Around Kathy's Table

Kathy Lapp from Calgary wowed her guild last Tuesday when she showed up with this gorgeous table set for Show & Tell. Kathy made the set as a wedding gift and chose the fabrics to match her friend's blue and green pottery. Doesn't the black in the centrepiece set off the points nicely?

It's lovely, Kathy; our thanks for sharing the pictures. I expect you wowed the recipient! Around The Table has wedge-shaped mats to fit nicely on a round table. If you'd like to make your own set, the pattern is available on my website.

Around Lori's Table

I guess technically the title of the post should read, "Around Lori's Daughter's Table", but that's a bit awkward to say. This beautiful set was made by Lori-Lynn Slack of Alberta as a gift for her daughter. I had a chuckle when Lori told me she stood on a step-ladder to take the picture, as I have done the same thing myself. Great minds think alike, Lori!

The deep, rich colours will look spectacular on the table. If you would like to make your own version of Around The Table, the pattern is available on my website. Please leave your comments below; thanks for sharing your beautiful work, Lori!

Ouvrages d'une Acadienne Give Away

Joan at Ouvrages d'une Acadienne is having a give away...but she's making you work for it. Check it out!

Around Elaine's Table

I was delighted to receive these pictures of my Around The Table placemats and centrepiece. Elaine Maillet from Clare, Nova Scotia has done such a lovely rendition of the design, giving it her own special touches. She added matching cloth napkins and a button to the centre of the star. Perfect! Her colour choices are wonderful, and really make the star "spin." In October, I will have the opportunity to meet Elaine as she is attending the free motion quilting workshop at Fibre Arts Festival. Sincere thanks for these wonderful pictures, Elaine. If you'd like to make your own version of Around The Table, pattern # 111 may be found on the pattern page of my website.

A Seasonal Fruit Smoothie

Recently, I've had occasion to revisit the Fruit Smoothie design. I chose pastel, Eastery colours and sewed four blocks which is just the right size for a small table mat. It's fun to twist and turn the blocks to decide on the layout. It was tempting to stitch this shape for a runner.

For my round table however, it made more sense to go with a circle. The fabric is Mirror Ball Dot by Michael Miller, which has a nice sheen. It looks like a flower pieced in these colours.

To emphasize the spin, I quilted a fun, swirl design in the centre.

Yellow bias binding completed the outer edge.

It took less than an hour, start to finish, and gives a quick bit of spring colour for the table.

The daffodils from the Canadian Cancer Society should be open by day's end.

Shortly, I will post pictures of more samples of Fruit Smoothie, stitched by the Maple Leaf Quilters in B.C.

Here's What Joan Is Serving

This is a work in progress from Joan at Ouvrages d'une Acadienne . Her centre star looks to be moving! Click the link to see the rest of her Around The Table Set. Lovely work as always, Joan!

Dayle's Department Store in Amherst are now well stocked with the pattern, so if you tried previously and were unable to find it, it's there now!

We Are Around Lynn's Table

As promised last week, here are pictures of Lynn's completed table set, all quilted and bound and ready for use. It's a perfect fit for her 48" table.

Lynn added to her scrappy look by using different fabrics for her bindings.

If you'd like to make your own "Around The Table" set the pattern may be found here, or ask at your local quilt shop. Thanks Lynn for sharing pictures of your lovely work.

So...what's for dinner?

Around The Table

Drum roll please... It's been a while in the works, but finally it's ready to show. Around The Table is the latest design to join the Sew Karen-ly Created... pattern line. The wedge shaped mats resolve the awkward issue of rectangular placemats on round tables. The star design in the centrepiece carries through the individual placemats and radiates to the outer edge. Around The Table is sewn in Benartex's Forever Spring line by Nancy Halvorson.

The round centre is foundation pieced. Templates for the placemats are full sized, printed on oversize paper (thus no taping or pinning together). The placemats go together very quickly, with only three large pieces. The 19" x 12-1/2" placemats allow ample room for a dinner plate.If you'd like to purchase the pattern For Around The Table, it is available here or ask your local quilt shop to order it in. Check back shortly as there will soon be pictures of the set shown in alternate colourways. The helper "elves" are busy stitching now!

This design grew out of a conversation with quilter Rosa from Ohio, which I mentioned in a previous post. Rosa if you are reading this, could you kindly email me please? I lost your email address (and many others!) in the big crash of 1/11...