Free Motion Bargello - Win Some, Lose Some!

Remember this?

Well, I started quilting it today.
I choose the Sunflower pattern from the Free Motion Quilting Project.

And I had mixed results. Also, FMQ seems to be tough on my hands (I occasionally have carpel tunnel issues) so the going is slow. But I am getting a little better at it. The hardest thing is regulating stitch length.

And also, making the needle go where I want it to go. :)
I have chosen to space the sunflowers out and using a traveling vine to go between. I'm also using a variegated thread which doesn't show up very well on the front of the quilt.

Ah well, live and learn.

Table Runner + 2(Placemat) = Baby Quilt

Remember that bargello table runner and place mat set I started a month ago or so? Well I decided I didn't like it and I pushed it aside. It was very pretty, but all wrong for my decor. I picked the colors for the gray-greens and the mauve pinks but once I combined them with blenders, I got a very nice rainbow pastel combination. That looks completely silly on my table. Oh what to do.

Turns out what makes a terrible table runner can make a great small lap quilt.

Here it is, all pieced together and waiting for borders, quilting and binding. I like this much better!

Bargello Table Runner

It was a busy weekend. This week is going to get a little chaotic so I'm not sure what will happen on the crafty front. This Friday is kind of make or break for Jack and I on the home front (pray for us please, if we don't pass inspection I'm going to go crazy. Bonkers. Hinky. Cuckoo). But if all goes well, my time will be my own again, without all kinds of crazy worry.

I spent the day sewing. I didn't even turn on my computer to play GuildWars. And I got a decent amount of stuff done. (Unfortunately tomorrow I have to go back to Mundania and work.) But I made excellent progress on my Project Linus quilt. The binding is machine stitched on and the only thing left is to finish hand-stitching it all up.

Bargello color sequence

I settled on a pattern for my bargello table runner. I was planning on making matching place mats but it seems I don't have enough fabric. I really haven't found any tutorials on bargello quilts that give you an idea of how much fabric they take. 16 strips of fabric will cover one long table runner or four place mats, but not both. Well the good news is I now have some idea how much fabric it takes! So I'm improvising. I'm making a short table runner and four place-mats, but the place mats will just be striped in the matching colors.

Table runner top

Place Mat

Honestly, I'm not sure I'm going to keep them. I was thinking about turning it into a table runner plus two matching place mat set. I chose the colors because I thought they would look good in our living room/dining room but somehow they just don't seem to mesh.