or more.  A table runner made from blocks leftover from this quilt that I made in 2020.  The second in my set of 3 Chandelier Beads projects. 

Detail of quilting and the binding.

I quilted the runner on my domestic sewing machine with a simple interlocking hearts/leaves design, using rayon machine embroidery thread.  I love how it gives texture over the top of the simple design and subtle colours of the runner.

Because the fabrics I used are so subtle, I chose a piece of multi-coloured blue/green/purple batik for the binding to give it a bit of a lift.

Backing folded onto the front with the lovely binding contrast.

I took this runner to a sewing with friends day recently so that I could finish the binding.  Sitting next to me was Marg, an 80+yr old with a huge heart.  She said to me many times how much she loves this runner.  Marg and I share our birthday day and each year on Retreat with our group, she and I go off and have a little 'cheers' to each other and share a red wine, which we both love.  So, with memories of great conversations, drinks and solving world problems,  I will gift this runner to her when I next see her.

This is my second photo of the whole runner because I realised for the full shot of the whole runner that I took when it was on the floor, it looked really bleergh!!  I retook the whole shot photo on my sewing table - soooo much better!

Although, I still managed to get my shadow on part of the photo - duh!  I'll need to work on that ;)

Interesting colours - the grey is not a true grey and seems to have tones of purple in it.  I really like the subtlety of the colour and feel that it will blend into any decor.   

Finished size is 37cm x 98cm   (14.5in x 38.5in)

Elegantly Royal

 I initially started this table runner with the intention that it become a gift - the event it was to be gifted at was the end of 2015 - ho hum, can't rush these things.  It may still become a gift, I am not sure.....  I do like it an awful lot myself....

The designer of this pattern, had chosen some motifs from the Royal Exhibition Buildings in Melbourne, hence the name of the pattern Royal Exhibition Elegance (by Michele Hill)

One of the motifs for inspiration of applique.

 I took the above photo while at the flower and garden show in Melbourne.  It took quite a bit of effort to get a photo without somebody's head in it!

When I was choosing the fabrics, I had in mind a Thai/Bali style dinner set, with the lovely ochre and blue pottery dinnerware, hence the choice of batik fabric.

Then I had to choose which thread to applique with....

As you can see, it took me a few goes to get it right.  I settled on a light grey with a fleck in it - perfect.  My good friend, R, claims it took me two hours to choose the right colour!  Cheeky thing!

Applique detail

 The awesome backing fabric is from the "Melba" range by Leesa Chandler, it was a happy sewing room accident when I was flinging fabric out of the cupboard to find a backing piece and this one landed on it - just gorgeous.... :)

Once the applique was completed, I quilted a long feather design along the longest sides and filled in the rest with stipple and in the ditch around the applique pieces.

And.... drum roll please... here is a photo of the completed table runner, in all of it's extremely looonnnggg glory - 208cm x 49.5cm (82in x 19.5in)

Yes, I would definitely make Royal Exhibition Elegance  again - such a terrific pattern, because after the pieces are all fused to the background, the applique was relatively easy.

21/06/2017 Update - not a gift, I put it onto my own dining table where it looks fabulous and the whole family loves it.  :)

Christmas Dining

Yay!  It's finished!  Back in January I posted  twice about the Poppy Table Runner that I had simmering away in my stash of projects.  I initially wrote about it as my first item for the Book It Challenge that I decided to take part in.

To say the applique stitching on this table runner was demanding, would be an understatement - it was slow with all the little points and curves, then I got onto to the miniature blue flowers, oh my goodness, I am sure that they bred and multiplied while I was stitching them down - they never seemed to end!

Back of runner to show the stitching around the applique shapes.

  My husband said:  "Holy Cow" when I showed him......

Detail of poppy flower

Detail of feather quilting down the centre

And, finally, here it is - all 162.5cm x 39.3cm (64in x 15.5in) in stunning glory.  I have re-named Poppy to be Christmas Dining because it shall grace the centre of my Christmas table this year.

I am extremely happy and very proud of myself for finishing such an intensive project.  Apologies for the bragging, but I'm super stoked!!

Pattern: "Poppy" from More William Morris Applique by Michele Hill pub 2012

Book It!

One of the lovely ladies in a Yahoo group to which I belong is running for 2017 a "Book It" Challenge.  You need to make a project from a book or magazine or pattern which you already owned for a few years and have never gotten around to using.  Alternatively, it can be something from a book that you have already started, which is what I am doing.

OK - so I took out my first intended project for the Book It Challenge, from my long list [copious amounts of UFO projects].....

