Monday, June 22, 2020

Stitching Sunshine!

I'm so happy that Carla from Creatn' In the Sticks thinks of great blog hops at the best times!  Let's share some Sunshine!  Stitching Sunshine!   


I hope you had a few minutes to check out yesterday's posts.  I'll share the list at the bottom, so you can go back.  I also encourage you to visit today's bloggers, and see how they chose to spread some sunshine and inspiration.  And check with Carla each day for the daily list this week. 

I've been making lots of really big quilts, and haven't made many table runners lately, so my goal when this hop was announced was to use some of my large stash of prints I've purchased over the years to make this design.  I love how the Ribbon Star block looks when it joins another.  I've made this same pattern (my own) a number of times, and love how it looks.  This time I picked fabrics that reminded me of sunny days, blue skies, lemonade, and yellow roses.  Okay, and a chocolate cupcake, too.  
The Lemon print is an older one from Hoffman.  I paired it with the blue with silvery feathers, a white tone on tone, and a yellow swirl fabric. I wanted to emphasize the blue in this one, so turned the blocks so the blue would continue and twist around the center block of lemon fabric.  I quilted it with Warm and White batting, and an all-over floral design.  It's pieced with Aurifil 50wt, and the bobbin has Aurifil 40-3, the top thread is Superior King Tut, which I'm trying to use up, but the variegated light blue gives a nice accent to the design.  I'm hoping that Aurifil starts adding more colors and variegated threads to the 40-3 line. 




The second runner, same block, same blue and white fabrics, uses an old yellow rose print.  The yellow is an older Island Batik fabric I received in an Ambassador box.  You know I had to use Island Batik for at least part of this, right??  This was also pieced with Aurifil 50wt, and quilted with the same King Tut, with 40-3 in the bobbin.  I used more scraps of batting, which makes me very happy.  
 For this one, I used the Funky Roses panto for quilting, and wanted the yellow to twist.  When you see the runners next to each other, you can see the difference playing with the block makes. 







It's the same block, same color order, just placed one turn to the right.  That's why I love making this design.  I usually try to pick the first border to play up the twist color.  I also play with blocks in the corners of each border.  All the triangle block pieces were cut on my Accuquilt GO! machine.  It makes it so fast, and no trimming needed for the blocks.  
  



I'm happy to say that I also got a number of other runners, a mini quilt, a flag, and some mug rugs quilted at the same time.  I had a piece of wide backing that was only about 62" wide.  I think I had purchased a few yards at once, and this was left from 2 other quilts.  So, I loaded that, found batting scraps to match each piece, and layered them as they fit on the backing.  I did have to change threads a few times, because the pieces were different colors, but I feel I accomplished a lot, especially since I didn't have to load new backing each time.  I'll share photos of the rest as soon as I finish the binding. It felt so good to have a sunny day, glass of lemonade and bouquet of yellow roses, as well as be productive with a number of UFOs.  

I want to remind you to just sew something, by hand, or machine, either quilting, piecing or garment, for at least 10 to 15 minutes a day, and add the hashtag #JustSewJune.  I'm cheering everyone one.  Post on Instagram or Facebook, please.  It really does make you feel good to be productive and relax into the hum of stitching for just a few minutes.  You can of course sew for more than 15 minutes.  
Let me know what you sew!  

I'll have a little gift of some fabric next week for anyone who leaves a comment on this blog post.  Maybe it will be enough to motivate you to Just Sew!  I'll cover shipping to US addresses, so if you live elsewhere, and want to cover the additional cost of shipping, let me know when your name is picked by Random.org.  

And here's the list of yesterday and today's bloggers.  Go spread some sunshine, then sew something! 


Thanks for visiting.  Please visit my Facebook page and follow me there, too.  

Maryellen

47 comments:

Jollygirl said...

I love your table runners. They are so bright and summery. I have been trying to work in my sewing room a little every day. Today I started working on a mask and matching medical hat for a friend who is a nurse. Thanks for the encouragement.

Podunk Pretties said...

Another blue and yellow beauty. I'm loving all the blue and yellow inspiration in this blog hop. Thanks for sharing your inspiring table runners.

Rebecca Smith said...

Lovely table runners. I try to sew daily but haven’t done well with just see June.

Elizabeth Coughlin said...

Both of your runners are beautiful, and I enjoyed seeing them side-by-side in the photo.

Dorian said...

Oh so bright and pretty! I love yellow and blue together. Thats a great design, nice job.

Carol said...

Love those runners! You can't beat blue and yellow for sunny thoughts!

Pam said...

Love your pattern --- really pops on the blue and yellow -- thanks for sharing

Nancy L said...

I love blue and yellow and I love your pattern for your table runner. I love changing out table runners on my dining room table. They always lift my spirits!!

Emily said...

Such pretty table runners! I like the photo of them hanging in the sun. I love blue & yellow together--my July Island Batik project is blue and yellow, I'm working on it now.

Denise said...

These are so pretty and I love that yellow print.

