Friday, August 2, 2013

Christmas in July blog hop!

Hello Everyone,

And welcome to my stop on the blog hop. A big thank you going out to Samm and Carol, for their great ideas, blog hops and cheering.

I love Christmas :) The snow, the Christmas carol's, the cookies, the joy on little kid faces...And there is some darling Christmas fabric out there too. But, for some reason, I just don't decorate for Christmas with FABRIC stuff!? So I had very little Christmas fabric in my stash.

 I dug out these fabrics that my quilting forum swapped a few years ago.


I made 3 stars and some strips of squares. And put together a quilt as you go (QAYG) table runner.


Here is how I did it.

First lay your backing right side down, and smooth your batting on top. Find the middle of your batting and mark it.  Put your middle block right on that mark. Centering it.



Lay your second piece right sides together with the first, and sew your 1/4" seam. You'll sew right thru the batting and backing, so that your blocks will not only be sewn together, but to the batting/backing as well.


Open up that second piece, smooth it out (or even iron it if you want) and lay your third piece, right side down, on top of the second piece. Sew, press open, repeat.




When you are done going one way, do the same thing going the other way. Until your blocks all all sewn down.


Then sew your bottom and top sashings and blocks the same way.


When you have all your blocks/sashings sewn on, you can trim and bind it. It's already quilted :) Or you can do some more quilting on the blocks.


I did some FMQing, I have to practice, a LOT! Still having some tension issues. I go to fast with the machine, then have to slow down, and slow down too much, then speed up again... And when I finally get the speed of the machine right, I have to figure out how fast to move the fabric thru with my hands. Sigh~

 I practiced doing some simple back and forth loopy things, and circles in all the little squares. Plus a little tree.



Made a star in each of the big blocks, and TRIED to sew straight lines along the seams. Dang that's hard!! lol



Then I trimmed and put my binding on.

(Forgive the poor photos. Our sky is filled with smoke from a fire up in Oregon!)

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you are getting some Christmas sewing done :)

Don't forget to check out the other lovely projects. Here's today's schedule.

August 2



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71 comments:

GNIESZKA said...

Nice work :) Thank You for sharing !

GNIESZKA said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Heidi [Banks of Frog Creek] said...

Very fun! Thanks for sharing :)

charlotte said...

Very nice job. Way to use up blocks.

Thearica said...

The runner is great! Thanks for the tute!

Britt-Inger said...

Your table runner is very beautiful. Thanks for sharing your creativity and being part of this blog hop

Lyndsey said...

very pretty table runner. Thanks for sharing.

Debby said...

Dorian. What a great way to use up those blocks. And thanks for reminding me of how easy it is to do quilt as you go! I have forgotten that it's a great way to "get 'er done" Enjoyed your post today. Thanks for sharing!

Sparky said...

Good Morning Dorian...how nice to see you in our hop....and your runner is lovely...your photo came out pretty good...( despite your fires) Hope that is going away now..

Marjorie's Busy Corner said...

Beautiful work....

Lesley said...

Great runner! Thanks for the tutorial!

Elizabeth Coughlin said...

Great table runner! Thanks for the details about how you made it, it's always great to see the process as well as the finished piece.

Michele T said...

Lovely table runner - thanks for your tutorial too!

Jeanie said...

Love your scrappy runner! I always love it when I can make something beautiful out of fabric on hand. Great job!

Sherry said...

Fantastic runner. Thanks for the inspiration.

gpc said...

Great project and great tutorial, thank you!

Linda said...

Very pretty! You will certainly enjoy it during the holidays!

krislovesfabric said...

Scrappy, pretty lovely!!!

Judy Cooper Textile Artist said...

Lovey runner. Thanks for sharing.

apple b lossom said...

cool love the table topper

Vickie said...

For not having very many Christmas fabrics it sure turn out to have lots of holiday spirit ! Great job Dorian !

Leah said...

Beautiful work, Thanks for sharing you "how to". It was very nicely done.

Linda C said...

Very clever way of making the runner, it is sort of quilted already with the sewing process. Since I hate to free motion, and won't do it, I would have stopped right there, LOL but you gilded the lily and got some practice in! Well done, Dorian!

Robin said...

That is a very pretty runner. I am also trying to get the hang of FMQing. So fun yet so frustrating!! Good luck on your adventure with it!

JoyceLM said...

Thanks for sharing your lovely table topper. And thanks for the QAYG tutorial.

Daryl @ Patchouli Moon Studio said...

Nice scrappy runner.

http://thankfullga447 said...

I have been wanting to do quilt as you go project like this for a long time.

Editha said...

Nice job :) Thanks for sharing!

Gill said...

Great - and you used fabrics from your stash too!

Connie Kresin Campbell said...

What a beautiful table runner, thanks for sharing!

Calicojoan said...

Beautiful. I love the QAYG method.

jan said...

