Saturday, March 30, 2024

March Table Scraps Challenge finish and April's OMG

Hi and welcome 😎  I got to play in my back yard today - it's cool but sunny and the bulbs are just coming out - so the perfect time to clean up leaves and dried plants. One more afternoon and it'll be done! Today I'm sharing my finished Table Scraps Challenge 2024 and April's One Monthly Goal (OMG).

Purple Scrappy Improv Placemat Finish


I'm sorry that I've been dragging this out but it's finally done 😍. I hope that Sarah will love it cause I really love it and will steal it from her is she doesn't 😁! What's not to love about so much purple?

Purple scrappy improv placemat finished!

Over the last two years I've used the Table Scraps Challenge to make a set of placemats. The first one was mine (blue), then my daughter (yellow) and Hubby (green). Now Sarah gets the purple and whenever we reach neutral, that will be for my son. 

All four scrappy improv placemats

I made the table smaller so that I could take a good picture!

All four placemats on the small table

You can see the evolution of my improv piecing through the placemats. The first blue one was only scrappy. The yellow and green one were a little more improv but the purple is much more improvisational. It was fun to work with shapes other than squares and rectangles. 

Evolution of the improv in the scrappy placemats

Here are some pictures of the free motion quilting (FMQ).

More FMQ with a variety of thread

FMQ a sun or flower

FMQ the outline of a bird - this month's theme

I used many different thread to FMQ this piece. It didn't start off as intentional. I started with a darker variegated King Tut but it was more red than purple. I then switched to a lighter variegated King Tut. I then remembered that I had this new Fantastico polyester thread. Unfortunately it didn't play nicely with the cotton bobbin thread, so I switched to a Madeira polyneon in both the bobbin and top. That was different but lots of fun!

I used 5 different type and colour thread

I found a long piece of solid dark purple binding in my binding box. Yeah - that's twice now that I get to use up binding from my stash.

Purple binding from my binding scrap box


April's One Monthly Goal (OMG)


At the beginning of May, the Out of the Box (OOTB) Fibre Artist group will be having our annual Fibre Fling. Since we had a Fall Fling, I only have one piece for the show. I've got a great idea (I hope) for the second piece. It will involve a vase of tulips that is partially quilted and partially 3D, using wire and fibre with glue and hand-stitching. The piece needs to be finished by the end of the month and I'll share what I have - hopefully a successful finish but always about learning!😉 

Tulips in motion

Tulips in a vase - inspiration for my art piece

Possible supplies for April's OMG

What I learned
  • Fun and small projects are perfect for learning by trying things out - from
    • choosing scraps that work together, 
    • trying different improv piecing, 
    • playing with FMQ designs 
    • practicing machine binding, and 
    • and working with different thread.
Related links
Linking parties

Great news! My scrappy placemats were featured on Midweek Makers - thanks Susan!

16 comments:

  1. Your table is now decked out for Easter with a very spring-like appearance. I love the triangle in the center of the purple placmemat. It looks like a mountain.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Pat for your lovely comments. It does look spring-like :-) The triangle is my favourite part but I was seeing a pyramid! Thanks for dropping by. Hope you had a happy Easter!

      Delete
  2. Is that a skein of Noro yarn? I am working with some Iro right now on a capelet. Love that brand. And your colorful placemats are wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Chris, it is Noro yarn. It's so beautiful. I don't knit but I love adding beautiful yarn to projects. This was part of my birthday gift from my son :-)

      Delete
  3. I'm ready to come over for tea. What a delightful table setting. Cheery placemats and welcoming tulips. Looking forward to seeing how you recreate the center piece. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much Gwyned. You are always welcome to come over for tea:-) I'm looking forward to making fabric tulips. I actually drew the tulips in the vase so that I could have some perspective. Now to simplify it and start cutting! Thanks for dropping by.

      Delete
  4. I love your table scrap placemats. They are perfect and it is fun to see the evolution and all the quilting on your purple one! Good luck with your project....love the inspiration.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much Kathleen. I've started on my 3D tulip project - the vase is coming along. Then I'll have to figure out the tulips!!!

      Delete
  5. Your purple placemat is delightful, Andree! The quilting is really fun to see, too. You've set a pretty table with those colorful placemats!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much Diann. I think that I'll start the neutral one soon since I suspect that the colour will only come by in the fall. We need to include my son and figure out how to make it cheerful too!

      Delete
  6. Such a pretty PURPLE placemat, Andree, and I love that you quilted in a bird to meet the TABLE SCRAPS Challenge prompt for March!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much Joyful. I would have liked to add a fabric bird but there wasn't any in purple or even close to it. Thanks so much for the challenge - it's always a lot of fun, and I love how simple or not it can be!

      Delete
  7. The evolution of the placemats is fun to see. I'm intrigued by your tulip project and will look forward to seeing the finished piece.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Anne-Marie. So am I! I sketched the vase of white tulips to help me get perspective...so that they don't stand next to each other like soldiers. I hope to trace them out today and see how that works. See you at the end of the month :-)

      Delete
  8. Placemats are a good a good idea of what to make with my crumb blocks. I haven't figured out yet what I am going to do with them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Marsha, yes, crumb blocks would be great for placemats. I don't think that I've ever worked with crumb blocks, but right now I'm working with tiny pieces of fabric for my 3D tulip vase. I'm glad that I kept some!

      Delete

Hi! I would love to hear from you and I will try to answer you. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a message. :-)