Saturday, May 9, 2020

May Friday Night With Friends #2

I decided to get an early start on my Friday Night With Friends and spent the afternoon ripping apart my failed placemats from a couple weeks ago. It took me a couple of hours, but I managed to trim down the pieces and reassemble the placemats and make them right.

The quilting portion has been a bit of a learning process for me. Up until now, I have only ever done stitch-in-the-ditch, but the center of these placemats was too large a space to leave unquilted. I thought about how to finish it and I didn't have any interest in freehanding some design. Eventually, I decided to fill the opening with a Double Infinity outline. I downloaded a drawing from the internet then printed out six copies that were sized to fit in the opening.
I carefully sewed around the edges then spent about 15 minutes trying to remove the paper. Obviously, it would have been better if I used some sort of tear-away stabilizer, but I didn't have any so I just used regular printer paper. I found if I folded the paper along the perforation, it seemed to tear off more easily. There are still a few scraps of paper stuck in the stitching but I'm sure they'll disappear when I wash these after I'm finished.
After I finished sewing the center medallion, I went through and sewed stitch-in-the-ditch around the knotwork.
I spent a good part of Saturday continuing work on this project and I've finished sewing two of the placemats, but I still have four more to finish. And I still have to put on the binding.
I used a William Morris fabric for the backing.

23 comments:

  1. Well worth the effort
    They have turned out nicely
    Good on you for persevering

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks. I'm glad I fixed the pair I goofed up on. It feels good to fix a mistake.

      Delete
  2. Love your centre quilting, it has turned out really well. You should be very pleased with yourself.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow your quilting in the centre looks fantastic. Well worth the pain of having to remove the paper afterwards. Enjoy the rest of your weekend :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I agree. I will look for some tear away stabilizer for next time, though.

      Delete
  4. What a great idea for your quilted centre. These mats are gorgeous. xx

    ReplyDelete
  5. It was worth all the unpicking. Great job.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I think so too. I'll enjoy using them this coming year.

      Delete
  6. Even though it was a lot of work it was worth it as the placemats look great.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a fabulous idea!!! And terrific execution! I might borrow this idea (with my own twist, of course) sometime in the future!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Feel free. Paper worked in a pinch, though I'll get some tear away stabilizer for next time.

      Delete
  8. Excellent quilting pattern...the paper will disappear eventually - good tweezers help too!

    ReplyDelete
  9. The quilting pattern suits the runner perfectly. Well done.
    Thanks for stopping in for the 2nd FNwF...xox

    ReplyDelete
  10. That was an inspired idea, to use that motif for the centre. They will make a stunning set :-)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi Sharon wow what beautiful work my friend ,the quilting suits it perfectly,i love your work Sharon i am now following you,hope you will follow me too ,stay safe xx

    ReplyDelete
  12. Beautiful! You are more ambitious than me! I love how you did the paper template for quilting. I wouldn't have thought of that. Great job!

    ReplyDelete