August Three for Fall Finishes

I have three Finally Finishes to end August with and they are all for Fall; two were table runner flimsies made last month and one was an unexpected make and finish.

First up and the one that needs the most explaining because it was an unexpected make is the Sunflower Bouquet, a pattern by One Day in the Country/Sarah Sporer. My Quilt Peeps, Mary and Linda, whom I’ve known for over twenty-five years around the time I started quilting, met last week for a slow stitching day. We used to get together regularly, before grandchildren, and used to go gallivanting to shops, etc. Now we get together not so often and when we do, it’s with our hubbies and we end up playing cards. We decided it was time for just the peeps to get together for some slow stitching. I hadn’t decide what project I was going to work on until Mary mentioned the Sunflower Bouquet pattern which she was going to applique with wool. I had the same project stored away in the same cabinet where I already found two twenty-year old UFOs mentioned in this Post and the fabric pulled for Sunflower Bouquet would have been around the same time as the pattern is dated 1997. I did change some of the prints since I bought some newer ones which I liked better.

This is done in raw-edge applique which I love and have done some of Sarah Sporer other patterns. Before meeting with Mary and Linda, I did prep my project by fusing the pieces to the background. I usually do not use fusible when I do raw edge applique but since I had the flexiFuse sheets and Joan Shay’s Appli-bond needles I spent hours copying, cutting and fusing the patches down. Once with the peeps, all I had to do was sew a running stitch down the edges with one strand of #3371 Dark Brown DMC Floss. Surprisingly, during the 4-5 hours we spent, I was almost done with all of the stitching which usually when we stitch together I hardly get anything done because I’m either distracted by what the other peeps are working or too busy yakking. I must be staying focused in my old age. BTW, Mary decided to crochet instead of doing her Sunflower Bouquet project.

Quilting at home and at the GP House was done with two strands of the floss and I did use the appli-bond needles which really are very sharp needles and went through all the layers very easily. I decided not to quilt the numbers “1898” as in the pattern since I thought the quilting was enough.

Sunflower Bouquet measures 21”x29” and is going to look very lovely hanging on the hallway door. Although I thought prepping took too long, this project could be made and finished in a weekend.

These two FALLoween III tablerunners were flimsies made last month using my Sandy Gervais Fall stash. I wanted to machine quilt them  in August so they would be ready this Fall. It was an easy pattern of using what I had already cut, 2.5” strip sets with yardage of focus prints cut either 4.5” or 8.5” wide. The one on the left measures 32”x64” and the one on the left measures 20”x34”.

Machine quilting was with straight wavy line quilting using CT Essential Thread in light gold. The binding was the same stripe fabric used with in the runners.

I wasn’t going to show the backing fabric used for both of the runners but decided to after I saw how the Master Quilt Hokder laid the small runner on the table at the GP House where it will be used. In his defense he did not have to hold up the runners up for pics and may not have been aware how much prettier the front is. He claims the darling Granddaughter did this even though she wasn’t then at the GP House. The nice thing about making table runners is they can be made quickly and uses up the scrap batting and I was even planning on making then more regularly. But then sew and behold, several days ago, Demando who lives in his own apartment now and has a new dining table asked me to make him some table runners which is music to my air since he wants more than one.

I’m happy to end this long month of August with six Finally Finished; two lap quilts, two wall hangings and two table runners. Am I the only one who is ready to welcome Fall? Usually I don’t start Fall decorations until late September but come tomorrow, September 1st, the Fall quilts are coming out in hopes this will beckon the cool weather to arrive, even though it supposed to be another scorcher this weekend.