Pieced Tree Table Runners

A few years ago, I bought some table runner kits from a quilt shop in Jensen, MN (near Pine River). All of the kits were made with a Pieced Tree pattern (they are laminated little cards, with punch holes so you can keep them on a ring) and typically had 2 fabrics for the top and contained most everything (some had backings and some didn't). The shop had samples made of the kits and the shop owner even let me take pictures of them.

The next New Years eve, I pieced quite a few of them as they were really quick to piece (great instructions/patterns) and the fabric selections were so great (and generous in amount). It had been awhile, so I'm glad that I had the photos of the shop samples!

After that, I paired them with backings (the ones that didn't some with one), cut the bindings, and put them all into a clear plastic bag. They sat there, and sat there...and sat there.

I didn't want to ruin them by quilting them myself as I'm not that good in that part of the process...but I also didn't want to take them to a LAQ. I've moved them a couple of times while cleaning for different occasions... I've added things to the bags and then taken those out and had them quilted and finished...and still those table runners sat. I even added more runner of different patterns and sizes...and they all sat.

Last year, one of my quilting goals was to do more machine quilting myself. I've done lots of mug rugs and placemats. This year, I'd even done a couple of small quilts. Well, this year, I finally shamed myself info finishing those runners. In alphabetical order by pattern name, here they are:

This is called "Churnover":

 Love the fabric combo! Here's a closer  view:

Churn dash blocks with just two fabrics. Super cute, huh? I did straight lines 1/4" inside and outside of the blocks. The back looks really cool too:

 OK, bad lighting...this is really the same dark brown fabric as the top!

Great pattern, huh?

Next up is "In The Middle" - love, love, love the fabric choices on this one!

 I did straight lines about 1/4" to 1/2" apart and stopped when it got too hard. Closer detail shot showing off the back:

 Here's an even closer shot of the front:

It's funny how many of my table runner kits have either brown or green (or both) colors in the fabrics!

Next pattern, "Nifty Nines". This one has Christmas prints on the fabrics and some gold sparkles:

 I again did just some straight lines inside and outside the blocks and carried those lines through the setting triangles. Here's a close up of one of the 9-patches:

 Again, this made a neat pattern on the back:

I'm not really sure which order I really quilted these in, but I did get more and more confident as I went through them!

Next up, "Something Fishy". This one, I bought with my DH in mind...

 FISH! Going in either direction! CUTE!

 Love, love, love the fabrics! I think I did this one first. I bought a variegated green thread (at WalMart, Coats & Clark brand) and I used a wavy line stitch on my machine. I made it as wide and high as I could... I love the way it looks! Here's a close up of a fish:

 Here's the back:

This fabric is one I bought for my very first quilt. I had bought it as a background to use in my sampler quilt we made in a beginning quilting class. I ended up having to buy a bolt of it as it was a Christmas fabric, a few years old, and I couldn't find it anywhere.I ended up needing 4 or more yards to be able to make the quilt big enough for our queen sized bed and since I bought a bolt, the backing is made of the same fabric. Since then, and since a bolt is 15 yards, I've used this fabric a lot - I think this is the last big piece of it - the rest I cut into 2.5" squares so I may have a little more...

And there you go - those are all Pieced Tree patterns. The little pattern cards are addictive - and cheap...and many people collect them. If you find a shop that has them - and makes kits, I recommend the kits - especially if they have such great fabric selections as I had!!

Hawaiian Shirt Quilt for My Dear Husband

Last summer, my DH and I redid our master closet. Or was that a year ago? As part of the redo, my DH went through his clothes and got rid of some things. He doesn't typically get rid of anything, so I was very excited.

Part of his "discard" pile were old Hawaiian style shirts. They were old in the sense that parts of them were falling apart and he was no longer able to wear them to work. As we looked at them, I noticed they were 100% cotton...and we both thought - why not make a quilt???!!

So, I found a pattern that I thought would work well with lots of different patterns - his shirts were a mixture of fish/fishing related and cars... I made some test blocks with a red accent color but the red really was the focal point which was not what I (we) wanted. I tried a gray and that worked perfectly. The quilt went together quickly and I showed a lot of people the "in progress" quilt.

Here's the finish:

It's lap sized (66 x 77) and we think good for watching tv. The only problem? The cat LOVES it and it's already full of cat hair and so my DH won't use it. It's ok - I know he will eventually and he could always wash it too...here's a close up of the center portion:

See? Cars and fish (or sharks in this case)!

The back is a quilt I was working on called "Scrappy Many Trips Around the World" or something like that. It's a free pattern from Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville. She has lots of great free patterns on her website...and I have a couple of her books. She does tons of scrap quilts. Anyway....so here's the back:

The quilting is called "water" (I think). Here's a close up of the back and quilting:

After trimming and binding this quilt, I kept the "scraps" of the back. I've used them as backings for other things afterwards and I actually have a couple of pieces that I'm going to make into a larger piece for a small table topper quilt I'm working on.

