Friday, December 7, 2012

DO YOU CHALLENGE YOURSELF?

Today I did some forward thinking and made a table runner for Valentine’s Day in February.  I know it looks like something I could use during the holidays, and I suppose I could.  Those are little cherries on the fabric and I thought would be appropriate for spring.  I’m not a great piecer and figured this project would be a good way to improve those piecing skills.  Information on the pattern tells me that my friends would love this cheerful table runner.  That it would add warmth to my home on Valentine’s Day.
Right off the bat I remembered why I do not like piecing.  The pattern said, on the square to draw a line on the diagonal and then stitch on that line.  Wrong!  There were 20 blocks, each with two of these squares to be stitched on the line.  After stitching ten squares, I decided to see how things looked and discovered that something was wrong.  When I flipped the square over, it was now too small.  Then I remembered that I learned in a class Not to stitch on the line, but to stitch slightly above the line.  This makes everything work out the right size when you flip the piece over.  So a lot of unstitching was done.
Making this table runner was a challenge to my skills, however I persisted!
And this is how the piece turned out.  A lot of cutting and piecing was involved, but I liked how this pattern went together.  It is Heart of the Home and can be found in the January/February issue of McCall’s Quilting Magazine.  The pattern calls for a knife-edge finish, which I’ve never done, so that will be another learning experience.  I’ll show you a picture when I figure out how to do it and get it finished.

On Another Note: Molly Flanders has a nice tutorial for making a block.  I’m not sure what it is called, but I think it’s a great way to use those scraps.  I want to give it a try.

Also check out Peas In A Pod for a pattern review and link to making these cute ear bud pouches.  They make great gifts.

Until next time,

Stay Calm! Stay Kind! Stay Positive!
Caroll

5 comments:

Terry said...

I love that heart block! It reminds me of the ornament I made this year. The runner looks great too! I look forward to seeing it finished! :0)

Kat said...

My maiden name is Valentine so I love anything with hearts. I never get the sizes right when I piece... I usually end up trimming things and cobbling them together to make them fit (sort of). Next time I'll try stitching just above the line... that sounds a whole lot easier than cobbling :-)

Your runner is beautiful!

Lynn said...

Looks like it turned out pretty good to me! I love the little hearts in the center!

Allie said...

Caroll, you're in danger of losing your "I don't like piecing" license - this is fabulous!!!! I am SO impressed, girl! Well done! Before you try the knife-edge binding, here's my very favorite tutorial for it in the world....
http://thesillyboodilly.blogspot.com/p/tutorials.html

It's the first tutorial. Seriously, read the instructions in the magazine, then go look at her tutorial.

Mama Pea said...

I really love this! I love how the heart looks woven. It's really neat, Caroll! It's just wonderful!

lkjlkj

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