Lines in the Sand Placemats

This set of eight placemats was meant to be a Christmas gift. I'm only a couple of weeks late, so it still counts, right?

I used Alissa Haight Carlton's Lines in the Sand pattern. You can download it for free here. They are really quick to sew up, but a hint if you'd like a fast finish - don't quilt them the way I did. Straight lines, a quarter inch apart, for the quilting took some time. Of course the benefit of dense quilting is amazing texture and a placemat with some body to it. I used grey Aurifil thread on the black Essex linen background and a light green Aurifil thread for the stripes.

I used the same linen for the binding, which was a bit thicker than I'd prefer. I do like the way it lets the stripes shine, though. A gorgeous green Carolyn Friedlander print is perfect for the backs.

After binding all eight by hand, I feel like I've bound a queen sized quilt. I haven't done the math, but the perimeters together might come close. I finally wrapped up that hand sewing late last night. Oh well, being late just means I have any early first finish of the new year!

Placemats for Meals on Wheels

At Thanksgiving I finished up the final placemat for my charity sewing project for 2018. This paper pieced pumpkins block is a free pattern in my Craftsy shop, by the way. The block had been sitting around for quite a while, so I added some cute flying geese to round it out to placemat size and quilted it simply with straight lines.

Today I rolled up all my placemats (made from leftover blocks, improv panels, and binding scraps), tied them with candy canes, and dropped them off at my local branch of Meals on Wheels to be given to home bound seniors with a holiday meal. I hope they make the recipients feel special. I didn't meet my personal goal as far as the number I hoped to make, but there's always next year, right?

Re-purposing Prototypes

These placemats started out as prototypes for the By the Fireside Pillow from Improvising Tradition. I don't know about you, but I'm just about at capacity for throw pillows around here (not that I'm promising to abstain from making more, mind you). Consequently, I was happy to re-purpose the tops into placemats. A simple trim down to 14 x 18, and they fit the bill beautifully.

I've quilted each placemat differently. Look how effective a simple all over square meander can be, even on a geometric design.

On the other I played up the geometric design by quilting the sections differently to make each stand out.

This pair of placemats brings my total number of placemats for Meals on Wheels to 10 which  is halfway to my goal of 20 by December. If you want to join me, add #placemats4mow to your social media posts to share.

Free Motion Quilting on Essex

 

There are few things as therapeutic and fun as free motion quilting on whole cloth. I've played with fmq on Essex linen before to create this set of placemats. The recipient requested another four, so I got to try out four new designs and pick out another four lovely Kona solids to bind the placemats.

I used 40 weight Aurifil for the quilting, and I'm really happy with the results. The texture of this fabric combined with quilting is irresistible. I only wish I had time to make more.

More Improv Quilted Placemats

I finished up another couple of improv quilted placemats for my charity project for the year which is placemats for Meals on Wheels (#placemats4mow if you want to join in) made using up leftover blocks and scraps.

This was originally a test panel of strata for Improvising Tradition (affiliate link, although it looks like you can buy a signed copy from me in my etsy shop cheaper than that at the moment).This panel taught me that I prefer strata that is more monochromatic, but I chose to celebrate the pops of green as is by binding in a leftover strip of Kona grass green binding.  The perfect backing presented itself as an old Denyse Schmidt print. Love those dots.

I had fun coming up with a different quilting design for each shape, although some worked out better than others and some got repeated.

I made several strips of the improv technique in the second placemat a while ago. Several of the strips became a pillow, but I had a spare strip I've been looking to use. Bingo!

These placemats are numbers seven and eight, so it looks like I'm on track to make my goal of twenty to donate by December.

Improv Quilted Placemats

These modern, quilted placemats made good use of some leftover improv panels and scraps of grey solids. They are placemats numbers five and six for my year long project to make placemats for Meals on Wheels.

Placemats are a great way to try out new quilting designs. They are so quick to make too. I went a little crazy with free motion designs on one, and on the other I stuck to my walking foot to create dense waves.

I'd love to have you join me in putting your random quilt blocks of scraps to use to make something beautiful and useful for a homebound senior. Tag your photos online #placemats4mow to share your work. You can donate your placemats to your local chapter or any other charity of your choice. I put a little extra love in each placemat by hand stitching the binding.

When Scraps Attack

 As you may recall, I finished piecing my scrappy Anna Maria Horner triangles quilt. I found a swath of white flannel for a cozy backing and got it basted. As I pondered quilting designs, it happened. The pile of scraps leftover from cutting all those triangles suddenly became irresistible. I had to stop everything and sew them into strip sets. Do scraps ever overtake your other projects?

The resulting rectangles made another set of placemats for a community service project for the year, which is a large stack of placemats for Meals on Wheels by December. These are perfect for leftover strips or blocks, paired with scrap binding and the odd fat quarter for backing.

I finished these quickly with some free motion quilting. Since the placemats will most likely be given to individual recipients, they don't need to match or be exactly identical in size. I'm eyeballing mine to be about 14 x 18 inches.

Now maybe I can get back to that quilt.

