Luminaries II

Back in 2020, I made Luminaries, a 15" x 28" quilt representing seasonal paper lanterns with a candle inside. I really loved it, but so did a friend, so I went ahead and gifted it to him. Ever since, I've been thinking of making another one to keep. 

One issue was that I didn't have any more of the focus fabric, and I didn't even know what it was, as I'd only worked with a scrap for the first Luminaries. Luckily, I was able to figure out that it was Charley 
Harper Barkcloth Cactus Needles, and eventually found some to purchase on Etsy.

I actually made all the luminary blocks last fall, but never got too far. Fast forward to this November, and I had decided I wanted more of a table runner for this project. So I gathered all the bits and pieces, including varying amounts of Konas Storm, Navy, Indigo, and Windsor that I'd stashed away. I also went through my scraps to see what blues, blacks, and grays I could add to the mix. And then I began designing/creating on the design wall.

The initial arrangement of luminaries (above) fit on the wall, but by the time I added an extra 16" or so to each end, it was too long (about 82") to fit either on the wall or in my camera photo frame.

Then, of course, it was time to create a quilt back, and I was happy to use every scrap other than a few pieced luminaries, into these two panels. 

For quilting, I used several threads, Aurifil 40wt 5015 [Gold Yellow] for the accent stitching through the center; and for the sides of the runner, Aurifil 50wt 4241 [Very Dark Grey], 2692 [Black], 2784 [Dark Navy], and 40wt 2730 [Delft Blue]. Once trimmed and finished, it measures 20.5" x 80".

After making the Modern Madras Table Runner a while back, I chose to again use Quilters Dream Select batting and an envelope-style finish. The combo worked great with the first runner, but I think with the more dense piecing of the Luminaries top, it wasn't ideal. The Luminaries quilt sandwich didn't quilt as smoothly as the first, unfortunately; and I can't say I'm 100% happy with the end result.

That said, once it was pressed, it doesn't look too terrible on our dining table. It's very blue - perfect for Advent - and though it gave me some grief during quilting, it's usable; and for now, I'll be happy with that.

Patterns to Try | Modern Madras Table Runner

Next up in the Patterns to Try series is the Modern Madras Table Runner pattern by Jennifer Sampou @jennifersampou. The pattern is actually designed to use and feature Jennifer's beautiful SKY Ombré, and that would have been super nice to try. But I wanted to use fabric from my stash, and had a Ruby Star Society warp & weft charm pack that I though would be a nice option.

I had gotten it off the free table at guild meeting a couple of months ago, and it was perfect for fall. Mine is Moonglow, a woven collection by Alexia Marcelle Abegg @alexiamarcelleabegg. The only issue - if there even really was one - was that I'd be using 5" squares rather than the 6" squares suggested in the pattern. I really thought that would still be fine, and set to work arranging the squares.

It took me a while to choose an orientation I liked, and finally just laid them out as they were stacked in the charm pack. I needed to save out six squares for the 'sashing' and chose a couple of solids plus there were two prints that had a bonus square, so I used those too.

I used a layer of Quilters Dream Select batting for my quilt sandwich. Jennifer's pattern suggested an envelope-style finish rather than quilt binding, so I decided to do that for something different. For the backing, I used a Diamond Textiles Textured Woven that I have no idea where it came from. But I had enough, it coordinated well with several of the fabrics on the front, and I think the color is Pink Ginger. Whatever, I'm glad I had something with a similar weight and texture to the warp & wefts. With the woven fabrics and that batt, the quilt sandwich was pretty thin, and easy to turn and press. 

Rather than matchstick quilt the length of my runner, as suggested, I stitched lines across the runner, every three or four stitches wide. I purposely went varying distances from the edge to give an off-set look I really like. 

I used Aurifil 40wt 6722 [Sea Biscuit] since there was such a color-variety amongst the fabrics, and I'm happy with that choice. With using the charm pack, my runner ended up measuring 14" x 54".

I'm super happy with the end result, and would consider doing something like this again. It's relatively quick and easy, and with the mix of fabrics and colors (and texture!), it just makes me smile.

Linking up with Quilting JETgirl's Favorite Finish {October 2025}.

A Very Long Table Runner

Several weeks ago, a friend let me know about the call from our NWWA Synod @lutheransnw church leadership for table runners to decorate the tables at the upcoming Synod Assembly. The runners were to be hand-crafted in any way, in any colors and design, and approximately 12" x 120". I agreed I would be happy to make one for the event.

The fabrics I chose came from stash, and were a variety of cross-weaves in an eclectic color palette. I decided to make improvisational blocks inspired by a Josef Albers design I'd used in a Bee Sewcial prompt in 2023. 

I just kept making blocks 13-14" tall and various widths until I estimated I had enough.

