A Quilted Table Runner

Wow, these last few of weeks have been a whirlwind of end of school activities with finals, prom and lots of socializing!  Then last week was a week of adjustment to the gentler routines of Summer.  I think I've found my groove....finally.  I have been de-cluttering lately, because after 15 years in the same house we had accumulated a lot of "stuff".  Now, several trips to Goodwill and the dump later, the house feels comfortable, loved and full of only the things we actually use and love.   The garage is a different story but that is my husband's department and he is planning to tackle that too.  It feels good, liberating.  I even sorted through my fabric stash.  

After rearranging my fabrics I decided to make a new quilted table runner.  I love these.  They take a lot of abuse, I put hot dishes on them, we spill things on them, a cat might sleep on one if it can get away with it!  The one I have in my family room is badly faded from the sun and lots of washes.  By the way, the pine table you see it on is one we've had since before we were married.  When my husband sold his first car, we bought this table.  It's been all around the world with us!

This is one of my favorite quilting books for inspiration.  I've made several table runners inspired by designs in this book.  The author has an interesting blog and is also a fabric designer.

This is the quilt pattern that inspired the original table runner.

This time I have a different color palette.  I will be using blocks in blue/green and grey. 

I am making improvised log cabin blocks.  They will be cut to 6.5inch squares to make a final block size of 6inches.  I've found that a 12inch wide runner works for our tables.  This new one will be longer than the old one, pretty much the whole length of the table.  It's been a bit slow going because I've been having some unexplained tension issues with my sewing machine.  I'm trying to be patient!  This is an example of finished blocks before trimming, as you can see, I started with the blue/green blocks.

I've been working on this in the peaceful early mornings, after my husband leaves the house, but before anyone else is up.  I have the back door open to let the cool morning air in.  There is birdsong and the gentle rustling of leaves.