Friday, May 27, 2016

quilting and a placemat for one

Welcome to finish it up Friday!

Over the past few days, I managed to get Sunny's quilt basted and quilted! I was going to hurry and finish the binding so the whole quilt would be completed today, but I decided to savor the binding process rather than rush through it. I love that I get to enjoy the quilt while I put a million little stitches around the perimeter. It's a delight!
I did want to clarify something from my last post...the blocks for this quilt were pieced in under 3 hours, but adding the sashing took a few hours on top of that. I certainly wish I could piece that fast! Just felt the need to set the record straight! :)
I went fabric shopping with a dear friend on Monday (kind of a last hurrah before school was out for the summer...) and I found this super cute Cotton + Steel print on the clearance rack. (It's from Spring 2015. The line is Lucky Strikes by Kimberly Kight. The print is called Tuesday Night Ladies' Bowling League 1972.) I bought the binding fabric, too (Follie by Lotta Jansdotter)...and turned them into a placemat for one. The backing fabric is the same.
This is fabric that I could easily hoard, but I decided to cut into it and make something useful. It's so hard for me to do that...but the sooner the better!
I used scrap batting (yay!) and stippled it up, which went super quick after stippling an over-sized twin size quilt. :) (The mug is a favorite...from Modern Textiles.) The placemat is 17" x 13" and no fabric scraps were used in the making of it. Write it down! (ha!)
 
One last big finish...my kids are done with school for the year! Yesterday was their last day...so here's to summer vacation! :)

Hope you have a safe holiday weekend!

Now it's your turn! Please link up your finishes for the week. Thanks for joining me for finish it up Friday!

16 comments:

Melissa Corry said...

Looks like it was a very successful fabric shopping trip ;) Happy end of the school year and such a cute little placemat!!

a maidenhair fern said...

so excited to see sunny's finished quilt. you're a machine! love the mug. and sewing :)

Bernie Kringel said...

I am so glad you clarified your piecing time without sashing. I kept thinking how on earth did she do that???

What a sweet placement!

Lucy | Charm About You said...

Lovely to find fabric you like at a discount! And to make something useful with it too :)

josiekitten said...

Your blog posts are always so inspiring! Love the mug too!

Lorna McMahon said...

That is a lot of lovely stippling! The quilt looks very sweet and I like how we get a peek at the backing. Can't wait to see what you choose for the binding. And your new placemat is a delight!

KaHolly said...

I, too, savor the process of stitching down the binding. It's so relaxing. Cute mat! A lucky find on your shopping trip. Happy Summer Vacation. It was always my favorite time of year! Enjoy!

Heide said...

Amanda, Love the look of the two fabrics...they look yummy today.

Anja @ Anja Quilts said...

That's an awesome mug!

charlotte said...

Love the fabrics. Such great colors. I can't wait to see Sunny's quilt finished. I know it will be a beauty. I just linked up another crocheted rug from strings. Ever since you showed these, I have loved them. I have now made three. Great use of strings! Thanks so much for sharing all your creativity every week. And thanks for a great opportunity to see and share the creativity of others. This is my favorite link up to peruse.

Needled Mom said...

Binding is one of my favorite things to do too. Love that C&S fabric and the stripes.

Goldogmom said...

Hi Amanda, I too appreciate all the creative energy and wisdom you share with all of us. I've got way too much fabric that I need to cut into. Why is it so hard?? Anyway, your placemats inspire me to try this as well with some other small projects I've had in mind. Even your small statement that it is hard for you to cut into fabric, but that you did, inspires me to push through and cut into some of mine.

Did you machine sew the binding on your placemats, both sides? I love hand sewing the binding on quilts, it is a very soothing way to close a project. But while I have hand sewn some some things like this, I don't feel the same need to hand sew them, the project doesn't have the same connect as a pieced quilt. I don't see any stitching in your pictures so now I am wondering ;-)

Michelle

✾Jamie Lee Cooley✾ said...

Fun! That placemat fabric is one of my favorites and I'm hoarding it;)

cozykoza32a@gmail.com said...

I love that you slowed down to enjoy the process of stitching. I feel my quilting/sewing hobby is suppose to be enjoyed. Not a chore.

Kathleen Mary
https://kathysnest32.wordpress.com/

Cindy Maki said...

Just what is the world coming to when YOU make something without using scraps. My, my, my!!! It must have felt weird, but I love it. So cheerful and bright.!!

Rebecca Grace said...

Your placemat looks great! Sometimes we need those quick and easy finishes to keep our mojo going strong for longer projects. Placemats are actually on my "to do" list. I wanted to make some round ones and some octagons to use around the house the way my grandmother used to use crocheted doilies, under houseplants or picture frames so they don't scratch the wood tabletops. I have some orange ones from Target under the plants in the living room and they do not match ANYTHING but they have been there for about three years while I'm "getting around" to making new ones in colors that go with the room...

Will you be doing another Finish It Friday post today, or are my days mixed up and it isn't actually Friday?