Fall Placemats

I have made Quilts, Wall Hangings, Table Toppers, but I have never made Placemats.  My thought was they were just four small Wall Hangings that were all alike.  And I didn't have to put a sleeve behind them.  So I decided to make some for a friend of mine that is going to have a birthday soon.

I wanted to make my friend something different and with a birthday in August, why not something for Fall?  Anyway, everyone is tired of the heat by now and ready for some Fall weather.    

Now, I didn't want to make that same ol thing,  It had to have Pizzazz of some kind. So I drew some pumpkins and leaves and dug into my stash for some fall material.  I decided to make a different boarder around the edges.  (my thought is when a plate, silverware and glass is on, you mostly see the boarder anyway).

I made 1 1/2 inch strips of fall prints and 1 1/2 inch strips of solid light tan.  I sewed the two together, then cut 1 1/2 inch wide pieces off of the strips.  Next I sewed 2 together making a 2 1/2 inch block of 4.

Then, I sewed the 2 1/2 inch blocks of 4 together and that was my boarder. It took time, but was well worth it in the end.

 After I got the boarder on all 4 Placemats, I cut out my applique and arranged them onto the placemat in the order I wanted them.  Pressed in place and proceeded to machine applique them on with the blanket stitch.
Then layered, pinned and machine quilted in the grid pattern in the center and in the ditch in the boarder.

I got them all complete in 4 days.  Next is to neatly wrap them and send them on their way.  They are going to look good on her table for Fall.  I hope she likes them.

They were a lot of fun to make, but I learned that instead of using regular batting, to use felt for batting.  That way they will lay a lot flatter and being small will quilt up a lot easier.

To all:     HAVE A GREAT DAY!!


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