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.