Sunday 9 December 2012

Finally feeling festive

Despite my general love of Christmas, I am not a massive fan of Christmas decor.  That said, I was feeling the need for some Christmas crafting this week, especially after seeing a couple of lovely quilty Christmas projects at stitch group.

My little pine tree table runner was inspired by this wall-hanging from Bold Goods.  I even ended up using some of the same fabrics!  I paper pieced the trees, using a pattern that I drafted myself.

christmas tree table runner

I signed up for Angela Walters' Free Motion Quilting class on Craftsy when they were on sale over Thanksgiving weekend, and thought I should practise some of the free motion quilting designs I have been learning.  This project provided the perfect opportunity.

I tried swirls and pebbles.  What a revelation - I LOVE pebble quilting.  I love the way it looks and I even enjoy doing it.  I am not super happy with the swirls - I wanted it to kind of look like a swirly sky, but I couldn't get them quite right.  I used a layer of insulbright and a layer of cotton batting, so with the dense quilting, it is pretty sturdy.  It measures about 40 inches across and is about 14 inches high.

swirls and circles FMQ

This is what I used on the back - it is a Valori Wells print.  I really like how it picks up the colours from the front, and also that its kind of Christmassy without being red and green.  I would put this side up if I was going to actually use this for hot dishes - I do not like the idea of spilled food on all that white on the front.

christmas trees table runner

Ok, two questions for you.

First, which fabric should I use for the binding?  The only one that is not an option is the houndstooth type one fourth from the left, because I don't have enough.

Secondly, is anyone interested in a pattern for the Christmas trees?  They are pretty easy to figure out, but I'm open to putting up a simple paper piecing pattern in a printable format if people are interested.  UPDATE 1 - you can now find a tutorial for this project here.
UPDATE 2 - you can now see the finished project here.

Linking up with Plum and June:

Plum and June

18 comments:

Cille said...

Are you kidding? The swirls are fantastic.
I would go with the darker green - first one from right. I think it will frame it beautifully :)

Kirsten said...

Love your runner - the trees are such a great design and your quilting is amazing!!!

Susan said...

I agree, the swirls are wonderful- it looks a bit like a windy sky- pretty appropriate for you! I think the aqua one on the right hand side would make a great binding! And yes, a pattern please! I love these trees! They would make great Christmas placemats too!

Lia*s Handmades said...

this is so cute! i'd use a 'frosty' binding, so either the 3rd from the left or the 3rd from the right (which would be my pick).

Nic said...

Looks great. I think I'd pick the darker fabric, so the furthest on the right, for the binding. I like the middle one too, but I think the print might be too big for binding

Anonymous said...

I would pick the brown fabric you used for the tree trunks.. and I agree with everyone else, the swirls are amazing !

Maggie said...

Love your quilting! I would love the tree pattern. I agree with the poster above who recommended frosty blue.

I think a color scheme like this is great- you don't have to put it away the day after Christmas,as it could be sort of generally wintery too.

Jessica said...

This is AMAZING. You did a beautiful job! I would love a pattern - and I'm new to paper piecing so it would help me a lot!

Rebecca said...

So cute!

Camilla said...

This looks great! I'm with you on the Christmas crafting, but I'm making a table runner too-persisting slowly with straight line quilting atm. I should've done something more interesting like you did. I am featuring a Valori Wells print on the front, not too overtly Christmassy tho'it is red and green. For the binding I like the blues, like perhaps the middle one or the last on the right, not to distract too much from the piecing.

heart of charnwood said...

I think i would pick the bark fabric if you have enough, it would really tie it all together and frame it at the same time?! : )

heart of charnwood said...

And I didn't mention I really like your blogs new look, it's so much brighter, and easier to get around! : )

Anna said...

I would go with the first one, the polka dots.

Sarskhia said...

I think the swirls look amazing and add a definite hint of snowy, winter sky. My choice for binding would the first on the right but that's just my aesthetic choice and any of them will look great. Your works are always so beautifully considered when it comes to the colour schemes - you have a fabulous 'eye'!

Karen@littlebirdiequilting said...

I think the second fabric from the right would look nice for binding- it seems to marry in with the colours in the backing.

Suzanne said...

Very nice quilt. I would love a pattern for the trees - always nice not to have to figure out the dimensions :) I like the idea of using the dark from the tree trunks as binding or the darkest blue on the far right.

Michelle said...

The quilting is so pretty -- I love the texture!

Catherine said...

I think you got the swirly sky spot on - it's a really lovely runner. I like the blue in the Joel Dewberry herringbone print, third from right - definitely not anything too dark that would make it look boxed in and detract from the fact that looks so crispy and light!