Table Runners Galore

No matter how hard I tried to make my new studio space organized in our move in September, it just didn't work according to plan. My room ended up being the, dare I say it, dump everything in there and close the door room during the holidays. It's too embarrassing to post pictures although maybe a Before and After would be impressive (when the After is actually accomplished). Now that I have packed up everything from Christmas, it is time to clean things up in there so I can get back to work.

I just decided to take things one box or pile at a time. The first box I came to had some small quilts and table runners. When I worked in a quilt shop I taught a lot of classes. The classes that tended to do well were table runners. Students can complete most, if not all, of the top in an all day class. I never really used them on tables. Most of them hung in our booth at shows off and on over the years.

One of my favorite patterns was called Four Seasons Table Runners by Black Cat Creations. This is the Spring Table Runner. I colored the flowers and leaves with crayons and then hand embroidered around them. I used a heavy weight thread in the bobbin and did  bobbin work flowers on the two ends.

This is one of my favorites because I love blue and yellow together. This is the Summer design. The flowers are fusible applique. I just meander quilted the whole thing.

My favorite season is Fall. It was always my favorite season when we lived in the East. So this table runner with Fall leaves is special to me. I did free motion zigzag stitches around the fused leaves. It gives them a more realistic look because leaves really aren't very smoothe around the edges. I quilted this one with lines and loops. I wanted to create movement so it looks like the leaves are blowing in the wind.

This is the Christmas design. I like the crisp white background in contrast to the reds and greens. I did an allover free motion quilting design with small holly leaves.

The last one I found is called Stars and Bars. It was in an Eleanor Burns book. I have to admit it isn't my best binding job. I'm not sure what was going on when I bound this one. Part of me wants to rip it out and do it all over but that isn't going to happen. It is what it is.

There may be more in another box somewhere. I made others and donated them to auctions as fundraisers and I sold a couple as well. So I can't remember if this is all I have left.

Here's my question. Now that I have a home that I'm starting all over again in, do I put these out even though they don't go with the decor? I'm planning to have a table that I rotate different holiday decorations on so I'm thinking of putting them on that table throughout the year. Do you make your table runners to match your decor or do you do them for holidays and occassions in seasonal colors? I'd love to know what you think.

Happy Quilting,

Carol

Why Value Is Important

When we choose our fabrics for a project we generally think about color. We find that one perfect fabric and build around it with others that compliment it. But color isn't the only thing to consider. We also need to think about the value of those fabrics. In other words is there enough contrast within the lights, mediums and darks to make the actual block design work?

One of my "must haves" since I started quilting is a Value Finder. I actually have two of them, a red and a green. In my case they are pieces of acrylic.

C&T Publishing has the Ultimate 3-in-1 Tool. It is in its 3rd Edition. Not only does it have the value finders, it also has swatches (like paint chips) that show the lights through the darks within the different color ranges.

Here's how it works. I use the red one for warm colors and the green for cool colors. Think of nature. Things like fire are warm and things like grass and water are cool. You audition your fabrics by looking through the colored "glass." You will notice that some fabrics appear lighter and some appear darker. That is all you see - the contrast between lights and darks. The color is removed; you just see the shading.

Here are four different fabrics.

These are what I would consider to be cool colors for the most part. The print is yellow/orange so that could be considered warm. However the other colors within the design and the companions are all cool colors.

This is what they look like through the green value finder. It actually isn't this bright but it is hard to photograph through the value finder.

Notice the contrast between the fabrics? There is even a slight difference between the dark blue fabric on the top left and the purple one next to it.

Here's what sparked this post. I recently finished two table runners. They are from the same design. I chose my fabrics for the first one and thought they would work well (I didn't use my Value Finder, I just assumed). They were all batiks. What I didn't take into consideration was that one of the fabrics ranged from a light medium to a medium value. The "Star Points" are all pieced. When I put the center block together, some of the points, especially the top right and the one next to it, blended into the background because it was too close in value to my background fabric. That one little part of the fabric just didn't have enough contrast. You'll see it on the left side of the table runner too in that first point. I actually stopped working on it after making the center block because it didn't have the desired effect. But I loved the fabrics and the colors so I ended up finishing it later.

My last post was about Machine Quilting. The project in that one was the second table runner from this same design. This picture was taken before I did the quilting.  

In this variation you can really see the star points. I used the same fabrics but lightened the background and it worked. I also changed the center fabric (because the original one wasn't available any more but that's a topic for another post). As you can see if you look at both of them together, the value (contrast between the light, medium and dark) can make a big difference in the success of a project. 

I still like the first version. It is very pretty and the colors are very rich. But as far as getting the desired effect, the bottom one achieved the look I was going for. Here it is all finished on my table.

