Valentine Table Runner

For those of you who are new readers, I must explain that our kitchen table is not status quo. We have 10 in our family, so all runners must be economy size! I realized as I was putting away our Christmas decorations that we did not have a Valentine's holiday table runner.

I like quilted table runners...at least I get to see them several times a day! With that in mind, I pulled out a pattern I bought last year. Since I am handicapped because I only use Thimbleberries fabrics (at least 99% T'b), I was limited in my fabric selection (I have about 100 bolts here). The runner is 58" long finished, so I am only showing half so you can see the details. I changed the pattern from the original, so there was a little unsewing involved.

This is unquilted in the picture. It was machine quilted by me after the photo shoot with variegated cream thread cross hatched in the center and stipple quilted everywhere else with invisible thread. My 2nd daughter offered to hand-sew down the binding...I had to accept.

There is a panel of one fabric (the cream background of the heart blocks) in the center. I think it measures about 16" x 58"). Perfect for our table!

~Joan

Row 3 is Finished!

Who would have thunk it?? I am finished hand quilting the first 3 rows of my row quilt! There are 8 rows in the quilt, then the sashing strips to do.

I also made the runner in the next post from start to finish in the last 2 days. While trying to figure out why I got so much sewing and schoolwork with the children done these past couple days, it dawned on me...

...I have not been inside a vehicle for the past 48 hours!! No errands, no shopping, no driving kids around...

Better not get used to it!

~Joan

Starting Row Three

Today, in between grading math lessons and tests and listening to read-alouds, I was able to finish the hand quilting on row 2 of my row quilt and start the 3rd row. Here is the first block in the 3rd row. Notice the simple easy-to-mark quilt lines. I'm going to finish this row by quilting a straight line down the center of each sashing strip and cornerstone.


Here's a view of 4 blocks...2 from row 2 and 2 from 3 (that looks confusing!)...



And last, but not least, a picture of rows 1 and 2 with the quilting finished. The large yellow stitches are my basting, not quilting.

My DH has been gone all day (he usually works from home), and he will be home soon. I need to finish up a few quick things so I can devote the rest of my evening to meeting his every need.

~Joan

Where Are YOUR Quilts?

I have TWO in my bathroom! This is a picture of a quilt my friend, Misty, made for me. Well, actually she pieced the top, and I hand-quilted Baptist fans on it and bound it. It was the first piece I had hand quilted in some time, and it reminded me how much I enjoy the hands-on process of hand quilting. Every time I see it (which is often), I am reminded of my dear friend.

It is a Barn Raising setting of log cabin blocks--my favorite block! The bathroom walls are painted a nutmeg brown color.





This is a shot of the curtain in there. This is a Thimbleberries fall fabric from a few years ago. I used the same print to make the large blocks in my shower curtain, below.

A funny quilter's story. One day, my DH came out of the library (where these photos were taken) and asked, "Why have you been holding out on me? Why don't we have a quilted shower curtain?" I wondered if he'd slipped and konked his head, but found out that he'd been perusing a quilt magazine while (ahem) in the library.

I took the same focus fabric as the curtain valance had been made from and came up with the shower curtain...

I just made very large 9-patches (Each block in the 9-patch finishes at 3"--good scale for a large piece). Having never made a quilt top into a shower curtain before, I was stumped as what to do with it after I had the top pieced. I checked a couple pattern books I had and saw two viable options. One had batting and one didn't. I opted to not use batting, but just line it with a coordinating fabric. It isn't truly "quilted" at all, merely lined. Then--how to hang it?? I didn't want to use fabric tabs because it would be pulled back and forth several times a day (hopefully!). I ended up binding it like a regular quilt and then putting small buttonholes (vertically) spaced across the top to slip the metal shower curtain hangers through (that were already there). Works like a charm. Even after 2-1/2 years of wear, there is no visible wear to the buttonholes like I suspected there might be.

Thus endeth the bathroom tour. Aren't you glad to be moving on to something else??

~Joan