Jun 09 16
A Quilted Table Runner for a Friend
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I am incredibly indebted to a friend named Larry who digitizes my designs. I wanted to make him something that shows how talented he is as a digitizer, so I made a table runner from a couple of block designs he digitized for me awhile ago. I figured both he and his wife weren’t into the loud, highly saturated colors I normally work in, so I went with a much more subdued color palate. The project began with 2 of these floral swirl blocks:
(Each of these blocks is made as a 2-part slit design and you can find the design files by clicking here. In this shot, you can see that I was nearing the end of the 2nd hooping of one block:
The center section is made from the Oval Tulip Wreath Block:
This block is much larger and is made from 4 hoopings. You can find the design files for this block by clicking here. This next shot is not a great one but it shows what it looked like once I had pieced it all together:
I sandwiched this baby up so I could start quilting and once I’d outlined all the applique shapes with invisible thread, I moved to that center section to try something I’d never done before. My goal was to play off the oval shape and stitch an ovoid ring of double crescents around the center flowers. I began by drawing an oval with a temporary marker and then dividing it into 8 sections:
I used the 8 divisions as my starting and stopping points, then stitched a double crescent design on either side. This was the first time I had used an oval as my “springboard” instead of a circle. I should have thought of it beforehand, but the crescents are not all equal if they flow around an oval. At first I was pretty bummed about it, and you can see how it looked early on below:
I then moved to the area just outside the oval tulip wreath and stitched a ring of single crescents surrounding it. I wanted to stitch double crescents, but there just wasn’t enough room for that. Here’s what the center block looked like at that point:
I was kind of bummed out at this point, so I moved away from the center block so I could rethink my next quilting moves there. It always helps me to just walk away from a problem and then look at it again later with fresh eyes. The side floral swirl blocks were easy. I just stitched long featherettes to fill the “blank spaces:”
If you start at the center and go into it with the goal of just stretching/contracting plumes to fill the space in front of you, it’s not as hard as it looks. When you’re stitching them, they look kind of odd as you’re only partway through, but it all comes together in the end:
I moved to the outermost panels and quilted the “plumify it” background fill design there:
…and here’s how those last 2 sections looked once compleeted:
Since I’d finished everywhere else, I had to go back to that center block and see if I could turn it around. I stitched small featherettes in the dead center. Here’s a halfway-done shot of that area:
I finished the opposite featherette and then filled in the empty areas with the inchworm design:
Here’s a closeup shot of the final center block. Once it was completely finished, I was very happy with how it came out:
Do you see the featherettes in the 4 corners? I waited until I had put the binding on to stitch those. It seemed like the safest way to ensure that they’d completely fill that “empty space.” And here are some final photos:
That great texture is from Hobbs Wool/Cotton Blend batting. I LOVE that batting!
This table runner is spectacular. Just love the colors you used and of course the quilting is just so wonderful. I wished this table runner was for me.
I’m drooling! That table runner is drop-dead gorgeous!
Patsy — this is just beautiful. Larry and his wife are going to LOVE it. And I never would have noticed that the crescents around the oval weren’t all the same size if you hadn’t mentioned it — the whole piece just flows.
Diane
Stunning! Gorgeous! Larry and his wife should be delighted! So glad I got to see i too!
As usual a wonderful piece. Thank you again for sharing the process. I love a table runner quilted to death myself. Your a star.
Gorgeous as always Patsy. I like the subtle colors, but I too like super saturated colors. My husband calls them “candy explosions”
Once again a superb piece of art. I love seeing your work Patsy – you are truly an inspiration!
Probably a weird request, but could you show the back side of the runner? I always like to see the cool pattern that is made by all of the quilting, on the side that is not pieced. Also, I am always curious how the different colors of bobbin threads look on the not pieced side. Thanks. ~June
I forgot to add that I LOVE this piece. I always learn so much from you! Thanks for sharing.
Beautiful work! Thanks so much for sharing, I’ve learned so much and gained the confidence to create things like this as well. You’re my hero, Patsy!
As a long time student of your DVDs most recently the ruler work one, I love following your process with this table runner. I KNOW what a plumette is! ( 🙂 ). I also am very interested in your batting recommendations. As I have come to quilt more closely, keeping my lap/bed quilts from being to stiff is a big issue. –And of course the issue of loft vs. ease of use is another consideration.
Hello again, Patsy. Another great demo of how you achieve your amazing results. Thanks for sharing your thought process. I have learned so much from you. Beautiful table runner.