Happy Quilting,

Carol

Machine Quilting Dilemma

I always do any Stitch in the Ditch quilting first when I'm quilting a quilt. The reason for this is that as you work your way through that part of the quilting you are removing the pins. This reduces the weight of the quilt making it easier to maneuver it for free motion quilting. I learned that tip from Diane Gaudynski's "Guide to Machine Quilting" book. It has been my Go To machine quilting resource for years.

I had a table runner that I wanted to finish and all that was left was the the free motion design. I knew exactly what I wanted to put in the three main sections but I was struggling with perfecting the design on my own.

Quilt Top before Quilting

I found the design I wanted in my "doodle Quilting" book by Cheryl Malkowski. I love this book too; it has 120 continuous line machine quilting designs. Cheryl teaches you how to start practicing by tracing the design with a pencil. Next you draw it without tracing. Then you start using your machine. This technique has really improved my free motion quilting when I have a specific design I want to use.

I chose "All Those Ls and Es" as the motif.

I don't like to mark my quilting designs on my quilt. I'm not perfect when it comes to staying on the lines. I like free motion quilting. I'm not an award winning quilter, but I do enjoy doing it. The stress of having to stay on the line takes away from the pleasure I get when I quilt. So I needed to come up with a way to get the design in the correct size onto my table runner.

I chose to use Sticky Fabri-Solvy. It is a wash away stabilizer backed with freezer paper that goes in your printer. I have been using it to transfer the designs for my stitching projects for a couple years now. I love it in that capacity and decided to give it a try here. A table runner is something that will get washed so it seemed like the perfect solution.

Another challenge I faced was that I needed different sizes than the illustration in the book. I enlarged the design to 135% of the original size for the center of the star and reduced it to 75% of the original size for the two spaces on either side of the star. To make the best use of the Sticky Fabri-Solvy I made 2 copies of the smaller image on paper. Cut them out and used a glue stick to glue them onto an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of paper.

I copied both sizes onto the Sticky Fabri-Solvy using the Draft setting on my printer. Then I just peeled away the paper backing and finger pressed them onto my table runner. Here's what it looks like with the Fabri-Solvy in place. 

As is the case often times when I'm quilting a quilt it tells me that I need more. So I traced the exact size from the book onto paper and pinned it in place in the smaller squares and quilted on the paper. Then I peeled it off. I should have just traced it onto the Fabri-Solvy because I hated peeling off the paper; I didn't think of that when I did it. Next I decided that I needed the smaller size in the dead space where the flying geese are at the outside star points and on either end of the table runner. That time I did use the Fabri-Solvy - way better.

Here's the project with all of the quilting done. I also have the binding sewn on, but not tacked down yet. 

I sewed down the binding and the next step was to wash out the stabilizer. You can do it in the sink but I prefer to put it in the washer on Delicate. I always seem to have laundry to do. I have found that this method works best for me. I don't like trying to figure out if all of it dissolved in water in the sink. By the time it agitates in the washer it is probably dissolved. It doesn't affect anything else I put in with it and I know it completely washes out.

Here's a picture of the quilting detail in one of the squares. You can see that there is no trace of the Sticky Fabri-Solvy.

I put the table runner on my kitchen table which is too big but I had to see how it looks on a table when it was all finished. 

All of the fabrics in this project are from Sew Batik.

Happy Quilting,

 Carol

Table Runners

About a week ago I found a Free Pattern for a Table Runner. It was recommended as a quick last minute project for a Christmas gift. I didn't know what I was going to give one of the people on my gift list and this seemed like the perfect thing, especially if it really was a quick project. All you need is 2 yards of a border print.

So I headed to my local quilt shop in search of the perfect fabric. I didn't see a border print like the sample, but I did find a large scale stripe that I hoped would have the same effect. I also bought a companion floral print to use on the back.

This is the fabric pressed selvage to selvage

I made the top in just a couple hours. It really was fast and easy as advertised . Basically it is a stack of Quarter Square Triangles sewn together in different ways. I had LOTS of fabric leftover. So I decided to make another one. I was going to keep one for me but then remembered someone else that I needed a gift for.

I chose different ways to set the blocks for two different looks. I basted them and quilted them. I chose black to bind them just to pull it all together and define the outside. Here are my finished products.

Finished Table Runners

I even had enough of the border print left over to use on the backs. I thought it would be fun for the recipient to see what I started with and how it ended up in the finished piece. Now I can keep that companion fabric I bought to use on the back for my own personal stash.

Table Runner Backs 

I usually do a label for all of my work. The back is so pretty though, I think I might just sign and date them with a Micron Pigma Pen so it can be used on either side.

Not bad. Two completed projects from one fabric in what probably added up to a full day's work.

Happy Quilting, 

Carol