Welcome to my day of the Christmas in July Blog Hop, hosted by Carol at Just Let Me Quilt.
My project is this set of Christmas pinwheel placemats.
After purchasing this charm pack of glittery holiday fabrics,
I paired it with this fun holiday fabric I found at JoAnn's.
Being careful to stitch the HST's so that the print all "read" in the same direction,
the pinwheels were finished up, and pressed with spinning seams.
Adding strips first to the right, then the top and bottom of the pinwheels increased the unit's size to 11" tall. With the addition of a background piece on the left, the placemats now finish approximately 14 1/2" x 11".
Aren't those super fun? I am so looking forward to using them later this year!
As for the quilting, I kept it simple. The background is quite busy, so no need to go overboard. Simple stippling does the trick, as does just one curving line to give motion to the pinwheel.
The backside is just as nice. There wasn't enough backing for all four, but with the addition of a red strip, that fun holiday print is all gone!
And check out that neatly machine stitched binding - love it!
Happy Quilting!
My Favorite Patterns
First, thank you to everyone who participated in my Spangled Stars QAL! Tomorrow is the big day to announce the winners and show off your quilts! If you haven't sent me an email with a picture, and any quilt details (your name, location, size, etc) please do so for the parade. I'll be posting in the afternoon, so send me your pics! Everyone would love to see them up close!
For me, this week has been crazy again! I have the alternate colorway Spangled Stars quilt finished,
which I'm calling Lily Pond. The quilting ideas came easily on this one,
so it got done first. My other QAL top is currently on the frame, because it took me longer to figure out how to quilt it. But what I've got started, I like. Very much!
Hopefully, I'll get this finished up tomorrow, though it's going to take all day. Pretty sad when the QAL hostess can't even get her own quilt finished! Oh, well, at least I got one done.
Other things I've been working on, that were spur of the moment projects, have been the Patriotic Wave Table Runner, (pattern available on Etsy)
and the matching placemats.
Had to get those done before the Fourth of July, or they weren't going to happen at all! Click on the pink titles to learn more.
And I've been working on another table runner, using the La Vie Boheme 10" Stackers by Riley Blake
from Calico Cat Fabrics. Tanya has enlisted me as one of the ambassadors for her online Etsy store, Calico Cat Fabrics. Go check her out - she's got a great selection, with new items added all the time. As for my stackers, I'm using the Metro Twist pattern from Sew Kind of Wonderful. This is where I'm at, but I don't like what I've got going for the borders.
Too busy. I think I'll search for a navy fabric instead. It will have to wait till I can get to the store. Love the rest of it though - such pretty fabrics!
Another Sew Kind of Wonderful pattern I'm working on is Chic Kisses.
This is part of the LQS Quilt Club project for June. I haven't gotten very far, but I've got fabric and big plans! Can you tell I love pink???
And this month, the t-shirt quilts shall get finished. I have procured backing fabric, and have a piecing idea for the backs that will coordinate with the fronts. Just need the time to devote to it, and find thin batting for them. Those tops are heavy!
Given that I have had all of these projects this June, I did not get around to making a quilt from the Smash Your Precut Stash book, (affiliate link)
my June book of the Month selection. So, I'm extending it into July. Let's hope I've got time!
And I think that's it. Phew! I'm tired! Until tomorrow, happy quilty dreams!
My Fourth of July is now complete with the addition of red, white, and blue Patriotic placemats!
Made with leftover strips from the Patriotic Wave Table Runner,
and a portion of the curve from the pattern, these were just as easy to put together! Red, white, and blue plus one star completes the look. To make your own, the Patriotic Wave pattern is available over at my Etsy pattern store.
Quilting was almost the same as the Patriotic Wave table runner,
with an open McTavishing and two straight lines in the stripes versus one.
Now I'm definitely ready to celebrate! Are you?
Happy Fourth of July!
Last week was all about my St. Patrick's Day table runner, but very little mention of the matching place mats, with the special four-leaf clover centerpiece.
With the wild week I had, it's no wonder they got lost! But at least I took pictures, and have another tutorial to share.
This one is all about the binding. I'm not a big fan of machine stitched binding, mainly because I always struggle to catch the edge on the backside, producing a wavy stitching line. Ugly!
Now, I do like the technique of stitching the binding to the back first, then folding it to the front, which is especially nice for producing a line of piping.
But that technique was not going to work here. These place mats really needed a traditional quarter inch binding, with no piping or flange.
So I bit the bullet, stitching the binding to the front with a quarter inch seam, then pressing the binding out to create a nice, crisp edge.
Then the magic. Using a bit of water washable glue, I tacked down the binding on the backside,
pressing with a warm iron for a few seconds to make sure it would stay in place.
When I got to a corner, the fold was treated as usual and a bit of glue was applied there to make sure it stayed.
Now the binding is all evenly tacked down, and ready to be sewn.
From the front, the stitch in the ditch was fast and easy. No worrying about catching the edge!
And the backside looks great! All edges are even, and the stitching straight.
Thank goodness for glue! It sure made a hair-pulling process go smoothly. I'll be using it again for my next machine stitched binding!
Hope you find this useful for one of your next projects!
Happy Quilting!
