Quilted Tablecloth

I finally finished my "Kitchen Windows" tablecloth!  

It took FOREVER!!  I wanted to quilt it really closely so that it wouldn't have too many bumpy spots.  Or something like that.  I was a little surprised when I completely ran out of thread (started with a brand new spool) when I still had two more sections left to quilt!  But alas, it is finished. 

I decided to use flannel for backing, but skipped the batting.  So this tablecloth only has two layers but the back is nice and soft.  Which, I'm sure will be useful for when we are eating dinner on it...  If I decide to allow that...

I tried a couple of different quilting styles.  I started with swirls in the sashing:

I did a couple of sections with pebbles.  I thought this heavy quilting design would make the thing stiffer, and even though this particular section IS stiffer, it is also particularly bumpy.  But it's in the middle.  I think it looks good.

I got tired of pebbles (they are SO time consuming), and did a couple of sections with a simple tight meandering.  NOW I understand why most people just use this design on their quilts.  So much easier and faster!

Then I got the great idea to try a couple of straight line sections.  These sections lie the flattest and have the least amount of bumps.  If I were to do another tablecloth (hey - Mom just said she wants one!  Christmas will be easy this year), I will definitely do the whole thing with straight lines.  It is also quite time consuming, but if I did a more overall design, it would be okay.  Plus, it just looks/lies SO much better for a tablecloth!

And there you have it!  It looks a little retro, but I think I like it.  Plus, the browns and greens kind of match some of the decorations in my kitchen!  And I TOTALLY LOVE how it actually fits our little table!  No more folding tablecloths on one side for us!

One Week!

A week ago, I decided I wanted to take on Amy's One Thing, One Week challenge.

I finished quilting my purple and green quilt on Sunday night and had ALMOST enough fabric to do the binding but not quite.  I know I should have made finishing the binding a top priority, but I didn't.  Instead, I got this hairbrained idea that I wanted to make a new tablecloth for our table.  Our table is square and it has always driven me nuts that all of our table cloths are NOT square.  We always have to fold one side under to get it to fit and I hate it.  SO I am making a quilted tablecloth - since that is the only thing I know how to do...

I decided right away that I wanted to do Elizabeth Hartman's Kitchen Window quilt.  I LOVE this quilt!
At first, I wasn't sure what colors to do it in and almost decided to go shopping, but then I figured I better shop my stash first.  I put together a bunch of different color schemes and this is the one the Hubby picked.  I think he picked this group because it was the mellowest of the bunch.

I'm glad he picked these too.  These fabrics are all part of the giveaway I won from Quilty Pleasures and it's nice to know that I found a place for them! 

My goal was to finish the top by today.  I made a lot of progress cutting and even sewing last Sunday and Monday.  Things were going great - I got to do lots of chain piecing, which sure helped things move quickly!  But then Tuesday came.  And Wednesday, and Thursday.  Things were kinda stressful at work this week.  I started to get nervous that I wasn't going to make it.  But then my husband got offered a super cheap ski pass.  We couldn't get another one for me and I decided that (even though I love skiing) it wasn't justified to spend 80 bucks to get me one.  Plus, the hubby likes skiing more than I do... so he went skiing all day and I stayed home, cleaned the entire house, and finished the topper - just barely.  I have about an inch and a half of the brown fabric left over - and that's AFTER piecing together small pieces.  But I made it!

Even with the little glitch of forgetting seam allowances when I sewed on the cream sashing and having to add another inch...

Yay!

Now I just need to quilt it.  I'm thinking of trying my hand at quilting pebbles to keep the quilting nice and tight.  I hope it doesn't end up too bumpy.  I put it on the table and it doesn't seem too bad.  I think I will either back it with flannel and NOT use batting, or use the flannel for batting and add a layer of backing.  What do you think?