Never Guesstimate - Completed Quilt Table Runner

I finished piecing the front and back of the patchwork table runner. 

Front. 

Back. 

And I was just going to post this information because I hadn't planned on finishing it right away, I had other things to work on. 

But before I finished the post I had had a little time and decided to get the runner ready to quilt and prepare the binding. Then I thought I'd quilt a little bit before doing something else. Then I was done the quilting and planned to finish the binding later. Long story short, I finished it in one sitting and it didn't really take that long. 

I really like how it came out. But there is one thing I should mention. My big Oops. 

It doesn't fit where I planned it to go. 

I made it for the top of a coffee table. I had 'guessed' the size I needed for the runner by counting the blocks in the width and the length on another table runner that was smaller but also 2" blocks. 

I guess I should have measured it instead. Quilts shrink in dimension, even little ones, when using cotton batting. And you can iron them after washing and get some of the original dimensions back but who does that! And maybe my other 2" blocks weren't 2" blocks. Seam width variations will carry over into all-over dimensional changes. 

Even with some shrinkage this new table runner is still larger than I wanted. 

And you can't see it in the photo but there are some fabric wrinkles on the back because I rushed when finishing it. I really should have stopped at one of those points I thought I should stop and double check everything. It's just so hard to stop when you're getting so close to finishing something. 

But I still like how it came out and will use it.  But now I need to make another one, slightly smaller, for this table. Without guesstimating! Or rushing!

Thanks for reading. 

Aileen

A Little Prototype Book Project

I just finished this prototype little book.  It's 5 1/2" by 3 1/2" and filled with an assortment of papers including old book pages, atlas pages, drawing paper, graph paper, old blank workbook pages, painted pages, and brown paper. Basically stuff many other people might throw away. The cover is made from bonded fabric that has been folded (and ironed) instead of using a heavy paper for the cover. The binding is a simple long-stitch bookbinding method. 

The fabric for the cover was actually also an experimental project. It was a simple navy blue cotton that I stenciled with freezer paper and sprayed with bleach water to make the checkered heart pattern. I called this project a prototype because I've never made a book with this kind of bonded fabric cover. I didn't have any instructions to go by and I had no idea how it might come out but I suspected it would work. 

The book construction method is not new. There are many places you can find instructions for long-stitched books with heavy paper covers. There are a number of books and examples I referenced to understand the basic construction techniques. The experimental part was making a stiff paper like cover using fabric without glue or cardboard. 

Thanks for reading.

Aileen

Quilt Table Runner from a Charm Pack.

My current quilt project uses one charm pack of 42  5" pieces of fabric. There isn't enough fabric in a charm pack to complete the design I have planned so I've pulled some additional matching fabrics from my collection.

This is the moda barcelona fabric line charm pack cut into 2 1/2" squares and sorted by color groups.

This is the 22" x 52" table runner design I have planned. 



I started the design on the wall with the charm pack fabrics. 

These are the matching fabrics from my stash I may be using to fill in the remainder of the design. 

And this is the design on the wall ready to sew. 

So, I'll be doing some sewing now.

Thanks for reading. 

Aileen.