Maple Leaf Table Runner

So my mom's Christmas gift ~ the Maple Leaf table runner ~ was a little late.  You see, I had left myself just enough time to make it before Christmas, but then my mom and I got this great idea to make hand-made gifts for almost everyone with whom we exchange gifts.  That blew my well-planned thought I could eke by schedule into total chaos.  My mom graciously agreed to be patient about receiving her own hand-made gift.

I consoled myself that since the table-runner was seasonal, for use in the Fall, she would still receive it well in advance of when she would be using it.

I spent more time quilting it than I did piecing it.  As I've become more comfortable with free motion quilting, it seems with every project, I feel compelled to try something new, which also tends to make the process longer.

My mom has found a way to use the table-runner now.  It now resides on the back of the sofa where she can enjoy it.

She has told me that for next Christmas, she would like a table-topper like the ones I made for P. at The Way I Sew It, and my cousin, Lori.  To that end, I have left the Christmas fabrics out and will start on it as soon as I am done with the baby quilt that must be completed by April. Next year, her gift will be on time!

I'm linking up at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  Click on the button below, and join in the fun!

Edit: Although I knew Elizabeth at Such a Sew and Sew was having a February Finishes linky party, I didn't realize I could link up already.  I thought it would be at the end of the month.  Apparently, it is ongoing.  So, I'm linking up there too!

The Straggler

I am making this Maple Leaf table runner for my mom for Christmas.  Shush!  I'm well-aware of the fact that it's late ~ horribly late.

When my mom saw the table topper I made for my cousin, she had to have her own, but like, longer.  Hence the table-runner.

The great thing about leaving the table-runner for last, and then dawdling over it, is that it gave me time to concentrate on my free motion quilting. Most of the "dawdling" was planning the quilting.  The actual quilting I did over a two day period at 20-30 minute intervals.  

I did several motifs on the runner ~ pebbling, a wind inspired swirl on the leaves themselves, and a very simple try at echo-quilting on the background.  Overall, I'm quite pleased.

As with everything one practices, my free motion quilting is improving.  I'm more confident; more adventuresome.  That said, I'll admit that while I am getting better at regulating my stitch length compared to where I started, it could still use further improvement.

I'm just down to doing the binding.  Life is good!

I'm linking up with 15 Minutes with Kate and WIP Wednesday (for the first time ever).  Join the fun!

Maple Leaf Table Topper

The quilting Gods decided to play a dirty trick on me.  I was making stupendous progress on the Pansy Sampler Quilt, finished all of the quilting except those on the borders, could see a finish near at hand, when muscle spasms in my left shoulder and neck made pushing and pulling that heavy quilt through the Juki an exercise in pain.

I finally made myself set the quilt aside.

I'd been toying with the idea of making a fall table topper or table runner for some time (as soon as I finished the Pansy Sampler quilt).  There was no time like the present.  I knew the small project would cause me no harm.

Voila! My cousin chose the color of the maple leaves.  It measures approximately 16" square and now resides on a table in the living room.  Lori has the house beautifully decorated with a combination of a Halloween ~ Autumn theme.  (She has our grandmother's talent for such things.) The table topper is my small contribution to the effort.  It went together really quickly, and I'm yearning to make others.

The thing that took me the longest was deciding how to quilt it. The center space between the maple leaves is pebbled.  I was puzzled about quilting the leaves themselves and hoped the design I chose would be somewhat reminiscent of wind.

Please forgive the rather poor pictures.  I do not have Eric's talent for photography.  Normally, I would have had him take them, but he has been working 16 hour days.  Ack!