Winter Sewing Retreat

Winter is a great time to catch up on your sewing projects.  Every January I go on a Quilt Retreat with some ladies from my quilt group.  This year we had 17 women who attended.  Here is a photo of me finishing up a table runner that I made for the kitchen island.

After I put away all of the Christmas decorations this year, I thought that the house looked bare.  I wanted to make a new table runner for the kitchen in some blues, greens and grays.  

I cut up some of my "Next" fabrics into 2 1/2" squares and put this together while I was on my retreat.  I think it looks pretty good in the kitchen.

I would have used a dark teal or blue for the borders but I didn't bring a lot of fabrics with me on the retreat.  I had some dark gray and I ended up using this.  

I like the look of it; it's a little darker than what I would normally make, but it works.  

Here is a closer look at the fabrics.  I fussy cut some birds and their nests to give it some interest.  I still have a bit of the Nest fabric left, but I'm sad to say that it is almost all used up.  

I roomed with  my friend, Linda, and we usually spend some time outdoors over the weekend.  The retreat center is near the Vermont hills and it's very nice there.

But this year it was too cold and windy to go out.  It snowed on Sunday, but we left a little early to beat the snow.

Here is Linda making some cute fabric baskets as gifts.  She was using some Christmas fabrics and catching up on things she didn't finish before Christmas.

I'm so grateful for our friendship and how she puts up with my silly shenanigans.  We had so much fun.  

Another project that I finished was this maple leaf wall hanging.  I had started it a couple of years ago but wondered why I didn't add any fall colors to it beside orange.  At the retreat I added the brown border, a green border and another neutral border.  I think this added some color and interest to the wall hanging.  I quilted straight lines in the leaf and small free-motion stippling in the neutral area.

I am happy that I didn't throw it away, because I actually like how it turned out.  I added a brown border to finish it.

I think I will add some fall colored buttons to it to give it more color and add some interest.  Although I didn't get a lot accomplished at the retreat, I had a wonderful weekend with my quilting guild friends.  :)

 

Table Runner Made with Strips

After I put the Christmas decorations away, I thought that the house looked so bare.  The tables needed a new look so I took out some strips and whipped up this runner!  

For this runner, I started with the background and batting, both cut to the length and width that I wanted.  Then I added two strips in the center and sewed them to the batting and background fabric. 

So this table runner is made with a quilt-as-you-go method.  After you add the first few strips, you can then add fabric strips to both sides which takes less time to complete the project.

I decided that I wanted to make it look more like patchwork than just adding strips, so I sewed some of the strips together and strategically placed them the way I wanted them to look.

I've made this quilt-as-you-go method before, and the last time I sewed additional quilting lines on the finished piece, but this time didn't.  If you turn the runner over, you will see the quilting lines on the back, so there's no need to quilt it more unless that is the look that you're going for.

The idea came from Sharon Holland and if you want to read her blog and see the colorful runner that she made, just click here.  I used 2" strips for my runner but you could also use a jelly roll with 2 1/2" strips.  It took a couple of hours to make.  

I'm happy with how it turned out.  The table in the dining room now looks "dressed" properly.  :)

There's a pile of 2" strips left over from this runner, and now I'm thinking that I might make something else out of them.   After all, they're all cut and ready to go :)

 

Quilted Green Table Runner and Wedding Frame

Back in March I posted a quilted gray star table runner that I made for my niece for her wedding. However, I didn't really think that it went with the stamped gift that I made for her.

So I went back to my craft room and made another one!  This time I used some soft greens that I thought would look nice in her new home in FL.  

I used some light green scraps that I had along with a beige leaf print for the background.  I also made the blocks just a little bit smaller.  I love how it came out!  After making it, I thought that this would make a nice runner for my own table. Lol

My niece and her her new husband like the outdoors and like hiking.  So I made this stamped frame for them.  I used In the Pines stamp set to create a mountain scene and kept the same green colors for the embellishments.  The accent colors don't really show up in the photo, but they are gold.  I picked up the shadow box frame at Michaels.

To coordinate with my gift, I made some 3" x 3" love notes for her to give to her new spouse with the mountain theme.  I mailed off her gifts a couple of weeks ago and they both really like them!  

Which runner do you like better, the gray or the green one?

 

 

Coral Table Runner

 A few years ago I got an assortment of coral colored fabrics in the Sew Sampler monthly subscription box for people that love to sew.  I had subscribed to the box, which I absolutely loved, but hardly ever made the projects or used the items.