Upon pulling this project out - I had to deal with a dust cloud that had been sitting on top of the ziploc bag, several sneezes later, I could then open up the book to remember which of the two Michele Hill patterns/books I had been working from/on.

"Poppy" table runner (67" x 41") with many detailed flowers and leaves.  The pattern comes from the book More William Morris by Michele Hill - pub C&T 2012.

What I have found is:  all fabrics, all shapes traced onto vliesofix and fused to the flower and leaf fabrics, but not cut out.

In my notebook - dates say this project was started around October 2013.

And then........


From the same book - More William Morris,  I have also started "Summer Stroll" a stunning children's quilt design, made as a row by row.

Three of the five rows have been completely fused on and are waiting for stitching.  the other two rows are shapes, drawn onto vliesofix and fused to the fabrics, waiting for cutting out and sticking to their background pieces.

My notebook tells me that "Summer Stroll" was started in February 2013 as part of a monthly class.
First things first - I will work on "Poppy".  One project at a time!  Seriously, who am I kidding??

PS:  Please excuse the odd sized font - I have tried a few times to make it all the same, but to no avail.

Dresden Plates, Lace and Red

There's something very nice about Table Runners, especially those made with red!  Somehow a well set table can be transformed into a stunning table with the addition of nice runner.  Here are two for show'n'tell.

First - is made up of 4 Dresden Plates.  This is a pattern torn from a magazine, Creating Country Threads - Vol 11 No 12 and is called Beautifully Blush by Leanne Pitman

Each block was a delight to make and I am very pleased with the result.  Simply quilted in the ditch and around the plate center and petals with rayon thread.

And... I have to show you the fabric on the back - it's a map of Paris.

A perfect house-warming gift, along with a bottle of Chandon Champagne!


My second piece of show'n'tell was super easy to make and very effective.  Made completely from stash, including the lace, I was able to practice some fancy quilting in the outer strips.  This table runner was also from a pattern torn out of a magazine, (have no idea the name or issue - oops!) and was designed by Cheryl Filby.

A nice finish on the edges of the runner

 And, I can't resist showing off the backing where you can see the variegated thread from the quilting.

I love a beautifully set table - and seeing a nice centre piece such as runner, when you can't have fresh flowers is always satisfying.  :)

Dear Jane & Christmas

The first of my 'new starts' for this year - the wonderful "Dear Jane" quilt.  Finally, I am putting to good use, the book I purchased way back in 1997, as a birthday present to myself.  It has always been on my bucket list to do, I just didn't think it would take me 19 years to get started on it!  The youngest member of our Dear Jane group mentioned that my book was actually older than her as she wasn't born until 1998....

Late last year, those in my local quilt group, who were interested had a quick chat and it was decided that we would make 4 blocks per month (finish in 2020!).  

Pictured here are the first 4 blocks.  I have decided upon a two colour quilt, but chose a tone-on-tone for my main colour so that the blocks won't look 'flat'.  I have some pieces of liberty fabrics which I have been collecting over time to add in as mini cornerstones or block pieces if necessary.


Now, for a little dose of Christmas - back in August 2015, I stumbled across the pattern Pop of Poinsettia from the website allpeoplequilt.com.  There was no hesitation about downloading and starting this project, I just had to make it, and, of course it was going to be ready for Christmas 2015, wasn't it?  Nope, not even close.

 

I put the last stitch in the binding on the 25th Feb, so at least it's ready for next Christmas, nice and early.  I had mentioned to my husband that I would give it as a present next Christmas, but he said no, he would like it on our table and that we should keep it.  For someone who has very little to say about my quilting, I think perhaps I should listen :) 

Hexagon Runner

Simple, fun and easy.  A delightful little runner which I made on a rainy afternoon a few months ago.

Designed by the ladies at Patchworks Unlimited, this particular project came as a pattern with small pieces of oriental fabrics to make the hexagons.  I used a tone-on-tone fabric with gum leaves printed on it for the background, backing and binding; and then used pellon for the wadding.

I stitched around the hexagons with gold metallic thread for a luxurious touch.  

This was a very calm and peaceful project to make.  It now resides on my bookcase with a fabric dragon and snake for company.

Small things

Small things, small finishes, use up some left overs and you get oven mitts!  I was looking to use up some small pieces of fabric and the strip sets to remove them out of my stash.  They kept on coming up to the top of the pile and every time I went into the shelving, they were front and centre.

I have had these two items finished for several weeks now, just needed to find some time to sit at the PC and blog.

