Welcome to week 449 of Free Motion Mavericks. Today is the reveal of the happy, scrappy improv runner that I made for my brother. It was a lovely party and he really liked his new runner. 😊
Happy, scrappy improv runner
I really enjoyed making this improv runner. Since I have tons of scraps, I chose to use colourful geometric fabrics. I was gifted many of these scraps and added others from my stash.
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| Happy, scrappy improv runner |
Since the colour for this month's 2023 ABC (Table) Scraps Challenge is aqua, I decided to add bits of aqua to the runner. The thread I used to FMQ the runner is aqua, and there are beautiful aqua dots in the binding fabric. This month's letters are P and Z, perfect since this is Paul's runner and my machine zoomed through the FMQ gentle curve design.
Challenge
Have you ever trimmed your quilted sandwich to discover that you're missing a sliver of fabric on one edge that is wider than a ¼ ", but that you don't want to trim your whole project? I have to admit that this has often happened to me (remember, I am accuracy challenged!) 😊
This is what the quilted runner looked like. There is a sliver of fabric missing on the right edge, and it's larger than ¼ ", so it won't be covered by the binding. This time, instead of trimming the runner again, I decided to add more fabric to cover that area.
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| Missing a sliver of fabric on the edge |
I sewed a couple of pieces of fabric together and attached it to the edge. It was the perfect solution, except that I used my stitching thread to attach it through the sandwich.... not great since it really showed up in the back, as you can see when I went to bind the runner.
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| Gray sewing thread shows at the back! |
Here is what the front looked like after I attached that extra sliver. Because this is a scrappy quilt, it looks fine. Once I finished binding the runner, I added one more line of FMQ on the edge with my aqua thread. It looks great!
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| New sliver of fabric attached to the runner |
So, what about that gray line of stitching on the back? Well, don't tell the quilting police, but I used a fine blue Sharpie marker to cover it. It's not the exact colour but doesn't show unless you really look.
Here are some glam photos of the runner 😀
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| Happy, scrappy improv runner - it's so cute that I may have to make myself one! |
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| Happy, scrappy improv runner |
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| Here is the lovely runner with my scrappy placemats. |
What I learned
- I'm really happy that I solved my challenge without further trimming the runner.
- I should have realized that I needed to use aqua thread to sew through the sandwich to add the sliver - but the marker worked fine to conceal it. It really is a matter of thinking through all of the consequences of doing something.😔
- I did have a hard time with the binding. I sewed it by machine but it would have taken much less time if I had stitched it by hand. The solution to this is simple - I need to find a good tutorial to teach me how to attach binding by machine. Winging it just doesn't cut it in this instance.
- Since I have a membership to Craftsy and keep forgetting about it, I'll be taking the Finishing School: Edges and Bindings class with Mimi Dietrich. I'll let you know, hopefully when I finish next month's scrappy project, how well it went!
- I'll be finishing the t-shirt quilt top by Friday, so that I can join up with the September One Monthly Goal link up. It will be a separate post, so please watch for it!
Related links
- Secret FMQ and T-shirt Quilt Update on Free Motion Mavericks, September 21, 2023
- Finishing School: Edges and Bindings class with Mimi Dietrich on Craftsy
Linking parties
I'll be linking up to many fun linking parties. Let's see what's going on out there, and remember to link up below. 2023 ABC (Table) Scraps Challenge, Design Wall Monday, Midweek Makers, Put your foot down, Needle & Thread Thursday, Finished (or Not) Friday, Peacock Party, TGIFF, Beauties Pageant, Patchwork & Quilts, Oh Scrap!, Sew & Tell, DrEAMi,
The runner was featured on Put your foot down. Thanks Denise!
Free Motion Mavericks
Last week Quilting Gail made a lovely zipper pouch using some beautiful Shweshwe fabric. She also did a little bit of FMQ on some of her doggie bags...too cute!
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| Gail used beautiful Shweshwe fabric to make this zipper pouch |
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| Fun doggie bags made by Gail for It's a Dog's Life Blog Hop |
It's now your turn!
That sharpie is the best solution ever! I have used it on quilts and on clothing!
ReplyDeleteYour runner looks great and I love your sliver of fabric and sharpie trick :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Janine. I'm glad that I was able to save that extra 1/2" since the runner isn't very wide.
DeleteThat is cute as can be! I love happy scrappy quilted things like that. I have definitely had the same thing happen where the fabric doesn't quite meet the edge after trimming. My solution was a lot like yours!
ReplyDeleteThanks Diann, that's great to hear. I like this one so much that I may have to make another one...for me!
DeleteVery cute runner - and a great use of some scraps!
ReplyDeleteThanks Raewyn. I've been using those scraps to make hexies, but they work very well here too!
DeleteQue de bonnes astuces pour terminer en beauté ton chemin de table ! Je retiens l'idée du feutre pour cacher les fils indésirables au dos ;))
ReplyDeleteMerci pour le partage !
Merci Frédérique. C'est incroyable comment utile un feutre peut être, même en courtepointe!
DeleteThat certainly is a happy runner, and yay for hiding little mistakes with matching Sharpie pens! Thanks for linking up with DrEAMi. My Canadian Women quilt post should be out today, so I'll link it up next party!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Sandra for the DrEAMi party - they are always so much fun when I remember. The post is now open and I just bought some king sized batting - I thought that I had some :-(
Deletegood cover up! I've noticed way too late on string blocks, then tried to hand sew spaces together.
ReplyDeleteThanks Marsha, I didn't realise that others had the same issue!
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