So finally, I took it out and made a dresser runner for my bedroom.  Last year I switched colors from teal to coral to add some pizazz to my room.  

I started out by cutting the 5" strips into 2 1/2" pieces.  Then I sewed them all together until the piece was about 64" long.  I wanted it to hang off of the side of one of the dressers in my room.  

Then I added a light gray border along with another coral border to make it wider.  The next border is made using 5" x 3 1/2" strips cut from some random collage-type fabrics that I had.  

I wanted to do a sort of zig zag quilting on it and used a setting on my machine for it.  I didn't measure where to put the zig zags.  I pretty much just eye-balled it.

I love the zig zag and how it all turned out.  It took about 2 hours to do the machine quilting to finish up this somewhat easy table runner.

To quilt it, I rolled up each end and clipped them using clothespins to keep the ends from unrolling.  This seemed to work very well.

Finally, for the border, I added a soft gray color to it.  Here is a pic of it in my room on the dresser.  

This was a fun and easy runner.  And weirdly, it could be hung on the wall if you had an empty vertical space that needed something.

Next up, I want to make a wall hanging with birds on it using the same colors.  We'll see how it goes!

What do you think of this simple runner?  Do you have a space that needs "filling?"

Gray Star Table Runner

When I need to make some gifts, I like to make table runners.  This is one of my "go-to" patterns.  It's a Star Table Runner that works up very nicely.  

I was working on some gifts for my niece who is getting married and thought that a neutral table runner would work.  

But honestly, I think this one is very gray looking!  I wanted make something that didn't stand out so that it could be used for any room or holiday.  Even though I like how it turned out, I am going to make another one.  LOL  

Stay tuned for next week to see what I come up with!  What will I do with this table runner?  I'm not sure yet.  I might use it for myself or give it as a gift.  

 

Blue Table Topper

After I put away the Christmas items this year, the house looked sort of bare.  So I thought that it was time to make some new table toppers and table runners to freshen my decor.

I found a fabric line that I have been saving and took it out today.  I cut 2 1/2 inch squares and set them on the diagonal.  

I like the twist of this table topper.  It's on the coffee table in the family room and I think it's just right. 

Why is the yellow in it?  The yellow fabric was somehow put in the bin with the blues.  So I thought that a splash of color would look just right.  I'm pleased with how it came out.

Now I just need to make a couple more for the end tables!  

Do you use small quilts to decorate with?  

 I love the cozy feel that they give to my home.  :)

 

Pretty Green Table Runner

If you know me, you know that I love to make table runners and toppers.  They are quick and easy to make and instantly dress up a room and make it look more cozy and inviting.

This week I made this table runner for a friend of mine that is decorating with these pretty teal greens.  She doesn't sew, so I thought that I'd make her a runner for her new decor. 

To make this, I cut the fabrics into strips and sewed them together.  The strips are all different widths to give it some visual interest.  I bought the fabrics all together as part of a collection and only had to add in one teal to complete the look. 

It's quilted together with batting and backing using quilted lines 1/4" from each seam.  I brought it over to give to her and she loved it!  It really looks nice in her space.

Table Runners are My Thing

In my upstairs hallway I have a long, thin black table that sits at the top of the stairs.  I decided during my time at home that it needed a runner to go on it.  I've been fond of this artwork piece made by Kelly Rae Roberts and I thought that I would pick out colors to match this piece.

I found some pink and some plum fabrics in my stash and then added some greens to go along with them.

I basically just cut them out into strips of various widths and sewed them together.

I have a couple of green quilts on the shelf below and I like how the colors coordinate with them, too.  I love seeing my little runner in the hallway every time I go upstairs.

What do you think?

Pretty Fall Colors

Anyone who knows me knows that I love fall.  I seriously love everything about it - the crisp cool air, the pretty muted colors, pumpkins, apple picking, the smell of apple crisp baking in the oven, etc.

I found this pretty pitcher at Marshall's Home Goods store the other day and just had to get it.  My kitchen is painted a soft teal and the teal colored pumpkin on the pitcher matches just perfectly. 

Last week I picked out some fabrics that had the same colors in them as in the pitcher to make a simple table runner that would coordinate with my new piece of decor. 

