Friday, August 18, 2017

Quilt Finish: Placemats

Squeal!!!  These placemats make me happier than I can possibly explain:


I recently received donations of dishes from folks who got married in the 60s.  Does it show?

These placemats started when I had some scraps left from my Field of Flowers Cutie quilt:


I took some of those scraps and made miniature blocks using Victoria Findlay Wolfe's Snack Set templates.  Oh how I adore them!  Then I used the rest of the scraps to piece them into placemats.  I loaded my HQ Stitch 710 machine with FabuLux Lullaby thread.  It blended soooo well!!!!  Using Pat Sloan's technique, I stitched a walking foot spiral:


Helpful hint from this machine quilting professional:  properly install your walking foot else your quilting will look all bumpy and uneven from forcing the fabric through the machine (see center of spiral above).  If I can't be a good example, at least I can serve as a cautionary tale.  I left the icky quilting because I'm giving these placemats to my mother-in-law and they will soon be covered in spaghetti sauce.

Recently, I taught at Bits 'N Pieces Quilt Shoppe in Pelham, NH.  While I was there, Nicole showed me how to machine bind in a way that finally (!!!!) clicked with me:


Note:  I think I'm in love with Wonder Clips.  Seriously.

Seriously, isn't this the cutest placemat you've ever seen?


I hope my mother-in-law enjoys these!

1 comment:

Vireya said...

They ARE the cutest placemats ever!