Thursday, February 24, 2011

table runner for Rita

I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but I'll say it again-- when I married Rob, I not only got the best husband, but I also got the best set of inlaws that a woman could ever hope for. They are truly wonderful to spend time with and help us out so much whenever we need it. I'll never be able to repay them for all that they do. So when my mother-in-law, Rita, put a table runner on her birthday list last month, I thought it would be much more fun to make her one than buy one.


And it was fun  (although it took me longer to decide on a design than I thought it would). Rita gave me some color choice requests, which really helped. I had 3 of the middle blocks sewn up and on my design board for a few weeks, unsure of where to go from there. When I was using scraps of essex linen to make blocks for Ingrid*, I realized that those shot cottons needed to be sashed. Then it all came together. I used four colors of shot cottons-- pine, pea soup, ginger, and nut. The backing is a Kaffe Fassett woven stripe that I just happened to have in my stash.



The binding wasn't sewn down all the way when I took the photos. I finished that up this morning as I sat in the orthodontist's office waiting room. This was possible, of course, because Cooper (aka Destructo Baby) was with his wonderful grandparents instead of tearing up piles of magazines like he would have done if he was with me. I was very happy to hand this gift over, albeit a month and a half past Rita's special day, as I went to pick him up.



What I was not happy about after I got home was this:


It seems that one or both of our dogs are experiencing a bit of separation anxiety any time we leave the house. Today it was the sippy cup (pulled off the counter). Yesterday it was a can of frosting and a pack of diapers (also pulled off the counter). Two days ago it was a plastic bag of pocket folders and a pack of velcro that were covered in tooth marks. Nothing is safe. Have I mentioned that my sewing room doorknob jammed so I removed it? I think I need to stop at a hardware store this afternoon before the dogs start eating my sewing supplies again.

* I decided that I'm going to give all of my quilts that I make an actual human name. I unofficially started calling the Aqua and Orange Mermaid Quilt "Trudie," after thinking of that stupid Sting song "Fields of Gold" every time I would sew on it. And fittingly, the Ingrid Press inspired quilt is now simply "Ingrid." I've always hated naming my quilts, so this is the path I'm going to take from now on. Dorky? Maybe. But easy.

12 comments:

Jenny said...

yes! i love the idea of giving your quilts a proper name. i actually like the Fields of Gold song! now i will be singing it. great idea !

Amy Friend said...

I like your quilt naming idea! The table runner is beautiful. Did your mother in law like it? She has hip taste! I am so sorry to hear about the dogs. I'd have a hard time handling that! I had to bring T to his 8 year appt. today with L AND P and it was a nightmare. So your mother in law really deserves that nice table runner for allowing you to go to an appt. in peace!

Anna said...

pretty runner! and we have a few sippy cups destroyed by our beagle laying around. :(

Poppyprint said...

I'm pretty sure your mother in law was hoping for a Krista original table runner, not a bought one, when she requested it!! I bet she LOVES it - it's fabulous. Sorry to hear about your dogs, that's awful. You'd think with each other for company they'd be ok?

I am pathetic at naming quilts, too, so your idea seems like an excellent one. A little more personality than calling them "that mountain one", "that green one", "the one with a bike on it." See, I know all your quilts, even if I don't know their names!

Poppyprint said...

Aha, no verification!

Dani said...

Yep. You did it again! Awesomeness achieved.

Lynne (Lily's Quilts) said...

Oh wow Krista, this is so striking - I would have know this was yours form my "contacts" thumbnails in Flickr - it's just wonderful

Leslie said...

i think the idea of giving your quilts an actual name is fun...i hope that as you name more of them you will share the process of picking it and why you named it what you did....those are the best stories. i love this table runner....it must be nice to have wonderful in laws....not all of us are so lucky, unfortunately. sorry about the doggy destruction...i sure hope they don't make it into your sewing room!! yikes!

Unknown said...

Krista that is a beautiful table runner...

(must get some more solids...)

Connie Kresin Campbell said...

What a beautiful runner, your MIL will love it. Sorry to hear about the dog incidents.....we have 2 kitten/cats and they are into everything also.

Gumbo Lily said...

Great runner! When I saw the sippy, I thought that your children are really hard on them! Ha! I like your naming idea very much.

Jody

Micki said...

The table runner is gorgeous! I know your mother in law is going to really love it.
Micki