Today I finished it up and set up my fall kitchen table.  It reminds me of fall, in a subtle sort of way.  I love it.  :)

Decorating with Teal

Recently I had all of the rooms of my house painted.  It was quite the undertaking and I'm not sure if I'd ever do the whole house at the same time again!  I had to move all of my crafting supplies out of the sewing and stamping rooms (and you know that I have a LOT!)  and it's still not all put back yet.  It's like moving all over again, only this time nothing is even in boxes.  :(

Slowly, I am sorting and putting things back together.  I look forward to when I get both of my crafting rooms all set and I can just go in and sew or stamp without having to look for all of the supplies. 

Anyway, I have added the color teal in all of its shades to my decorating palate for this house.  I had the kitchen painted a soft teal, sort of like Soft Sky.  Today I set out a table runner that I made using some teal-colored Waverly home decor fabrics that I had purchased from Walmart.  They're just the right thickness for only $3.97 per yard.  Who would have thought that you could buy such nice fabrics at Walmart? 

I put the runner on the center island to add a bit of color.  It goes nicely with the shabby chic tray and assorted decorating balls.

I also cut up some large squares from the fabrics and hemmed them to use as centerpieces for the tables.  Pretty much the entire downstairs is a mix-and-match for changing out the decor in each of the rooms.  I forgot to take a photo of this to show.

One of my friends painted this hutch and I put it in the dining room where people come over to make crafts.  It is the perfect accent color for the teal decorating palate. 

I will be using it to display some of the my current craft items.  And I found the card rack along the side of the road one day while driving to visit a friend.  Some man who was in the area helped me get it into my car.  It needed a bit of spray paint to freshen it up but now I think it looks great next to the hutch. 

One thing I'd like to do is put a banner along the top of the hutch.  What do you think?

Winter Outside, Spring Inside

This morning I started out wanting to make a spring Easter-looking table runner.  Ironically, I have another day off from work due to the Blizzard of 2017.  It's snowy and the wind is howling but I'm warm inside making spring items and taking out the Easter decorations!

 Last week while I was in Joann's just buying a spool of thread, I couldn't help walking by the new Easter fabrics.  They were so spring-looking with their beautiful pastel colors.  I noticed the sign that said they were on sale, so I stopped to talk a closer look at them.  Hmm, what could I make?

Just then one of the girls who work there said that all fabric was an additional 20% that day.  I guess that was all that I needed to hear and started putting fabrics into my cart!

Once I got home, I wasn't sure what I wanted to make with them.  So I looked on Pinterest, and saw this angled table runner.  I didn't have a patterns, so I took out some paper and worked a little with the angles to make a template.

I quickly cut out some of the fabric and "whipped" this up this morning.  I just love how it came out. I added a quick Easter decoration, and already the house is looking pretty spring-like!  Now I need to make more of them for the remaining tables and counters in my house.  Too bad it's back to work tomorrow! 

Chevron Runner

Ha ha!  Guess what I finished making yesterday?  Another table runner!  It's actually a dresser scarf that I made it to fit the top of my dresser for my room.

I recently had some painting done in my home and chose some soft grays for my bedroom.  I picked out a light-colored gray for the top of the wall and a medium gray for the bottom.  I added a white chair rail to divide the two colors.  It has a nice peaceful look to it.

For the dresser, I wanted to make a runner with some sort of chevron design. I found this pattern on Pinterest.  It has a chevron that sort of runs sideways, but it was easy to make and I like how it came out!

Do you decorate with grays?  What colors do you like to put with it? 

More Table Runners?

Okay, I admit- I have a love for table runners!  I think they dress up an area and give it a warm and comfortable look.  I like them tables, counters and dressers.  And more!

I worked on this runner for my son and daughter-in-law for their living room and gave it to them for their anniversary.  It fits perfectly on their console table and coordinates with the runner that I gave them last year for their coffee table.

Here's what the previous one looks like.  They both contain the same colors so that they match! Wait until you see what matching item they get for Christmas! 

Do you like to use runners as part of your decor?  Do you have any in an unusual place?  I'd love to hear new ideas for places to put them. 

More Cheetah

My daughter loves homemade items made using cheetah and animal prints.  So this year for her birthday I made her some projects using her favorite fabrics.  Her walls in the dining room are a pretty golden yellow so I added that color in, as well.  Pinwheels are one of my favorite quilt blocks to make and I just love how this runner came out.  It will look great on her dining room table.

Last year I had made her a runner for the coffee table in the living room.  Here is what that looked like.  Same colors, only different blocks.  Now the two areas will coordinate!

I also made her a quilted cosmetic bag and a zippered wallet from the animal prints.  And let's not forget the matching key fob! 

 

Do you like animal printed fabrics?  If you do, which animal print is your favorite?