Offshoot

It was actually last October that my mom and I started talking about a quilted runner for her dining room table. We scrolled through Pinterest until we settled on an inspiration design. From there we set on choosing fabric, and fun fact: Mom was as enamored with Carolyn Friedlander prints as I am. Mixed with a Maker Maker cotton/linen blend and Kona Garnet, we came up with a unique but delightful mix that was really enjoyable to work with.



I started with making small striped segments....



.... and then designed as I went by piecing randomly and filling in spots on the design wall. I had a size goal - 32" x 92" - and the pieced top ended up just slightly larger to allow for shrinkage due to quilting and washing.



When it came time for quilting I started with variegated Aurifil 50wt #4060 (Silver Moon), fully intending to use a variety of colored threads. But considering my goal was to use several different quilting designs, per mom's request, after I got going I decided using the singular thread would be best. And it really did coordinate well with all the fabrics, nestling in nearly invisibly in some areas and standing out more in others.

First up was my one of my standbys - organic straight-line - off-center across the width of the runner. Next were a pair of harmonizing yet different sections of matchstick quilting.



From there, I went section to section, figuring out designs as I went.... some simple channel quilting, and echos, then a diagonal grid and orange peels (love them!).





That's when I turned to Jacquie Gering's Walk to find some new designs to try, and I found that a Radiating Diamond, some Crosshatch Mashup, and even some Sectioned Curves all suited the piece well.







So nine designs in all, and I gotta say, I love the look.



I trimmed it up, bound it all in one of my favorites of Carolyn Friedlander's Euclid linen-cotton blends, and it was done.... the largest table runner I'd ever made.



The size was of the essence though, covering a good width of the table, while hanging over on the ends to give the look mom was after. Let's just say we're pretty well pleased with our joint effort. The runner looks totally at home on mom's table, which was the goal after all!



This project is on my 2018 Q1 Finish-A-Long list!
Linking up with 2018 Finish-A-Long Q1 Finishes!