BLACK AND GREY?

This picture does not do the paining justice.

My niece gave my mother this painting.

I have always loved (coveted) this painting and was so happy when it came to live at my house.

So this evening I decided to make a table runner to match/ my painting.  It is 56 1/2" x 15 1/2", was hard to get the whole runner in the frame.  This picture does not do it justice either but I just want to say that I am THRILLED.

I used my 5" Island Batik stash builders, grey Island Batik background fabric.  I had just enough of the 5" strips to make this using just three strips and some of my black Island Batik fabric.  As you can, see I used my 8" Accuquilt Companion set (kite die #15), plus the small circle on the circle Accuquilt die, and grey and black Aurifil Threads

It  takes ten of the kite pieces to make a flower.  If you make one, it might bunch in the middle but you cut out some of the middle so it lays flat when you iron it.  I did not use any heat n bond, I used glue.  I glued the small circle in the middle and I even glued the flowers down.

I sewed the border on before I did the flowers, with the half flowers sewn into the seam at the ends and glued down. 

  I sandwiched my runner, using Hobbs black batting (which doesn't show the fabric under the circle....love it). Then I pinned the sandwich only on the outside of the runner.  I found the middle and placed the whole flower, glueing half, place it down, and then glueing the other half.  I put two pins in the flower with pins around the outside of the flower to keep things in place.

Once I had that done, I blanket stitched around the circle, then without even cutting my thread, put it on straight stitch and quilted the middle of each petal.  Then blanket stitched the outside.

Centering the other two petal between the end and the middle flower, I did the same thing.  Saved the end petals for last.

Hope you don't mind my readers digest version of my table runner.  It is so easy.

The background fabric is 53 1/2" x 12 1/2"
 2" Borders - 3 1/2" strips width of fabric
Three 5" Island Batik stash builders (these 5" strips are the width of the fabric) (kite die)
One 5" black strip width of fabric (kite die)
   You need 21 black kites pieces, 19 print fabric for alternating kite pieces.
Four small circles (Accuquilt circle die) - cut one in half
Binding - 3 1/2 strips width of the fabric 2 1/2" wide.
Glue
batting and backing pieces larger than 56 1/2" x 15 1/2"


When I cut out my kite pieces I tried to get as much out of the fabric as I could so I cut on the bias and that is a NO NO....only because Island Batik fabric hardly frays but on the bias it does.  After I finished the table runner I had to go back and clip all the little threads on the end of each kite piece that was on the bias.  No matter, it worked, I had enough fabric, and this gal is HAPPY!!


I am doing the dance!!!