To put the runner together, I pieced two long pieces of batting into one, with straight and evenly-spaced sides. Then it was easy to line up the blocks one by one, sewing each to the next and so on. The ends turned out needing partial blocks, but I decided that was ok. For the backing, I was fortunate to have just enough Essex Yarn Dyed in Palm, leftover from making one of our son's liturgical stoles.

I quilted an uneven grid (between .25" and 2") with Aurifil 40wt 1231 [Spring Green] and bound the runner in Windham Fabrics Artisan Cotton Turquoise-Copper. As usual, I began by machine-stitching the binding onto the front, and then, as luck would have it, I was able to make good use of a weekend road-trip to hand-stitch it on the back. 

Now to get it delivered with time to spare! I'm hoping I'll eventually see some photos of the conference room with some of the hand-made runners on display.

Kintsugi on Repeat

Four years after my first experiment with kintsugi, the table runner I'd made was deeply faded, as its 'home' has always been, by intention, in our living room window. Obviously, it had served its purpose and needed to be replaced, but I loved it so. Thus, I decided (obviously!) to make something very similar. Just for fun, here's the first one, that I made 

For fabrics, this time I used the same Essex Homespun in Natural for the background; but for focus fabrics, I chose several cuts from the Afternoon Bliss Fat Quarter Bundle from fabricBUBB that I'd gotten in March. For the contrasting joining lines, I used Kona Pimento.

I'd originally found the improv Kintsugi technique in Nicholas @quiltsfromtheattic's Inspiring Improv, and I referenced it again this time. I began by cutting 9" background squares, which was just a tad larger than what I needed, as after creating each kintsugi block, I trimmed it to 6.5". But that's fine, as it gave me plenty of wiggle room. I already knew I'd need a 4 x 7 layout of blocks, so that was nice not to have to do any extra calculations.

Once the top was pieced, I used the leftovers plus a couple more fat-quarters from the Afternoon Bliss bundle to make a pieced back. Deciding nothing too complicated was needed for quilting, I used Aurifil 50wt 2225 [Salmon] thread to stitch diagonal lines one-inch apart.

Bound in Free Spirit Tango, the runner finished at 24" x 42", and it feels great to have something new and fresh, yet familiar, on our living room table. Isn't it great to be a maker?

Quandary

After finishing Autumn Steps several weeks ago, I kept all the leftover bits and pieces together, because I liked them so much. It seemed they just weren't ready to be relegated to the scrap baskets. It took me a while to get back to them, and when I finally did, Thanksgiving was looming, and I thought the fabrics would be perfect for a new fall table runner.

I started in on making long slabs, and that was going great for a while. But I lost interest in my original idea and set it all aside for a day or two. When the slabs failed to draw me back in, I decided to revamp and cut into the slabs with a small square ruler, putting the newly cut squares up on my design wall. I fiddled with them now and then, thought about them even more, but couldn't come up with an idea for putting them altogether. And Thanksgiving came and went.

Then, on the day after, Carolyn Friedlander happened to post about her RAY Quilt Along, and no, the squares weren't a fit for that, but in her post, Carolyn mentioned a RAY quilt inspiration board she'd created on Pinterest, and as I was looking through it, some designs (rugs actually) from The Citizenry caught my eye. And it wasn't long before I was back at my design wall rearranging those squares and mulling things over.

It took pulling a new fabric from my stash to bring the blocks together into a cohesive whole and get me to sewing it all together. The fabric was one Kristina/FabricBubb had shown on Instagram just a few weeks ago - Nikko Topstitch from Diamond Textiles. I had actually used another of their fabrics - Crossed from their Nikko Geo line - in my original project, so there were a few bits of it in this second project too. They are beautifully textured wovens, and the color I'd chosen in the Topstitch was Butter Rum.

So I added quite a bit the of the Topstitch to my pieced blocks to indeed make a table runner as I'd originally planned. For the backing, I found the perfect Denyse Schmidt Chicopee plaid in my stash. I embellished it with one small strip of scraps from the front.

For quilting, I used Aurifil 50wt #2155 [Cinnamon] and the Fancy Straight Line from Jacquie Gering's Walk book, the same design I'd used on my recent Utterly Blue. It just seemed to fit the lines of the cut slab blocks, plus it's alot of fun to execute. 

At nearly the last minute, I made another design decision of sorts. I was cutting the binding out of the remaining Topstitch, and vaguely remembered a comment Kristina had made when she'd first shown it on Instagram. Am I remembering correctly? I'm pretty sure she said something about liking the back of the fabric as well as the front. Hmm. That memory resulted in me using the back side of the fabric as the front for the binding. I had originally thought I might do matched binding again on this piece, but I really liked the idea of a similar yet different binding around the entire runner, pulling everything together. Plus it felt slightly risky. Ha. That's about how daring I am. 

Anyway, I love the look, and even though Christmas decorations will be coming out soon, I'll enjoy the new runner on my table for a few days. It finished at 18" x 54", and for something different, I placed it crossways on my table. I kinda like it!

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!