Hearts and Diamonds

I finally got a picture of my mom’s table runner in “action” last week.

I didn’t see her till a few days after Valentine’s Day, but it was still well received and appreciated.  The flowers my dad got her also helped make it look even more splendid.

I must admit that I’m really pleased with how the quilting came out over all.  Sometimes when you’re so immersed in a project that your eyes cross you forget to step back and take a look at the big picture.

Not seeing this runner for a week helped put my perspective back in place and it’s a small nod to my ever growing quilting skills.  I certainly did not do all those diamonds in one sitting, but over a course of about 2 weeks and I only worked on it for an hour at a time because it’s such tedious work.

There was alot of seam ripping.  In fact, the binding was originally supposed to be red, but I ended up cutting it too narrow and in the end could not turn it over to the front to finish sewing it into place.

The purple binding turned out to be a happy accident and looks just as intentional as if I’d planned it that way all along.

Happy Sewing!

Those Pesky Triangles

As I am wont to do with quilt patterns these days, I ended up modifying this Ric Rac pattern by Ms. Rosie’s Quilt Co. to become a table runner. I’d like to say I did it because that’s what I wanted to do in the first place, but that would be lying.

No, the sad and silly truth is it was simply too many triangles.  Triangles are my personal quilting nemesis.

I’m sure you have one.  Everyone in the sewing world does.

There is something that either intimidates the crap out of you or some technique that you just can’t get right.

Triangles are like that for me (so are french knots, but that’s another story).

Even the word sounds devilish.  Triangles *shudder*

 Still, I torture myself by doing patterns that involve them.  Sure there are tools and paper piecing methods to help you get perfectly pointy points, but I guess I’m stubborn.  I did this pattern the “hard way” and cut them first.

I’ve since learned my lesson with that.  Don’t cut triangles if you don’t have to.

There are TONS of methods of how to do them, what’s fastest, easiest, smoothest, less finicky…..just google: how to sew quilting triangles

Ugh triangles for days……….

Truth of the matter is that only one method is going to click with you, maybe two if you’re savvy, but the one that you pick up the fastest will become your preference and the only way to find out what you prefer is to get out there and make mistakes.

Lots of tricksy triangle mistakes.

I’m not going to tell you which one I prefer but it’s one that works for me in most situations 🙂

In the meantime, enjoy some pretty quilting with MORE triangles and diamonds.