Snowflakes Coming

The October challenge for the Island Batik ambassadors was to create a table runner or table topper appropriate for the coming holidays. There product had to include appliqué, by machine or hand.

Here is my contribution: 'Snowflakes Coming'.

I used the Blue Sea collection from Island Batik and chose 17 of the 21 prints for my table runner. Cutting 243 two and a half inch squares was a breeze using my AccuQuilt GO! cutter. It makes accurate cuts and very little waste. 

Chain piecing of all the 2.5" squares took a lot longer time than cutting them. This is the closest to a quilt swirl I could manage for this runner. Looks kind of cute, doesn't it? 

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All the piecing was done with Aurifil 50wt in white #2024. I quilted the runner in a cross hatch design with the variegated thread Stonewash Blues #4669. The raw edge appliqué was done with Aurifil 40wt #2024. I used 50wt #2024 in the bobbin for both quilting and applique to get a clean finish for the backing, which is the neutral batik Almond.

The ultra thin Hobbs Thermore polyester batting was used in the quilt sandwich. 

The binding is a blue batik from last year's collection London Calling. The binding was sewn on with Aurifil 50wt in blue #1128, Light blue Violet, and hand sewn to the back.

I found the template for the snowflakes in an old quilting magazine. I can tell you it was a tedious cutting process with a small pair of scissors to get all the details right, and I had to make five of them! The neutral batik Almond  was used for the snowflakes.

There was actually snow on the mountain in the distance, how appropriate for the photo shoot! Winter is getting closer...

When looking for a location for the photo shoot I spotted this place down the hill from where I live; a golden ground! A perfect background for a blue and purple quilt.

Last night's freeze made a good amount of the leaves fall off, but still enough of them hanging on the trees to get good pictures.

 The table runner on top of the crisp maple leaves. The runner is 18"x54" finished.

There was even an orange leaved tree in the neighborhood, how appropriate to display the blues together with the complimentary color!

A nice effect of the sunlight and shadows in the playground!

This is how my new table runner will be used during the coming winter months, though not outside! It is very difficult to get good pictures of the purple colors inside, outdoor pictures in natural light are the best.

A full length picture of the runner with a background of glorious fall colors.

The products featured in this post were given to me by Island Batik.