The showy side of the oven mitts.

The oven mitts and the heat pad both use up leftover strips from a Bargello quilt which I made a few years ago.

Heat Pad 

Both items have insulbrite and cotton wadding - nice and protective from heat.  They are getting well used in my kitchen and don't burn my fingers like the worn out ones!

Happy New Year!

Off to a flying start this year.  It has been a great summer holiday time, with lots of outings and sewing, and some other fun things thrown in for good measure.  Now it's back to routine, but not until I provide some "show'n'tell" of what I have accomplished the past four weeks or so, especially since my mojo has come back to play again.

First, a cross-stitch bookmark of a blue wren in Correa flowers - gorgeous Australian native bird and flowers

Second, a Christmas table runner using the 'Hope of Hartford' quilt block.  I really like how the star points are offset to each other and the flowing movement around the block.  This will be a make again block, maybe a smaller size.  I would like to see this repeated many times on a larger quilt.  Hmmm, more playing? 

Ooops, sideways photo, but you get the idea! :)

And, from the back, here's the quilting - don't look too closely - it's a bit wobbly!

And.... you'll just have to wait until next week to see the third finish....  oh dear....  Trust me, I think it's worth the wait - can't have too much to look at in one post can we?

Seasons Greetings

No photos today unfortunately.  I made 4 Australian flower table runners for the ladies I work with and forgot to take the photos before gifting them.  Ho hum, never-mind.  I'll just have to be less absent-minded next time! :)  More to show'n'tell after Christmas.

Merry Christmas and all the best of wonderful wishes to my readers and your families this festive season.  Take the time to enjoy your family and friends - they are truly the shining stars in our lives.

Celtic Rose Table Runner - UFO #50

Here it is, my very first UFO finish of 2011 - yep, it's #50 on my UFO list.

Celtic Rose is the name of the pattern which I used - from Australian Patchwork and Quilting (Vol 14 No 8).

I used Australian Native Flower prints and put some insulbrite wadding into the quilt sandwich, so hot pots can go straight from the oven onto the table and none of those ugly white burn splotches will appear on the timber table top.

Now, I'm not sure what happened to my photo, but for some reason it just wanted to upload sideways, even though it wasn't that way in the file. Who knows, just a little gremlin inside the PC laughing at me I think.

The photo below shows the quilting from the back. I just love how dark back fabrics, with very light colour quilting thread makes the quilting come to life and gives the quilt a whole new facet.

A project which I started in 2005, is now done, gifted and being used. Perfect!

Gum leaves

are on the tablecloth! Large, oversized appliqued ones with some free-motion gum blossoms scattered in between. I have taken the pattern from an old issue of Australian Patchwork and Quilting Magazine and 'liberated' it into the central panel of a tablecloth.

My MIL had a cloth which had been made by yours truly for a table in their old house. Now there is a newish house and a fantastic outdoor eating space. Roll call - one new tablecloth please - here is the old one - what can you do with it? Voila, take cloth, new fabric to match and adapt a pattern, then add elbow grease, sewing machine, rayon threads and time.

Happy table, happy MIL and FIL; I'm happy that the project is done!

Five Star Dining....

is what my lovely cleaning lady - Kathy - received for Christmas. I'm hoping that she liked it...

If you think you've seen it before on this blog - you'd be correct, as I made this pattern a couple of years ago and gave it to my Mum.

The design is by Corliss from Threadbear and has been around for a few years now. It is one of my favourites for something effective and easy that everyone likes. Perfect. And yes, I have more fabric to make another Five Star Dining runner in the future. A great standby for that last minute gift idea. One weekend or a few weeknights sees this little baby made in very little time.

Stars of Winter

One of the really nice things about Table Runners is that they are effective, quick and easy to make and it is really simple to make a dramatic one. Last week I made the Stars of Winter Table Runner from the book "Wintergraphix - holiday project book 2". I just love it.

So - without further ado - here it is.......

And - here's a close up - don't look too closely, my points might not be perfect! LOL...

A perfect present ready for December...

Strawberries and Cream

Mmm..... yummmm.... a very delicicous combination! Our local group had a fantastic Afternoon Tea Challenge at the end of June. There was lots of fun and frivolity - even if some of us got the date wrong - it didn't matter, it just provided us with a great excuse for some to have afternoon tea twice.

I made a Strawberries and Cream table centrepiece from a pattern in old Homespun Magazine. It was fun to make and a little different to my usual style, as it included stitchery. I am very pleased with the result.