Calicojoan said...

Perfect runner for lemonade and the dog days of summer! I love seeing them before they are quilted all hung up and looking like stained glass. What a fun pattern.

Charlene McCain said...

Beautiful table runners! The lemon print is my favorite. How wonderful that you were able to get so many projects done with one backing. Your quilting design is gorgeous! Thank you for stitching sunshine today!

Beth Strand said...

Beautiful! Thank you for sharing!

Janis said...

Love your blue and yellow table runner. The colors and prints are so lovely together. Nice pattern you came up with too. I also have a table runner of made with a pattern of my own that I'm very fond of. Maybe someday I'll make another one from the same pattern, but for now I'm busy with other projects. I also just love the quilting on your runner, glad you included a close up of that, it's just lovely.

Carol Andrews said...

Wow Maryellen these runners are so pretty and sunshiny! The quilting is perfect! I am looking forward to seeing your other completed projects as well. Thanks for inspiring me with your #justsewjune hashtag.

Karrin Hurd said...

Beautiful table runners, thanks so much for sharing!

tink's mom said...

Your table runners are lovely. The block choice is perfect for a table runner. I love the secondary patterns that occur when blocks go together.

Turid said...

Lovely table runners you made for this hop. Real summer.

The Joyful Quilter said...

Congrats on getting SEW much done while finishing your project for the Hop! Thanks for the reminder that loading multiple tops on a single backing is a huge time saver.

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

That's a really neat pattern! I love how you can change the look of it with fabric placement or rotating a block. I do sew every day, and will go look for your posts on Instagram!

Glapha said...

I love the table runners. I am thinking of trying one. Thanks.

Quilting Gail said...

Beautiful table runners!!!
Thanks for showing us the difference a simple placement can make! Love it!
Happy Quilting!

LJ said...

Sewing for at least 15 minutes a day is a great goal. My mood always is better if I've done some sewing. Love your sunshiny table runners - they speak of summer and sunshine.

Danice G said...

Really pretty runner. Your quilting is so perfect!

Kathleen said...

Love this runner for the sunshine hop! I love the chain/ribbon effect of this block when put together. Hooray for another fun hop!

Vicki in MN said...

Table runners are just so fun to make. And yellow and blue always look great together. I love to load a wide backing too and get many projects done at once.

Nancy A: SewingGranda@gmail.com said...

Your table runner is perfect for this time of year!

Karen's Korner said...

The perfect runner for your outside table. Love the colour combo.

Martha said...

Beautiful runner in nice colors. This would also look great in red, white and blue!

Siouxzq64@gmail.com said...

Great runners. I love the lemon fabric, but then the yellow roses are lovely too. How nice to finish off some UFO's.

thatfabricfeeling.wordpress.com said...

Your runners are lovely. I always think they are great items to make but not sure I would ever use one in the house. Forgive my ignorance, but what exactly do you use them for? Is it instead of a tablecloth? Is it just to make the table fancy?

Kathryn said...

I'm a frequent maker of table runners. They are quick and make great gifts. Thanks for showing yours.

sue s said...

Beautiful table runners. The colors play off each other so well. I have some floral in these colors I should get out for a runner now!

Sue D said...

Pretty table runner. I like the lemon print.
slrdowney at hotmail dot com

Carla said...

Your runners are beauties for sure. Perfect color combinations. Great idea to load one backing and quilt a bunch of smaller projects. Thanks for the fantastic inspiration!

Carol Swift said...

So much beauty and sunshine in your runners! The fabrics and quilting are a lovely combination. Thank you for sharing!

Pamela said...

Two lovely "sunshiney" table runners! Well done!

Needled Mom said...

That is so pretty. I love the blue and yellow color combination and this pattern works so well as a runner. Nice job.

works4me said...

Such pretty and uplifting runners.

Sharon Aurora said...

I love table runners and yours are especially beautiful. I love that design.

Diantha said...

I like how just a small change gave two very nice table runners. Very cheery for the summer!

Beth said...

Yellow and blue are so cheerful! That was my mom's favorite color combination; in the 1970's she insisted on a blue and yellow kitchen, when the culture was pushing hard for her to purchase an avocado green fridge or an orange dishwasher. Thanks for the encouragement to sew every day. It makes such a difference to me if I look back on my day and feel as if I accomplished even one small thing "just for me".

Sharon said...

Great blue & yellow runners! It's fun to see how the difference in fabric & placement draws the eye to different parts of the design.

Susan said...

That's pretty! I hadn't even thought about lemons for this hop - great idea!

Marian said...

lovely design and I love the lemon fabric. It was cool to see the different layouts also. I love patterns like that.

Pamela said...

Lemonade is the perfect drink to serve on this sunny tablerunner! It reminds me summer. Just beautiful!

Janis said...

Love your blue and yellow table runners. Very sunny and bright, just what's needed now. I also appreciate that you showed a close up of your quilted roses. Did you do them free motion or did you have a stencil for them? They are lovely!