Wait, There's More!

Being able to use up those surplus trees for my runner was a big bonus, but I found myself longing to actually make more trees. So I did. How about a set of placemats?

I use the Tri-Recs triangle in a square ruler to make the trees and they come together so quickly. The placemats are very similar in layout to the runner, but I eliminated the spacers between the trees. Love the look!

Framed in that red and cream, they really are quite festive.

They are backed with the same snowflake cream that I used on the front. And, similar to the runners, they are quilted with a snowflake panto rather that something more Christmassy so that they can be used all winter long. LUV. 💖

Once the bazaar gets under way things get quite busy and I'm usually serving tables, so I don't get to see what's moving on the craft table. So I was delighted when, at the end of the day we were counting up our earnings in the back room and a gal popped her head in to let me know how excited she was that she bought not only the table runner but the placemats too She was so happy! Apparently she has been buying something of mine every year for the past several. How fun is that?....M

My Rustic Runner

Getting this table runner to the finish line happened remarkably quickly because I was able to dig into the wee stack of remnant Vintage Tree Farm trees. Love that!

In addition to finding a great use for that border print I was tickled that, despite all of the trees appearing to be identical, I was able to get a little bit scrappy with the tree trunks. Simple pleasures.

Here's a good look at the snowflake panto that Roberta used. The runner is trimmed but not yet bound, but you can see those lovely flakes tumbling across the surface - Christmassy if you want it to be but easy to keep on the table all winter long.

Roberta once encouraged me to enjoy sewing down my bindings as it's the last little bit of time that you will have to enjoy working on your quilt, and she is so right. She totally changed my outlook on that step in the process and now I love nothing better than reaching for my clips and settling in for some relaxing hand stitching.

You know me and my weakness for a good bias check for a binding, so I was hap-hap-happy when this one worked so well with the border print. Such a fun project....M

Rustic Trees

I woke this morning to the fragrance of our Christmas tree wafting through the house (nothing like it, is there?). It went up yesterday, but that's all - the plan is to start the decorating this weekend, a job that can sometimes take me 2 - 3 days. But it reminded me that there is another Holly Bazaar project (actually, two) that I have yet to share with you.

A small bundle of trees were left over from the Vintage Tree Farm throw that I made for my niece and her husband a couple of years ago which I had mused about putting together with two red and cream prints. They steeped sat on the corner of the cutting table all year until finally becoming the foundation for another runner for this year's bazaar. 

I envisioned a very simple, yet rustic design that could be used both as a holiday runner but also easily fit into a farmhouse decor year round, so adding a few spacers between each of three trees for each end of the runner was really all that I had to do. The border fabrics and check binding would really get a chance to shine.

I had a few scraps from the quilt to play with so I toyed with floating the trees with about an inch of the same background before they touched the border, but the runner was getting pretty wide so I opted not to do that. If I hadn't put the spacers in I it would have been a good option.

In the end it worked out well, a very simplified approach that reflected the style of the trees.

Don't you love it when your selvages talk to you?...M

Pretty In Pink

A second skinny border made it to the Holly Bazaar sewing list, this time in a table topper.

There was a small, almost square piece of this pretty fabric in my stash. Love it, and have been trying to find a way to use it, but I was having just the hardest time finding anything to match it with because my Christmas prints lean to the traditional reds and greens.

To let the anchor print shine, I decided to keep things simple and create borders around a centre panel. How about a little cream and gold?

Two golds were in the running for the narrow border and I went with the one on the right. It looks light in this photo but when paired with the cream text print shown above it was the right choice.

The piece was almost 21" square so not a lot to play with, which meant that I had to be very exact about my cuts so as to have all of my borders work. The cutting gods were on my side.

Roberta used my favourite feathered swirl panto to quilt it. LUV.

The darker gold for the binding just mixed things up a bit. Either of the golds would have worked, but this just added a little interest.

It's very pretty and those golden tones really suit the evergreen print. If I had this colour scheme in my house it wouldn't have made it out the door, but someone else will enjoy it....M