Music Themed Table Runner Completed

You may recall that a few months ago, I drew up a pattern for a table runner using music themed fabrics. You can read the details in this post.

I used the pattern image to calculate how many squares of each colour I would need, and made bunch of half square triangles with one red half. Once I'd sewn all of my pieces together, I laid them out to get an idea of what the final product would look like. This is what I got:

Oops, looks like I need to brush up on my elementary school math. The lesson I learned from this is to always double check the fabric requirements when designing my own pattern... preferably before starting to cut and sew. Back to my cutting mat I went.

Once I had the correct number of pieces, I experimented with different ways to assemble them. I tried three different methods of pressing, one for each cross. There are some tutorials out there with pressing instructions for a Dutch pinwheel block, but for me they inevitably led to lumpy spots. The best way I found was to start by sewing the 4-patches with seams pressed towards the dark, except the outer corner piece which is pressed the opposite way. When putting those 4-patch squares together, press the seams open.

I love pressing and pressed the heck out of my seams at every stage of assembly. The resulting blocks were worth it.

I cut some strips for a border and used this gorgeous yellow flame fabric for the back. I have no idea what the print is called. I wish I'd bought more of it at the time.

I learned a major basting lesson last month working on my sampler quilt. It isn't completed because I used so many safety pins that it's almost impossible to quilt. I won't make that mistake again. For the table runner I used very few pins, just 4 of them every second row, and then I put some masking tape down the unpinned rows to follow with my walking foot.

Two dozen pins or so were more than enough to keep the quilt layers together. Turns out I really didn't need hundreds of safety pins. I quilted a grid on the table runner in black thread with my walking foot. Once I attached a binding, it was ready for quality testing.

Sigmund is very thorough when it comes to quality assurance. He tests all of my quilts for comfort, warmth, sprawlability and napability. Looks like this one passed. It is now in its new home, where I hope it will be enjoyed. Here is the final product, front and back: