Friday, March 8, 2013

An Emerald Table

I'll come right out and say it. Before last year, I had no idea there was such a thing as 'color of the year.' But Tangerine Tango piqued my interest, and I created "Tangerisk". So when Emerald was chosen for this year, I really didn't think twice about joining in the Emerald Quilt Challenge. Daughter dear got us official Pantone swatches so we knew what we were looking for, and the search was on.
Rachel searched out and found a solid that was very very close - Pure Elements Emerald. Green prints I added in my grouping were Lizzy House jewels in dark green and the pearl bracelets in Swiss chard. But it was Art Gallery oval elements in emerald that helped me decide on the rest of my palette, the addition of black and white. So you'll see some of my favorite black and white prints, plus for something a little different, I used just a bit of white Essex Linen and green Dupioni silk, both of which added some nice texture.
Somewhere along the line I decided to multi-task, and rather than make a quilt, chose to make placemats, a project that's been on my list for a while.
I made three sizes of wonky cross blocks. Unfinished, they were 3 1/2", 6 1/2", and 9 1/2". I put the same size assortment in each mat, mixing up their placement, and of course, the colors and fabrics.
I used Aurifil 50wt to piece, but was on retreat when I picked up thread for the quilting, and chose a variegated Sulky cotton for the matchstick quilting on each of the large crosses {lesson learned, use a larger needle}. The best match I could make for the rest of the quilting was a green Amann. It quilted the organic straight-line well though, adding a nice sheen.
And I couldn't resist changing up the binding just a bit. So while the majority is a Sew Mama Sew zig zag, the largest row of small blocks in each placemat got bound with some white on black Remix ovals, which also happens to be the backing fabric on each of the 12" x 18" mats.
So now they are done and were put to use last night at dinner.
 I think they'll work just fine.

Linking up with the Emerald Quilt Challenge and Finish it up Friday.

Pantone-2013-Emerald

34 comments:

  1. Hi, I absolutely love the colors especially as it's not colors I would ever have put together, but it really WORKS!!! And it works so well together!!! The black really makes it all POP!!! Looooove it!!!!
    Love
    AMarie

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love reading about your design decisions! I am so much more a 'hit or miss' type quilter! I love everything about these and the bindings are fabulous! Good luck in the challenge too!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I didn't know there was a color of the year either. Who makes such decisions. Love your place mats!

    ReplyDelete
  4. These are such fun place mats, Debbie! I love the stripey binding and the quilting. You are very good at these color challenges!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great job, Debbie! I thought I might finish my emerald selvedge spiderwebs for the contest, but I haven't even unpacked my machine yet this week. Oh, well. Maybe next year.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a fabulous combination of fabrics! Love the green and blacks together!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love this color! and your project is yummy!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Love your placemats! I really like the black and white with the emerald, too. I've been struggling to choose what to put with my emerald for the challenge.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I didnt know there was a colour of the year till last year either !! I love the mix of Emerald with the black and white. They are great!

    ReplyDelete
  10. These came out great! I also enjoyed reading the reasons behind your decisions. Beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  11. They are absolutely perfect. I LOVE them. Seriously love them.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Debbie, these are absolutely amazing. I love all the sizes of the blocks, and how you mixed up the colors, and the fun binding, of course. Beautiful!!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. These are so gorgeous I don't think I could bear to use them!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh wow those are gorgeous. Great job.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Yay, glad you got them finished! TBH, I didn't know there was a colour of the year before last year either

    ReplyDelete
  16. Oh man can you make me a set!?! :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Very cool! And I see your scrappy trip along quilt in the background there too.

    ReplyDelete
  18. These look beautiful Debbie and the quilting is amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I just love them, the colours, the pattern, the binding changes. And they look beautiful on your wonderful table.

    ReplyDelete
  20. These are beautiful and look wonderful on your table!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Beautiful! Another fab entry again this year.

    ReplyDelete
  22. These are great - nice way of using this block. I like them

    ReplyDelete
  23. Beautiful and Practical all rolled into one, I love it!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Your placemats are lovely! And I love the idea of mixing 3, 6 and 9" blocks to make 12 x 18" placemats. I tend to overthink matters when I'm challenged to make placemats, but this is a simple formula that can be used with any block, really - I might just run with that idea!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Terrific, just terrific! And I loved the story, too. Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  26. I love the Emerald colour of the year this year. It's much more me than tangerine, and yes I'd never heard there was a colour of the year before last year either! I think your placemats looks great. I love the addition of black and white and think you've done a great job of finding the perfect greens. I've read in other blogs that it was a difficult colour to find in quilting fabric.

    ReplyDelete
  27. These turned out so beautiful Debbie! I especially love the quilting and the binding, it is just perfect, makes the emerald really pop!

    ReplyDelete
  28. We are linking to your beautiful placemats and blog as the inspiration for our Block Lottery this month. Please let me know if this is okay. Cindy, ECMQG Secretary.

    Here is the link: http://emeraldcoastmodernquiltguild.blogspot.com/2013/08/september-block-lottery.html

    ReplyDelete
  29. I just love Pinterest! I want to make placemats and here I see your 'almost vintage' post of these placemat. Perfect with those wonky crosses. I will make them in a dark blue. Thank you for the inspiration!!!

    ReplyDelete