Placemats and fabric memories

Few more placemats--of course! These were fun--of course! They always are. I'm going to show you the last one first, because it's my favorite.

I have a fairly large (for me) collection of solid fabrics and decided it's time to use up some of them. Or try to anyway. I also have a fascination with the quilts that Laura of New Song Quilting makes. She has a book (and another coming out soon) showing her techniques for improv piecing with solids. I think what draws me to her quilts, aside from the modern look, is the kind of structured improv she uses to make them. So on impulse, I ordered her book.

Look at the small print in that title: Be the boss of your design. Okay then. For my placemat, I used some of the designs in her first set of techniques in the book, but since I am the boss, I scaled them way back. I also skipped a half circle design because I didn't feel like messing with tiny half circles. Here's my placemat in progress. (Ignore the competing design of the quilt on my ottoman under the blocks. Oh, and my feet, too.)

To make these kinds of quilts, you make a few of several "blocks" and then arrange them, sew them together in chunks and then fill in with more blocks and extra strips. The idea is to get a balanced distribution of color and design. I was playing with these colors as I had been attracted to similar colors in a quilt I saw this summer by Pat Budge and wondered if I'd like to make a whole quilt with them. This type of improv went slowly for me, partly because of scaling back the design and figuring out what sizes worked together, but also because I found it somewhat challenging to balance the colors and design. Challenging in a good way though. I got more comfortable with it as I went. So anyway, this placemat violates one of my rules about making placemats quick and easy. But I loved the process. Worth it to buy the book, something I rarely do.

For the back of the quilt, I used some strips of the same colors, all from my solids bin. 

I quilted with my walking foot, breaking another recent placemat rule (meanders are quicker than walking foot), but hey, I'm the boss. My pressure was a little off, so there's a bit of pulling, but that's okay. It's just a placemat. I used the dark coral in one corner of the binding because I didn't want to have the blue binding touch blue on the front of the quilt. Then on a whim, I also used the coral in the opposite corner to balance things out. I know this doesn't make sense looking at the back. Just scroll back up to the photo of the front and you'll see what I mean. 

All in all I'm thrilled with the result. I really like the book. The techniques are clearly described and the photos are beautiful. The only thing I had some trouble with was the challenge of reading the very small gray font with my aging eyesight. A larger font, darker print or both would have been helpful. I have a ruler with a magnifying section that I kept handy whenever I read it. That concern aside, I know this is going to be a well-used reference in my quilting library. 

The other two placemats were more like my usual ones. Quick and easy. One is quite vintagey looking, and I wondered if it's a little too old fashioned. But everyone has different tastes, so I'm sure someone will like it. 

I started with the rose print, and then found coordinating scraps for the stripe. I have to be careful of what I say about the vintage-ness or how old the fabrics are because I'm sure I'll offend my daughter--who isn't vintage. Ha Ha. Anyway that rose print is from a dress I made for her for her 6th grade "graduation," a ceremony her school held when students moved from 6th grade in one building to 7th in another. I can prove it.

There she is with her friends--and privacy protection. Pink and flowers were big that year apparently. I think it was 1993. Oh, and I still have the dress!! It even matches the chair in the bunk room.

I probably had some idea that my granddaughter would wear it someday, but we all know how that goes. Times change, styles change. And now she's taller than her mother and about to start high school so that ship has sailed.

Now, look at the lightest pink print in the stripe. Yup, another vintage scrap from a dress I also made for my daughter sometime in the late 80's/beginning 90's for an 1800's day. And yes, I have a photo of her wearing it.

Little House on the Prairie, anyone? And surprise, surprise. I still have the dress.

By the time my granddaughter was that age, 1800's field trips weren't a thing I think, but it's still in the closet.

(The grayish blue dot print below the pink print on the placemat is from the January block of a cloth calendar I made in the early 1980's. And no, I no longer have that. A memory, anyway, though.)

I had enough to make the back of the placemat from the rose print. And there are still a few scraps left. Sigh. I meandered the quilting in this quilt. Quick and easy.

The other placemat is made from a baggie of multicolored scraps I put together in the last year or so. 

Yup, this one has some memories, too. The thin striped fabrics and the leaf print on the right are leftovers from my granddaughter's baby quilt. You can see it here if you'd like. The back has some extreme piecing to make enough fabric for stripes. 

See that turquoise strip? Lots of small pieces to get enough. That was my favorite Amy Butler (I think) print (Lark?) for many years. Now I think I have a tiny scrap left. Waah. I did walking foot quilting on this one, too. So much for my placemat rules. But I am the boss. Or maybe my quilts are.

So that's it for my placemats this month. As usual, they are 18 by 14 inches, pieced on my Featherweight and quilted on my 115 treadle. All scraps, with frankenbatting. I was going to do the hand binding on them while listening to carillon concerts at our local university, but it was just too hot. (High 90s, high humidity,) Instead I sat and mopped my brow with a cold cloth. The music was good, though. These will go into the collection for Meals on Wheels at my local quilt shop.

So what's next? Well, I was at my local gift/quilt shop the other day and saw a bolt end on sale. It came home with me. My next quilt was going to be the same color scheme as the first placemat, but there's been a change. The bolt end will be the back. I bought the snow, teal and darker oranges at local stores and have some scraps to make a solids improv front, but I had to order a bit more of the greens. Should be here any day. I guess I'm not using up my solids after all.

I hope you've enjoyed my little trip down memory lane and my placemats. Keep sewing, keep scrapping, and if you have a primary election coming up in my country, take time out to VOTE. It's vital. One of the issues in my county is renewal of library millage. I'm glad it's a non-controversial issue in my area, but I am doing my part by proudly displaying my yard sign.

This week, I'm linking up with Michelle at From Bolt to Beauty for Beauties Pageant and with Cynthia at Quilting is more fun than Housework for Oh Scrap.

(Just a reminder: I'm not affiliated with any company, so when I mention products, services, or stores, I'm just documenting what I used or liked, not officially promoting anything.)