I wanted to make a Fall themed table runner this year (before Fall was actually over . . . ) and I actually got it done!! As some of you may know I have a Phd. in sewing (lots of Projects Half Done). So when something gets completed timely it's exciting.
I have a few fallish embroidery/applique designs that I wanted to use. The Acorn is from http://www.swakembroidery.com/ and it was Free!! It really was fast and stitched up nicely. The pumpkin was from http://www.digistitches.com/. For some of the blocks I used two pumpkins, mirror imaged one and stretched them to make them look a little different. The turkey also came from Digi Stitches. We've sold many a t-shirt and dress with this applique on it. For the pumpkin and turkey you can choose to use a satin or zig zag stitch to finish. I used both in the table runner.
I started with muslin squares, about 8" each and appliqued pumpkins, acorns and turkeys on 7 squares. Each block has a slightly different design and fabric and color choices. I used my embroidery machine (of course!) to applique each block.
Once each block was done I thought they were a little boring. I did a little research and decided to make each block into a "snowball" block. This way there's less muslin showing.
To make the snowball blocks, you basically start with small squares (mine were 4"), draw a line through each diagonally, stitch one in each corner, cut off excess and press. Here's a picture that shows each step, double click to make the picture larger so you can see details.
I laid out the blocks on the table and arranged them the way I thought they looked best. Three face one way and three face the other way with one in the center. Then I alternated the color of the corners on each block (pumpkin/orange).
After each block was done I used a dark print for the sashing strips that join the blocks together.
Then to make it more complicated I finished it off with Prairie Points which I think add a lot to the look. They're actually not hard to do. Again I started with 4" blocks. I used the pumpkin/orange broadcloth and alternated colors around the edge. It took just a little adjustment to make sure they lined up correctly.
I think the overall effect would have been better if I'd used batik fabrics, but with the exception of the dark print used for the sashing I used scraps I had on hand left from other projects.
A table runner is basically a table sized quilt and has to be "quilted". I had grand ideas of quilting the whole thing with the embroidery machine, but I ran out of stabilizer and decided to finish up on the sewing machine. If you look closely you can see the quilting design of acorns and oak leaves in the sashing in the picture below.
Talk about easy! There's NO way I would ever attempt to do this by hand. It would take a lifetime. I finished up the straight stitch quilting on the sewing machine, boring but effective.
I also made a kitchen towel using some leftover fabrics. I used Monogram Wizard for the "Harvest Blessings".
I am making potholders now and will post some pics when (if...) I get done with that project.