Courthouse Steps Table Runner

I've always love the courthouse steps block. I had a huge number of strips leftover from Costa Maya, so I used Electric Quilt software to print out a paper pieced block. The block itself finished at 6 inches...so I think the strips are less than 1" finished...

I quilted this one myself. I used a squiggly pattern on my machine and made it as big as possible, both length and width. I think sewed down the middle of each "log" in both directions. I love the way it turned out. Here's a close up of the top:

For the back, I took extra fabric I had from all of my "Doug" projects, cut some bigger squares- I think 5" - and pieced them together. I like the way it turned out...he could potentially even use it this way too!

This runner measures 12 1/2 by 48 1/2. I hope he likes it!

That's all of the finished projects I'm posting for today. time to get some dinner and start on the next projects!

Horses, Lap Size Quilt

While in northern MN a couple of years ago for a family reunion, we took a little trip to the quilt shop. My DH actually found a line of fabric with horses that we all loved...so I bought yardage. Some yardage was all they had of a certain pattern. One of the patterns had large "blocks" so I used that as a jumping off point and designed this quilt top myself. Here's the top:

and a close up of the top...

For the back, I had some left over blocks from the first king size quilt I made him. The color palette for that was blue and brown. I added to the blocks to get a backing:

The quilting done is called "water" or something like that. I think the thread is a gray with hints of blue in tone.

The quilt measures 62 x 80. My cousin converted his garage into a bar and the intent of this quilt is to go into the bar. We'll see what he does with it!

Costa Maya, King Size Quilt

This quilt is made from a pattern called Costa Maya, Snow Day Designs, published by QuiltWoman.com. My cousin Doug picked out the pattern and the color palette nearly 2 years ago. Good thing he's patient! It took me the first year to find fabrics that reflected the palette he wanted and worked with the pattern. Here's the top of Costa Maya.

The quilting is a loop and swirl type of pattern. I forget the thread color... I love the quilting on this one!

The back was made with leftovers - some blocks, some fabrics, some tiny scraps. I tried a couple of different techniques for the "trees". Then, I just mashed it all together in big sections until I had a back that fit. I think the back took way longer to piece than the front!

(it's really upside down in my opinion...I didn't want to tell my helpers tho!)

The pattern finishes at 72 x 72. The quilt measures 95 x 106 (a  little bit bigger as I fold things in 1/2 to measure). It's an inch wider than the previous quilt I made him and hopefully will fit his huge kind size bed.

This quilt was finished in May 2015.

Catching up

It's been a few months...almost 3... since I last posted. I've been very productive during that time...except when it came to taking photos and posting my finishes. So, starting today, I'm going to try and get all of my 2015 finishes to date documented. I'm not going to do them all today... but maybe by the end of the month I'll be back up to "current" projects in work.

Between March and May, I've completed 1 king size quilt, 2 lap size quilts, 3 small quilts, and 6 table runners. Plus, I took a garment making class and made a shirt for my DH. Next weekend, I'm taking a 2nd garment making class and making a peasant blouse for myself - well, as soon as I buy some fabric and the rest of my supplies! Sometime this summer, I'll be making 4 additional shirts for my DH. I have that fabric all bought...and we've been looking for two other designs and once we find those...I'll be up to 6 shirts for him.

I'm going to try and get these documented in the order of finish - not necessarily order of start! We'll see how long it takes me to get the entire list done...and see how many of the other WIPs I get done during that time!

Swedish Weaving

Last year, I taught myself a new craft. I was in the craft store one day and saw this book

I really, really liked the teal blue runner on the cover and bought the book. I read through a bunch of the patterns and tried some - book marks to start. They were fun, but pretty tiny too - darn aging eyes! I bought both huck weave fabric and toweling. See the towel on the bottom left - the red one? I made those...tons of them as Christmas presents. Here's that picture bigger:

 I loved them. I decided to jump to the table runner...only make it as an afghan. Here it is...

It's made with 2 colors of yarn... I did the pattern 4 times...once on each end and then I counted a few rows up and made another set...on both sides... below is what the pattern is...

I just love the way my afghan turned out! I've started another one. Different book, different author, same publisher. I've only got the center done so far, but it's looking really good...a lighter teal and a red that's a little different but goes well with the light teal.

I'm going to make more and some as gifts. They'll be coming along a lot slower than the towels did...but they are a fun project for me to learn. If you're interested, drop me an email, I'll send you some patterns to choose from. Tell me the pattern and colors to use...and someday, I'll send you a completed afghan!

And yes, the fabric is cotton and very warm!