Category Archives: textile

Spring Table

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My heart is heavy for the people in Boston this morning.  The lives that were devastatingly altered yesterday…. there simply are no words.  None.  And so instead I’m going to draw my family close, sit a little longer with friends and share something completely superficial and frivolous with you here… just because it makes me smile.  Enjoy the people precious to you and pray for those in Boston.

One of the things on my wish list for 2013 is to paint our dining room table.

Dining Table | Storypiece

It was given to us before we were married and it has seen us through hundreds of occasions in the last 20 years. From our very first dinner party to countless DIY projects, this table has seen it all. And in a lot of ways it shows it.

But in an effort to keep my family sane and to stay focused on the three other projects we’ve got going on right now, I’ll wait to update it.  Instead, I decided to whip up a new table runner.  Here I mentioned that I prefer a table runner to a table cloth. For our busy family, it just makes more sense.  But this time, instead of using a scarf, I decided to make my own runner.

The biggest challenge for this little project was finding the right fabric. I was looking for a bold blue to contrast with the oak table and flowers I plan to display. However, we don’t have a lot of blues in our living and dining room and most of what we do have is a robin egg blue.  Finding the right design was going to be tricky.

So much like The Dating Game, I had to interview a few candidates.

Fabric #1: Has both dark and light blue with pops of green.

Bold Blue Floral Fabric | Storypiece

The design and colors are bright and upbeat, but it’s not quite right for the space. It still makes me smile and I have a feeling it will turn up somewhere else in our home.

Fabric #2: Tyson picked this one out and it has a totally different vibe.

Geometric Print | Storypiece

The colors work within the room, the pattern is graphic and more masculine.  But it’s too subtle for the table.  At least for the look I’m going for.  We still like it, so I’m sure it’ll make an appearance somewhere else in our house too.

Fabric #3: Hello, Gorgeous!

Robert Allen Fabric | Storypiece

This Robert Allen fabric was love at first sight!  Bold Color – check. Graphic Print – check. Good contrast against the oak table – check.  It ties in nicely with the other elements in the room and is everything I had hoped for.  It’s a beautiful thing when you find just the right fabric!

To get started, I purchased a half yard of fabric.  Standard runners are about 14″ wide so I figured after squaring up the sides and hemming the edges I would be right around that size.

Can I just pause here and show you the back of this fabric?

Decorative Fabric Back | Storypiece

Polka Dots!  How great is that?!  I’m not sure that I’ve seen fabric with such decorative detailing on the underside before.  I love it almost as much as the front.

To create the runner, I used my favorite fusible tape to help me create a quick hem.  Fold over the raw edge once with tape.

Fusible Tape for Hem | Storypiece

Press with iron.

Fused with Heat | Storypiece

Repeat so that all the raw edges are folded in.

Fold & Press w/Fusible Tape | Storypiece

Then to finish everything off, I added a simple stitch around the border with my machine. This last step isn’t necessary, but I thought it would be a nice way to reinforce the whole thing.

The table runner was exactly the bright new accent I was looking for as we head into spring.

Custom Table Runner for Spring | StorypieceI’ve dressed it up with white amaryllis…

Finished Table Runner | Storypiece

…  and crimson tulips.

Spring Table | Storypiece

It’s been such a cheery addition to our dining room, especially on some of our gray, rainy days.  And I can’t wait to see how it looks with the table when we finally get a chance to update that piece too.

Robert Allen Fabric Runner | Storypiece

What are you doing to get ready for spring?  Have you made any recent purchases that brighten your day? Are there any new projects that you are eager to get to?

Also, I want to say a huge thank you to those that joined in the Link-up Party.  I was pretty pleased with this first event and I hope to do it again soon.  However, for those that are interested, the party is still going on until midnight tonight.  So if you have a Favorite Find to share, feel free to link away here!

Quilt Notes

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While working on the quilt for my brother, I took photos of the process to share.  However, I feel like I should tell you that I don’t really consider myself a quilter.  I love quilts and I admire those who create them, but making these pretty blankets requires precision and accuracy that brings out the perfectionist in me and I quickly unravel.  So I refuse to let myself go there.  I get it as close as I can and keep moving.  If you are a quilter, this post may drive you nuts.  My points and lines aren’t spot on and much of what I did, I made up as I went along.  This is not a “how-to”, just a bit more of the story.

For Mike’s quilt, I had no real design plan.  I knew I wanted to alternate a square of old fabric with a square of new fabric, but beyond that, I was still really unsure when I began. So once I had decided on the particular MODA fabric I was going to use, I picked up a fat quarter of each and started with that.

I then took a deep breath and cut up my brothers quilt.  There’s nothing so scary as cutting up another person’s dearly held possession.

Each set of squares needed to be evened up to begin with.  Many of the original pieces did not line up well and I was hoping to have a good base to start from.  I was able to cut 5″ squares from both the old and new fabrics to work with.

Once I had all the squares ready to go, I started playing around with them… laying them out in different configurations until I got a pattern that I really liked.

Then it was time to put it all together before part of it got knocked off the table forcing me to start over.  You know… weirder things have happened.

I carefully machine stitched the squares into long rows.

Once those were done, I pretended they were straight and stitched them together into one large quilt top.

To anchor the busyness of the squares, I decided to frame it all in with a border of the dark blue fabric that I pulled off the back of the old quilt.

And then it was just a matter of finishing it off with a larger border and backing in the MODA fabrics.  This required another trip to the quilt shop for more fabric since the fat quarters were all used up with the quilt top.

