I let slip to my family that I wasn't doing a lot of stitching compared to the past, because now that the magazines have closed down, I don't have much of an outlet for my designs. One of our daughters-in-law picked up on that, so she asked me would I make her a few small mats to put under various things she had on the kitchen bench.
She picked some colours from one of my patterns that she liked. Then we talked about style and established that she didn't want anything fussy.
I had some of the project fabrics still in my stash, so that was a good start and these little mats didn't take too long to whip up.
But then I hit a brick wall when it came to the binding! Binding takes a lot more fabric than you think it will and I went through my stash over and over again looking for suitable fabric and plenty of it.
Finally I settled on a deeper blue that looked good and proceeded to bind these little mats and was quite happy with the first one. But the more I did, the more they looked terrible! I had nearly completed them all, but left them overnight before I made any hasty decision, and hated them even more when I woke up the next day.
I decided it was because the fabric was too dark, so I found a lighter blue, pulled off all the binding, and redid them all. The result was that when I looked at each mat, one at a time, they looked lovely, but when there were three or four grouped together (which is probably how they will be used), I was not at all happy with them. There was just too much 'sameness' and just didn't look right.
After lots of thinking, turning it over in my mind, praying, and trying different fabrics, I came to the idea of having different colour bindings. So off came the binding again, and on went different colours. Now I am happy to see this little group of mats together, not fighting each other, each one with its own little character, but happily existing together and bringing lots of colour into the room.
A new larger Onion bag was on the request list too, so I used the same fabrics for the applique letters. Our son has been here for the weekend so I am sending him home with the bag of goodies, and hope that I have met the brief adequately.
I had fun making everything and even learned something new about colour and the impact it can have when things are grouped together.
... and as if there were not enough photos in this blog post already, here is Block 3 of the 'More Precious than Jewels" Block of the Month wall quilt.
My favourite part of the block is definitely the toast in the toaster!
It's not too late to join in this Block of the Month, and you can read all about it and join the programme or purchase just Block 3
Happy stitching!
Val
5 comments:
Val, the mats look very colourful and I am glad you finally found fabric you were happy with. I haven't done any sewing for some time but hopefully will get my mojo back eventually.
I’ve ripped off a binding once, but not twice! Aren’t you glad you have the patience for that, and kept on trying, until it felt just right? I’m sure your DIL will be very pleased.
These are beautiful and I love the colors!
Wow, I can't imagine binding them three times! I really don't like binding at all. However, it was the right design decision. I'm just not sure if I could have made myself do it. =) Thank you so much for the new BOM pattern. I like the words the most.
I am sure the little mats will be loved.
Yes I love the toast/toaster to - did you use felt?
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