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