Yesterday I finally sat down at the machine to do a bit of piecing. It was extra-fun because I used an early birthday present my in-laws gave me when they were down at Thanksgiving. My birthday isn’t until this month but they didn’t insist that I wait till the actual day to use what I picked out. In the end I didn’t have time to play with it until almost the birthday anyway, but I savored the anticipation.I used my new Lil’Twister tool to piece this table runner. To use the tool you start by sewing together 5” squares of fabric and adding a 3“ border all around. It feels like you have a quilt just about ready to go, complete with borders, but then you use the Lil’Twister template to cut it all up again. It does create a lot of scraps, but I’ll find a use for them.
I had made a small sample to help me get my brain around how the squares translate into pinwheels so I could figure out how to arrange my squares to get the pinwheels in the arrangement I wanted. The sample block below (which was a little rumpled when I took the picture) was made with four fabrics in a plain four-patch with a black border. There isn’t any border added to the final block. The pinwheels just float on whichever fabric borders the squares.
To get the individual pinwheels to float on a background instead of interlocking with each other as in the sample block, I had to piece a checkerboard instead.
I’m pleased to finally almost have a runner to match the placemats I made with these fruit fabrics a couple of years ago. The leftover fabric was waiting for just the right pattern. Now I just have to machine quilt it, which means I need to start practicing. Yes, piecing this was just an exercise in procrastinating on learning to freemotion quilt!
Boy, what good tutorials we are getting today! Great encouragement and inspiration! I love how those pinwheels look, and I may have to try that method too someday. The triple borders really set it off too! ---"Love"
ReplyDeleteI just got up the courage to register for a machine quilting class at my LQS. I have always hand quilted everything, partly because I do love it but partly because I didn't know how to machine quilt. I'm gonna do it! Practice, practice, practice!
ReplyDeleteLove your new tool, the quilt looks great! Have fun!
That's so cute! I love the skinny borders on the top and bottom. And thanks for sharing how to float the pinwheels. I haven't looked at my directions yet, but I was trying to figure out how to make my project a little bigger than connecting all the squares to each other. Now I know!
ReplyDeleteWow your twist it turned out amazing. I did one a little while back that I will need to post. I learned a few things about what not to do! Are you going to make the sample square into a hot pad to go with the rest of the set? You will have one well dressed table!
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my favorite patterns - I love how you made the pinwheels float. The fabric is great.♥
ReplyDeleteOh, very pretty! Love the colors. Been hearing alot about this little tool. Planning a trip to JoAnne's soon so I will look for it.
ReplyDeleteLiri
Well, it seems you have this gadget figured out. I love your table runner, and I remember the placemats, too.
ReplyDeleteSandy
Beautiful.. I love your color combination!
ReplyDeleteI remember those fabrics on the store shelves;) Have fun learning to machine quilt;)
ReplyDeleteHappy Quilting!!