Once it was all together, I machine quilted along the same seam lines as the old quilt squares.  The result is that the new squares were broken up into quarters similar to the old set.  I think this helped everything blend together nicely.

The only thing that would’ve made me happier with the final outcome is if I could have delivered it to Mike in person.  But let’s face it… that’s just as much about getting to see my goofy brother as it is about returning this blanket with it’s crazy long history.

In the height of this busy season, have you taken on any new sewing projects?  Do you plan out every design or do you like to see how inspiration hits you?  What projects do you know really stretch your creative or technical limitations?

Family Quilt

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My back is doing so much better this week, but I have to tell you about the offending project that did it in.  I was working on a quilt for my brother’s birthday.  This little baby has been on deck for two years and I promised Mike in March that I’d have the quilt finished for his special day.  I’m proud to say I got it to him only eleven days late. (YES!)

This gift also comes with one of the sweetest stories that I have the privilege to share.

Originally, the quilt was made up of plain brown and plain yellow cotton fabric.  It was SO simple; a large panel of the brown on one side and a large panel of the yellow on the other. It also had a brown squirrel or chipmunk or some other rodent type creature appliquéd in the center of the yellow fabric.  You’ll have to use your imagination since there are no photos.  I won the quilt at camp some time in the early 80′s and had no idea it would still be a part of my life 30+ years later.  And I’m pretty sure had the original quilter known that it would still be a family treasure, they would’ve put a little more time and thought into the fabric and style of the quilt too.  How do I know? Read on…

When I got home from camp, some how my brother commandeered the quilt and it forever became his.  Fast forward a decade and a half and he was getting ready to head off to college and still scrunching his 6ft long body under this tiny square quilt.  He desperately needed something more, so I made a blanket from the yellow and brown cotton.

I added additional flannel squares to it to make a larger, more college-worthy quilt.

And had I known that I’d be writing about it today, I probably would’ve put more time and thought into the fabric and style of the quilt.  I picked fabrics that had yellows and browns in it.  They also had a lot of dark blue.  This was the first quilt I had EVER made and I went VERY simple.

I really had no idea what I was doing.  I even used yarn to “quilt” the fabric together like the original one had been done.

Jump ahead another 15 years and I again found myself with Mike’s blanket in my possession.  My brother is now married with a family… and his quilt is disintegrating.

Interestingly enough, the original yellow and brown cotton fabrics are still holding up. It’s the flannels that I used that have begun to fall apart.

The hardest part of redoing this quilt for a second time was figuring out the fabric.  My brother asked that I use as much of the existing quilt as possible so I wanted new fabric that would compliment it.  Also, since my sweet sister-in-law not only married my brother, but apparently this blanket, I wanted to create something that she would enjoy having in their home too.

My favorite line of quilt fabric is by MODA so I set out to find something in their line that would work.  The MODA fabric I found is beautiful with a masculine vibe and something I would love to have in our home.  I’m hoping that Mike and Gina like it as well.

I was able to cut apart the old squares and intermix the new fabric for a cohesive look.

The final quilt is updated and free of frayed edges.

Photographing a piece at this scale is a bit of a challenge.  Here is a closer look.

For the back, I just pulled in a simple chocolate fabric that I had also used on the front.

I just got off the phone with my brother and he is thrilled to be reunited with his first love.

Happy Birthday, Mike!

Are you a quilter? What is the most challenging project you’ve done for a close family member? Do you have a family treasure that continues to boomerang into your life? I think sometimes those items come with the best stories.

Friday Find: Mad for Plaid

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I think it’s no secret that I’m pretty traditional.  My Type A personality likes things that are neat and organized and in control.  It’s constantly at war with my creative and short attention span, but whatever.

When it comes to fabrics and patterns, my traditional tendencies really shine through. Give me a stripe, houndstooth, or preppy plaid and I’m a happy girl!

So when I saw this idea in the October issue of Better Homes & Garden, I instantly fell in love.  BHG offered up using a plaid blanket as a table cloth.  Swoon!

Hello gorgeous… what’s not to love?! It’s cozy and preppy and the perfect backdrop for a great fall table.

And so I started searching for plaid blankets.  But I was having a hard time finding one that I liked and I wasn’t completely feeling it since I don’t normally use a table cloth.

I do, however, like to use table runners.  You get the pop of pattern and color, while still enjoying the table surface.  And what resembles a table runner? This baby!

True confessions: I have a scarf addiction.  I constantly wear them and they are reason #27 of why I enjoy living in a cold weather climate.  But I promise this is the only time this one will be around my neck.  This scarf is strictly for home decor because using pieces of my actual wardrobe to decorate the house with would just be… weird.

So wanna see what I did with it?

I had it laid out on our dining table and I’ve recently moved it to our kitchen island with some of my other Halloween decorations.

It absolutely makes me happier than a table runner really should!

And this next part… I completely blame on BHG.  Because if I wouldn’t have been looking for plaid for my table that THEY featured in THEIR magazine, well, this wouldn’t have happened.

Oh… Marshall’s you know how to entice a girl.  These Jaime Boots by Rampage are so comfy and for $30 they screamed “Take Me Home Tonight!”

What’s that you say, Marshall’s? You have MORE footwear that I NEED in my life.  Oh be still my preppy heart!

These came home with me too.  Good thing I’ve been saving up my mad money or this girl would’ve had some explaining to do.

Is there a pattern or style that gets you every time you see it?  Have you done any decorating utilizing things in a non-traditional way?  Why is it that some shopping trips are fruitless and others leave you wanting to take home one of everything?