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Table runners are such fun projects to do. I love the smaller scale of the project and doing things that have a seasonal feeling or specific color theme. When I heard Doug Leko was releasing his Tabletastic 3 book, I knew it was a good time to have a little fun with my upcoming Pansy's Posies fabric in rich purples.  With large florals, I often like some larger panels in quilts to show them off. I felt like this Mansfield runner did exactly that by having the larger rectangle spaces and sections divided almost like windows and window panes. I played around with placement on the smaller blocks by mixing them but decided I liked the order of two similar fabrics together. This runner finishes at 17 x 49".  The pantograph I used to longarm this runner is called "Groove" and is from Jess Zeigler at Longarm League. I love the gentle curves and retro-modern feel this texture has. I kept my binding the same color as the sashings since they already seemed to have a structured feel to the whole piece.  The fabric I used is Pansy's Posies which should be shipping in Oct/Nov 2022. The sashings are made from Bella Solids Prune. This pattern went together easily and was fun to make. It was just hard to pick which one of all the great designs from Doug's book to make. And speaking of Doug's book...he has some to give away! So if you would like to enter to win a free copy of Tabletastic 3, head over to my instagram page https://www.instagram.com/robinpickens/ and enter on my post. I'll be randomly selecting a winner by Wednesday, August 10th. Check your local quilt shop for Tabletastic 3 by Doug Leko!
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My week with my second SEWCIALITES block is here! Celebrate "ABUNDANT"! I've got some variations and a fun project you can make with more blocks!  I've made blocks this week from all three of the sizes- the 9", 6" and 3". In honor of SPRING arriving and Easter around the corner, I've made a project for a cheery table runner from three of the 9" flower blocks. I used the Solana fabric line for the blocks and border since it felt so happy and summery and I just could not resist some of those busy ladybugs. One variation that I made on my runner blocks, was to make the flower base out of two strips of fabric as horizontal bands vs one body color. This allows you to add more dimension or prints into the flowers or you could make the bottom green and the top band the petal colors. If you would like to do this, take the finished size of the flower base, divide in half, then add your 1/2" for two 1/4" seam allowances on sides. On the 9" block you would use (2) 9 1/2 x 2" strips, the 6" uses (2) 6 1/2 x 1 1/2" strips, and the 3" uses 3 1/2 x 1" strips.   Each of my flowers for the runner use two strips for the base. I picked colors of peach, blue and yellow for the prints from Solana for my blocks. I also wanted to give my petals (made with the flying geese) two fabrics to suggest a little more dimension. To keep it looking like a cohesive unit, I chose stems and leaves in similar fabrics for all three flowers. If you are making the flower base with two pieces as shown below, I suggest joining them first, then add your stitch and flip corner to the joined unit. I find my seams will press flatter this way (vs corner first then joining the two strips).  My runner also adds little pollen dots on top of each flower. The pollen pieces are made from 1" squares joined by background strips and that row is placed on top of the flying geese. To balance the flowers and make the bases and leaves line up when flipping, I've also added a 1" strip to the bottom of the flowers.   Each of the flower blocks are joined, side by side, with 10 1/2 x 1 1/2" strips to make the body of the table runner. A 2" border surrounds the group.   Here is my pieced top. It still needs quilting and binding but I can get that done by Easter. It adds a pop of spring to the table. I'm planning on binding in the light green Thatched from Solana.  These could be so cute as white or light colored flowers on a dark blue, dark green or purple background. Or play around with string quilting pieces in the leaves?  I also think a longer runner with more flowers that drapes over the edge of a chest or table could be nice!  But I'll just enjoy this Solana version this spring and maybe make another one later! One more variation idea for this Abundant quilt block. I wanted to try patchwork squares within my flower to get a mix of warm pink, orange and red shades. Using the same formula for figuring out the horizontal bands for the flower body works for size of squares. This shows if you keep one a solid band on the underside of the bloom vs all patchwork squares.  This 6" sample is done with some of my new Thatched colors! The background is Chocolate Bar and the leaves are Green Curry and Olive. The flower uses Peach, Pink Grapefruit, Sugar Rose, Fuchsia, Apricot, Tangerine, Rose and Crimson. The Fat Quarter Shop is carrying the Thatched colors, including the new additional range, as well as Solana fabrics.  If you want to make patchwork squares, use 2", 1 1/2", or 1" squares for the 9, 6 or 3" blocks.  My overall Sewcialites quilt is made with 3" blocks in Thatched in grays with three of the blocks in color. For this quilt with the small blocks, Abundant is one of the color ones! The other is the heart block from Corey Yoder and the third one will be the sewing machine from Lori Holt.  Want the FREE pattern for the ABUNDANT block? It is on the Fat Quarter Shop page about SEWCIALITES! I hope you have as much fun with this block as I am having. Keep it simple or add to the blooming delight! And thank you to the Fat Quarter Shop for organizing this sewalong and thank you for including me. Happy sewing everyone!  |
About ROBINDesigner of colorful florals for Moda fabrics. Modern to transitional quilt designer. Illustrator, sewist, crafter. I am proud to be a designer for Moda Fabrics!
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