The next installment...

... in the Pay it Forward 2011 saga continues!  I've got the top finished for this particular table runner & do not have proper backing fabric.  Grrrr... I wanted to finish this & mail it off to its recipient in Alabama.  Yes, Sarah... this is yours!  I confess to doing some quasi-covert Facebook "research" to see how large (about) your dining room table it... thank you for posting those photos from Thanksgiving~ made my job easier!!!  Hopefully it's sized to look proportionate; not too big & not too small.

The fabric... and the pattern... 

This is a "Jacob's Ladder" block. It's a basic 9-patch. 

Top of the table runner... 

More of a close-up... 

The real trick was how to combine her favorite colors (and her home decor choice) and not have it scream C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S... red & green are tricky like that.  The red fabric has green swirled into it~ which helps minimize the holiday feel.  Either way, hopefully it looks awesome on their dinner table when I get it backed, quilted, & mailed.  

If you're keeping count, of the 5 on the Pay it Forward list... this is the 3rd... and because it's half-way finished... that means I'm exactly half-way done with my 2011 list.  Because I like the giving part of it, for 2012 I decided that I'm going to randomly select 5 of my friends & give them a little surprise.  No advance notice to look for something in the mail; just a random package with a little note inside.  And then it's up to them how they want to pay it forward from there. 

At the turn of the year, a lot of people make "resolutions"... what a silly waste of time! Well, for me it is.  If you want to change~ no time like the present to start.  But, if I were to be twisted into one~ it would be to always make time for my quilting because it gives me such joy... I rarely keep what I make anyway; most find homes elsewhere.  

The 2012 Project List tab has been updated to reflect what I want to accomplish this year~ and what I remembered off the top of my head without looking in the stash.  We'll see how much I finish... and how much gets added to the list as the year progresses!!! 

Happy New Year... and Happy Quilting!!! :o)  

Two down... Three Left...

Got the table runner finished!  I love it when things just fall into place like perfectly connecting puzzle pieces.  Pulled out my left-over stash batting~ first piece I grabbed was all that I needed for the runner & same with the backing fabric.  All that was necessary was to put it all together... which was rather quick, truth be told!  

Trying a different method of binding... Hopefully it works better. 

Pinning isn't normally a favorite, but in this case, it's a necessary evil for this to come out decently.  

Artsy shot of my pinning... 

TA-DA!! All finished...  :o)

And with that~ it's all boxed up, labeled, & ready to ship out; with a little note card inside as well!  Big question remains... who's getting it?! Time will tell.  But for now, it's back to the stash to work on the 3 that remain.  Good times.  I hope that the people who get their goodies like them... :o) 

Happy Quilting!!!

ps: If I see that meme on Facebook again this year... I think I'll pass on posting... 

Tidying up the table...

So, I never put away the fabric from the snowman table runner I finished right before vacation... I know, right?!  Who in their right mind leaves their sewing/quilting table a mess?!  There was plenty of material left for another runner~ and since Winter Break was 48 hours away from when the snowman runner was completed.... on the table it remained waiting for me to tend to it.  

Along with that Pay It Forward 2011 list that's seriously haunting me.

So, in the interest of "tidying" up a smidgen... I decided to make the second runner that I had fabric for.  It's going to go to one of the four peeps left on my list.  And, a quick glance at today's date reveals that I'm sorely lacking in the time department.  (Better late than never, right?! Maybe... Yeah, I know..."10 minute early is on-time, being on-time is late..." ...and we won't even talk about what it is to be truly late...)

So, here's the color scheme I left for myself... distinctly NOT anything Christmas-y in the least.  Blues, teals, yellows, browns... Easter-ish, perhaps?!

So these are the randomly placed squares... I still struggle with "random"... I much prefer order... 

Here's the assembled center portion... in this lighting, it's a bit "surfy" to me... 

Aaahhh... more getting rid of pre-cut left-over 2.5" strips...  

Take that, Points~ You've Been ROUNDED! 

Tomorrow's task(s) include figuring out the batting situation, finding backing fabric (hello, stash!), and... my least favorite task of all... binding.  Got creative on the rounding of the points~ I am most certainly NOT going through that pointy nightmare again.  Had to use a round lid to make a template to follow with the rotary cutter.  Hopefully, this works better.  

So, that's one more off the list complete... only 3 remain.  I have plans for 1 of those 3... and a fabric scheme for a 2nd.  If you do the math, that leaves one wild card project.  (::Insert quasi-evil Simpson's George Burns laugh here::) We'll see what comes of it. 

In the meantime... It's late & my book is calling me to read a bit before bed... I dare say I'm a Kindle convert. I've always loved books & reading (Yes, I'm a nerd like that) and this little device makes it so much easier; especially since I'm a very fast reader. Off to it!

Happy Quilting!!!