FIRST FINISHES OF 2015!

i have FINALLY completed the three table runners my friend, Karen, asked me to make for christmas gifts. yes, i am aware that it is several weeks past christmas, but THIS time it wasn’t my fault. my lovely lucey broke down just before we were set to leave on our cross country trek, and i wasn’t able to diagnose the problem or do anything to fix it until we got home in january. thankfully, it turned out to be a minor repair, and she is now humming along once more.

i was given creative license, and a general idea of colours and size, so i had some fun with these. karen requested batik fabrics, one in plums, one with a seascape feel, and one that looked like the pasture in summer.

for the plum, i tried out my new-to-me sizzix big shot pro machine with the 5″ charm square die. it took a bit of fiddling to get the machine cutting just right, but i am really pleased with the result. i laid out the squares on point and added deep plum setting triangles. the original plan was to leave the ends of the runner pointed, but Karen requested a rectangle, so i added the corners. i used superior magnifico thread in crocus and the windy day panto from lorien quilting, and then bound it in the same deep plum.

for the seascape runner, i chose blues and aquas, and settled on an off white/yellow/pale blue/grey batik for the stars. i wanted the stars to be a little rustic, so when i did the sawtooth star, i made sure the centres of the star points were chopped off by the body of the star. i don’t know if that particular star has a name or not. anyone know? i used magnifico in horizon and the halcyon panto from lorien quilting

for the pasture runner, i again used my sizzix, this time with the 2.5″ strip die.i did simple rail fence blocks, not worrying about value. i tried really hard to keep the same fabrics from touching, but as usual, the harder i try, the more it happens. i did a wide border on the two short sides and bound the runner in the same fabric. i used superior magnifico in songbird, and the ground cover panto by barbara becker.

today was the perfect day to get outside and take some pictures. it was only -7c with lots of sun and a slight breeze. i love the prairies in winter! especially on days like today.