One Use for Quilty Leftovers

If you're like me, you have a drawer or container full of leftover, random quilt blocks or otherwise abandoned projects. There's something guilt-inducing about all the work and money they represent, just sitting there, unfinished, even if they are out of sight! I'm going to share how I'm turning mine into a project for the year to benefit a local charity.

I've taken blocks like this lovely thing I made on a whim to use part of a scrap pack of screen printed fabrics from Karen Lewis (back before she had her own fabric line), and transformed it into a quilted place mats. Really placemats are the perfect use for leftover blocks. A quick border can fill them out to the needed size as I've done with a couple strips of mustard solid.

Or, combine leftover strips like these extras leftover from making a custom Scattered Colors Table Runner. The small size of placemats is perfect for trying out new quilting designs too. I went to town with my walking foot, and I love the resulting texture and interest it adds to the simple piecing. 

I'm taking thriftiness and the urge to recycle up a notch too by using scrap batting (frankenbatting if needed), the last bits of low spools of thread, scraps of binding pieced as needed, and even odd fat quarters I realize I'll never actually use for the backing. Mine are about 14 x 18, but since they will be given to individuals, the placemats don't need to match or be identical in size.

If I make a couple of place mats a month I will have a nice stack to donate to Meals on Wheels by December. It makes me pretty happy to think of someone getting not only a meal but a handmade gift, and my drawer of abandoned blocks will hopefully be emptier. If you want to join in, donate to your local chapter and hashtag #placemats4MOW to share pictures online.

What's your favorite way to use quilty leftovers?

Inspired by Improvising Tradition, Again

I have more of projects share with you today, made by readers of Improvising Tradition.

Veronica, a talented graphic designer, business owner, and quilter from my ancestral homeland of Scotland, made this lovely quilted pillow cover based on the By the Fireside pillow in the Strips section of the book. I really like her use of prints in this.

 

Eva made matching placemats and a table runner from the Ribbons Placemats pattern in the Slice and Insert portion of the book. She won a second place ribbon on them at the Des Moines Area Quilt Guild Show that's runs in conjunction with the AQS Des Moines show!

I was so pleased to see the progress shots on Instagram of Cassie's baby quilt from the Shattered Chevrons pattern. This was her first FMQ project start to finish, and it looks so pretty. I love the colors she chose!

I had a sweet email from Kaaren who doesn't use social media but shared this set of coasters made from the Jewel Box Coasters pattern from the Strata section of the book. This is actually a pattern you can read for free as a excerpt on Sew Mama Sew.

 

With the strata technique under her belt, Kaaren made this cute baby quilt, a variation of the cover quilt, Waterfall.

I'd love to see what you make too. Send me a photo via email or use the hashtag #improvisingtradition online to share. I'm happy to link to your blog or other social media site, with your permission.

Free Pumpkin Patterns

To celebrate fall, I'm giving away my pumpkin block pattern in my Craftsy shop. The free pattern includes the paper piecing templates for both the 6 x 6 single pumpkin block, and this cute 12 x 12 block featuring a group of three pumpkins.

The single pumpkin block is perfect for beginners. Those more confident with paper piecing will have fun making the more challenging block with three pumpkins.

The pattern includes the templates alone. For detailed instructions and tutorials on paper piecing, check out some of the following links:

Beginning Paper Piecing by Ellison Lane or her video
How to Paper Piece on the Craftsy blog
Paper piecing video by Crafty Gemini

Paper Pieced Pumpkin Placemats

I'm teaching Beginning Paper Piecing next month at KC Modern Makers, and I created this super easy pumpkin block for the class.

 

After learning the basics, we'll move on to a more challenging block, or students may just want to make a few more of these cute pumpkins like I did. 

I made my blocks into a set of seasonal placemats for my family. My boys are still at the age to get really excited about changing seasons, so they had each claimed their own placemat before I even got them quilted.

This is a great project for scraps. Each pumpkin, stalk, and binding is made from a different fabric from my scrap bins. I even used scraps from a friend to make a simple improv back. It was great to find the perfect project for those jack-o-lanterns, candy corn, and ghosts. Happy Fall!

 

Falling Leaves Runner and Placemats

I'm so excited to finally be able to share this project with you.  It seems like a long time ago that I started these blocks for the solids challenge.  You never saw the results because I decided to submit the pattern to Fat Quarterly (a modern quilting ezine published quarterly).  The pattern for this runner and matching placemats is in Issue 6, available for purchase now. I got an advance copy, and there are some great projects in this one. The issue is all about different substrates, so if you're interested in using voile, felt, linen or other fabrics, check it out!

I paired kona solids, from a charm pack, with Essex linen cotton blend.  It has all the texture and appeal of linen, but it's a bit easier to use.

The leaf blocks are made with a combination of improv piecing and a template (that my tech savvy friend Lauren digitized for me - thank you!).  I show you how to piece the curves and trim down the blocks for perfect squares.

The gorgeous quilting on the runner was done by the fabulously talented Angela Walters.  Doesn't it looks like the wind swirling around the leaves?  I had a lot of fun creating the pattern.  Please, let me know if you read it or try it out!