eating in style







It has been a while since I finished a project! These are a set of eight placemats for a stylish dining experience. Ok, maybe not stylish but fun for sure. 

I started sewing teeny tiny squares of fabric together back back in February I think. I wanted to use up small bits of fabric that I couldn't bring myself to through out. These are one inch squares. I am firmly a metric person usually, but my quilting ruler is imperial so all quilting is done in inches. At first, I wasn't sure what I was making. I thought of a baby quilt, or maybe a bigger quilt... then I remembered placemats I had made for my mum a couple of years ago and decided that this just the right thing to make. I had a special friend in mind for those. Whenever we go for dinner, the table is nicely set with placemats. Do you remember those blissful days when dinner parties were a possibility? Not here in Glasgow, not now. We are not currently allowed to socialise indoors with friends or family we are not sharing a house with. I miss this very much, having dinner with friends is just about my favourite social activity, topped maybe by camping with friends or having a barbecue with friends. 

Ah well. I backed the placemats with blue chambray fabric that I purchased many years ago to make a shirt dress. I used most of it to back Alistair's quilt a while back. I quilted zigzag lines to hold the layers in place. 

I wanted to bind the placemats with a single fabric but I didn't have enough of any to make the amount of binding needed. Instead, I cut strips of my almost plain fat quarter collection. I think the line is Makeover Linea, it comes in all shades of the rainbow and then some. I don't like to use solid colours and this line is just right for me. 

To make sure the placemats could go through wash regularly, I decided to machine sew the binding. I used a method described by Rachel at Stitched in Colour, she uses a zigzag stitch to sew the binding down. I prefer hand stitching for this final step, I think it is the best part of making a quilt, but these placemats need to be robust. I actually rather like this zigzag method, it is quick and I think it adds a little bit of interest to the binding. 

Now that these placemats are finished, I really want to keep them (but I won't). I hope my lovely friend likes them, she is a bit less crazy than me and maybe the medley of fabrics is too much. And maybe, just maybe, in the not too distant future, we'll have dinner together chat about our respective favourite squares in the placemats. 

Thanks for visiting today!

Comments

  1. We haven't had our Monday night family dinners for almost two months, mostly waiting to see how back-to-school would go. So far so good, but the general spike is unnerving.

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  2. Oh, they're lovely, and brilliantly practical as well. I love the zigzag binding, clever and as you say, robust. I like the binding bit as well, that final finishing is so satisfying. I hope you have a lovely weekend. Half term is upon here and I have checked the forecast and see that showers are forecast every day. I have plenty of work to do, but I want to make someone do some linocutting with me. The littlest boy is the most likely candidate, although he usually likes to be out all day. Bedtime will be the best time to ask him... CJ xx

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  3. These are gorgeous - lucky friend! I think the zigzags look great and quick too - although, I also like hand stitching this bit. Now I know what to do with all my scraps - thanks for the inspiration. xx

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  4. Those are fabulous! I like the zigzag stitching and thinks it looks especially nice since you used the perfect matching thread on each! Well done!

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  5. Love your placemats! Lots of beautiful bright colours and pretty fabrics. Lucky friend! MegXx

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  6. I know, I also miss being able to socialize with friends over dinner. Your placemats are very pretty. They will bring a nice pop of color to the dinner table. Hope you have a lovely weekend!

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  7. Wow! They are wonderful, I do hope your friend loves them xxx

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  8. These are so gorgeous! And such a perfect way to use up scraps.

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  9. I love them and the riot of colours is beautiful. x

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  10. I had to scroll back up and look at them again as they are just so bright and fun and definitely eye candy. You are really an amazing friend to do so much work and give them away. Bravo on the finish! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  11. They're fabulous. What a labour of love with those teeny tiny squares, she must be a very good friend and I'm sure she'll love them, I know I would.

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  12. I love those and I'm sure your friend will as well! We're missing the company of friends too, but hopefully those days are still to come in the future xx

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  13. Those placements are a joy so I am sure your friend will love them. I am in awe of your piecing skills. I have recently made an advent calendar for our grandson and don’t have a single lined up corner

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  14. What joyous placemats, loving your zigzag binding. Here in England I am struggling with not being able to see our grown up children, we are a house of 6 since the in-laws moved in with us. Here’s to Christmas and getting loved ones together.

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Thank you for visiting and leaving a comment, I love to hear from you, I really do. I sometimes reply by email but I am not all that reliable... Christina xx

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