I love your runner. Star blocks are a favorite and I just made a giant uilt using the QAYG method. I loved doing that!
xo jan

Judy B said...

Love how you put your table runner together! I am also suffering from the smoke, so spending lots of time indoors. Thank you for sharing.

Beth said...

Thanks for sharing the great & quick way to use up your scraps to make a table runner. I love table runners.

StitchinByTheLake said...

What a fabulous idea Dorian. I hadn't thought about doing this as a quilt as you go type project but its perfect. Blessings, Marlene

Carol Swift said...

I love your beautiful runner! Using quilt-as-you-go is one of my favorite methods of quilting. Thanks for hopping with us!

Unknown said...

I love the white sashing. It really breaks it up and makes it pop. Thanks so much for sharing!

bevwalks at aol dot com

Emily C said...

Lovely runner. Great mini tutorial on QAYG. Wondered how that worked.

Unknown said...

Such a lovely runner! Thanks for sharing!

Sharon Dawn said...

Great stars! Thanks for showing how you put your runner together! Are the fires from the Klamath area?
forgetmenotstitches dot blogspot dot com

Joyce Carter said...

Beautiful table runner. I love the star pattern. And the tutorial was easy to follow. You made it look really easy to make so I would love to give it a try. Thank you for sharing.

Lou said...

Great tablerunner!

Jane's Quilting said...

What a pretty runner. Don't you just love working with the bright Christmas fabrics?

Marcy said...

Great table runner. Ho, ho, ho

Leslie said...

Finishes are always good. Bet you were filled with memories as you worked.

sandra said...

A beautiful table runner and thanks for the tutorial .

maggie said...

Great runner. Thanks for the lesson to make it.
Thank you for sharing.
This is such a fun blog hop.
cheers
maggie

maggiemine42@gmail.com

evelyn said...

I never thought about quilt as you go on such a big piece. Thanks for the tut.

Patty said...

lovely tablerunner - thanks for sharing

Mystica said...

Enjoying visiting the blogs on this hop. Such creative work.

VickiT said...

Very pretty runner. I like the QAYG projects because they are totally done when you get the blocks all finished.

Rhonda said...

What a wonderful tutorial and a great job with your blocks!! Thank you for sharing your methods.

Heleen Groot said...

It looks lovely. I am impressed by your stars. They are incredibly neat! I always have to fiddle a bit....Well done you!

Joanna said...

I love star quilts and runners. Your design looks super.

Carol said...

I love your table runner! Thanks for the quilt as you go tutorial. It's a great way to do the work. I'm still working at FMQ too, but I get a little better each time I do it--practice makes nearly perfect. :)

Quilt Doodle Designs said...

Your table runner is beautiful. Thank you for sharing, happy quilting!

Margaret said...

Thanks for sharing. I too am practicing FMQ. I just finished quilting a sampler quilt and used the quilting one block at a time then put them together. I used every kind of filler I could find on line and when it was done it was beautiful. Only I know how many mistakes I made. My family couldnt see them

Anonymous said...

Hiya Dorian!!! What a lovely table topper, and such a clever way to quilt it as you go. Thanks for sharing. Merry Christmas, blessed be, hugs!!! Pam

pamspretties57 at gmail dot com

Suze said...

Great job on a finish. Thanks for the tutorial on QAYG. I find Free Motion Quilting very, very frustrating. I know part of it is because I tend to be a perfectionist and that's impossible ever and particularly when you are starting. Everyone who does FMQ tells me the secret is practice, practice, practice. I guess that I'm just not willing to spend the time on it. Also, I have trouble visualizing what I want to do unless I have a drawing and I can't look at the drawing and look at what I'm doing. Maybe that seems strange for someone who was a math major, eh? Thanks for participating and sharing your tutorial and your project.

Judy said...

Table runner is very nice. I'm making one as a gift. Thanks!!!

LJ said...

I've never tried that quilt-as-you-go process. Looks like a great way. Very nice.

BizyStitches said...

fun blog hop and thanks for sharing you blog

Cecilia said...

Very pretty! Thank you for sharing.

Angelia Lanouette said...

Beautiful table runner! I have seen tutorials for QAYG using individual pieces but not for whole blocks at a time. I really like this method and will be trying it. Thank you! anglanouette at gmail dot com

Sandy said...

I love the non-traditional colors you used for the tablerunner...still Christmasy!

Melody said...

A delightful table runner.

Scrapbook-ChickADoodle said...

Sweet table runner. Thanks for the tut. Makes it look so easy. Thanks for sharing.

pinsandneedles said...

Your Christmas table will look lovely with your table runner! Thanks for sharing!

Christine M said...

Your table runner is lovely.

Bente-I like to QuiltBlog said...

Very nice, love the scrappy look of your tablerunner.
Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Love your table runner. I need to keep in mind for the blocks that are hanging around. Thanks for sharing!

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