I briefly mentioned it here and also here, this little project of mine. I didn't feel like going out, but was dying to start on something new. Instead of running to the store for yet another piece of fabric, I started rummaging in my closet.
One of the first things I came across was the bag where I keep my fabric scraps. It's a huge bag, by now. As soon as I pulled it out I knew what I wanted to get started on. A quilted table runner! I have deep admiration for all those quilters out there. The real ones. The ones who make these huge blankets, meticulously, patiently, with no mistakes. I have been willing to make something quilted for the longest time, but I never started because I know that I won't succeed. You see, I'm not good at doing the same thing over and over again, I'm not good with repetition, at sticking to the book. Not when I'm sewing. I get distracted too easily for making these huge patterned blankets. I need immediate gratification, too. Given that and the fact that I had a bag full of scraps, of different sizes, I decided to go for some freestyle instead. And I had fun at it! All afternoon I kept on cutting pieces in smaller pieces, combining them just the way I felt, sewing them together, pressing the seams, cutting some more, adding... until I ended up with this. This table runner is my year in scraps...
It's a bit crooked, I know, but that's part of the free style (lol) and I like it, to the extent that the prospect of tomato sauce being spilled on it made me change my mind! I won't use this as a table runner. I don't know what I'll be using it for instead - maybe I'll just hang it somewhere, until I grow tired of it and use it as a table runner then.
The hardest part, I found to be the quilting itself. I had to start over a couple of times, before getting it 'right' (I know: nothing about this piece of work is 'right'), not satisfied with the chosen pattern. Eventually, I settled for some sort of spirals. Very free style, very me. And that's the interesting part, actually. Those lines add an extra dimension to the piece. Patches, though patched together with other patches to form an new entity, get their own expression, their individuality again, through the lines of the stitches. A revelation to me! To my surprise, I even liked hand stitching the binding at the front. I never thought I would find this a relaxing process.
So, what does this have to do with the holidays? Nothing much, really. Except that making this just made me realize that you can get a long way with just some pieces of scraps. Combine them, cut them and make something personal - be it a table runner, place mats, coasters, a pillow, a throw... make something YOU - give something YOU...
Wishing you a happy Thursday/ Turkey Day!
xo, P.
PS: One thing I might do before hanging it, is washing it to get some shrinkage, which I really like in quilts (the batting is 100% cotton). I'm just worried about the colors bleeding. Any suggestions there?
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