One Quilter's Trash...

You know that saying, "One man's trash in another man's treasure"? Well, there was a little bit of that going on for the Holly Bazaar this year as well. Jan had brought remnants from a friend in to the quilting group so I brought them home to take a good look at them and found 6 panels of this fruit print that had obviously been cut for a project and never used. 

I couldn't get them out of my head and so when matched up with this green and cream, they became the fodder for a set of four placemats.

Originally the green was to be a narrow strip separating the cream and the larger print...

but as time went on I transitioned the green to the binding instead, using only two prints for the placemats themselves. Simple diagonal quilting was enough to finish them off.

And this butterscotch check made for a nice backing.

There were two more panels left so I whipped them up into matching potholders, only this time I used the check instead of the cream print.

In a moment of inspiration I realized that I could lay them both out at the same time to machine quilt them rather than quilt them individually. And one or two strokes with my Hera marker was all that was needed to get them started; I used the guide on my walking foot to do the rest of the spacing. Easy peasy. 

Even with my small projects I like to pin them so things don't shift in the quilting.

I played a little thread chicken along the way. Thankfully I ran out close to the edge, so not a lot of ripping out.

In my wisdom, I didn't take photos of either of the finishes, but they did turn out nicely and now someone is enjoying them on their table. Just love making good use of scraps, both mine and someone else's....M

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

Three Days and Counting

Time is running short to have everything ready for this year's Holly Bazaar on Thursday and I am happy to say that I'm in pretty good shape. Last on my binding list are the set of four Peppermint Pines Christmas tree placemats; two finished and two to go.

I've backed them with a tiny red and white pin dot and am using the same to bind everything. I love the way that they are all the same and yet all different. And I seemingly never tire of using that Jingle Bells panto for many of my holiday pieces.

Given that there is so much going on in the trees, I've kept all of the tree trunks in the same red and white dot to establish a bit of commonality, but other that that, no two are alike....M

Fun With Farmyard Friends

I've got a second set of placemats together for the bazaar and they are just fun. 

While digging for a red fabric for something else, I came across a piece of this novelty print with cows, chickens, sheep and pigs all scattered across a cheery red background and decided that they would be perfect for someone's kitchen.

I've made placemats with a string of geese before and it seemed like a good format. Initially, I had planned to make all of the geese identical, but I'm glad that I went with several gold prints - just adds that much more interest. And, since I make four at a time, it really didn't take that long at all.

Randomly placed straight line quilting also seemed like a good idea.

I found an even smaller piece of this red accent piece to place to the left of the geese (might have bought this from Linda when she was purging her stash a couple of years ago). It's gorgeous - reminds me of a farmer's hankie. Wish there was more of it.

Creamy stars finish off the backs.

As seems to be the way around here, the Official Cookie Tester took a shine to them. It looks like there's enough of the red animal print left to make a pair for us, though I'm not certain that I have enough of the red accent fabric. Either way, after the dust from the bazaar settles I think I'll do that....M

It's Not All Christmas

It might be called the Holly Bazaar, and it definitely has a Christmas theme, but the gals who run the craft table also welcome items that can be used year round rather than just during the holiday season, so I like to try and ensure that they get a bit of variety.

Several years ago I made journal covers and a set of placemats for the bazaar, so I got to rummaging in my batik stash (it's actually just a tray of fabrics that I have somehow kept to a manageable level).

As I was playing with a few ideas I came across several strip sets, remnants from a project I had tried and abandoned.

Leaf-shaped potholders, to be exact. My sister, Dori, had made a lovely pair so I decided to give them a try. I wasn't as taken with mine as I was with hers so they never got bound, left to a life of limbo in the batik cubby.

Anyway, back the the remnants. There were four strips, which was perfect, so I trimmed them to a three-inch width and tucked them into a blue floral batik. Too easy!

A little straight-line quilting and I had a set of placemats ready to bind. I've just put the last stitches in the binding - a creamy beige - so there's now a set of four to add to the Holly Bazaar goodie pile.

The backing is a mottled tan with several colours running through it which works well with the binding and I think they could easily be used either side up. The photo is a tad on the dark side but the print is warm shades of brown.

In addition, I've got the last five I'll Be Gnome for Christmas potholders prepped and will spend the day hand stitching them down because there's no time to dilly dally.

Roberta has already quilted all of the goodies that I dropped off for her last weekend so this bundle of joy is now waiting for bindings. Not surprisingly, she has done just a superb job on them; I'll have more to share as they reach the finish line. Who knows? I might even decide to bind those leaf potholders and see if they appeal to anyone....M