Centerpieces

For our centerpieces on the tables at the reception I wanted something not on Pinterest. Not that Pinterest is bad, I just didn't want to have the same reception as everyone else. Then I was stuck. It's kind of hard to think of these things on your own. Jordan had beta fish in cool vases. Jaime had cornocopias of flowers (she got married right around Thanksgiving). Brooke (who also got married right after Christmas) had ornaments. The bar had been set! I thought of something but I Googled it just to see what it would look like. There weren't many options on Google but it looked like it could work. So it was settled. We would have books as centerpieces.

I wanted thick, hardback books that had red covers. In order to save money we went to every thrift store around us. We nearly cleaned out all the red covered hardback books! But we found some pretty good finds. Plus, if you're like me and love the smell of old books it was great. It took us some time to do this but we bought about 4 or 5 books for each table.

Now came for the set up. We placed 2 table runners on the table over a white tablecloth. One was wider and was red. The other went on top of the red and was the gold color. We found square and circle mirrors at the dollar store and also battery powered candles (off-white and darker red.) We placed the candles wrapped with a band of ribbon on the mirrors and gave each table two candle and mirror combos. We then sorted the books in size order so it was easy to put them on the tables in nice stacks. We then plopped a Harry Potter book or Lord of the Rings book in the pile because these are our favorites! Now, our centerpieces were personalized.

To top it all off, we put 4 framed (gold frames from Target, Wal-Mart and the dollar store, not too hard to find them) pictures of us on each table. Three of the pictures were from when we were little and one of the both of us. And voila, beautiful centerpieces!

When deciding centerpieces think of the theme your wedding has or stick with the wedding colors. Pictures are always and easy go to and they're also fun. There are a lot of things you can do with pictures. Pinterest is a pretty good place to look for ideas of things to do with pictures or anything else, really. Think of something that fits both your personalities even if it's subtle.  If your venue allows candles, those create a wonderful glow to the room and can be more pleasing than regular lights. Battery powered candles work great too. Flowers are also a simple and elegant option. Flowers are especially welcome at spring and summer weddings. Centerpieces should enhance the overall feel of the reception hall and the wedding itself.

And the winner is....

Today there are kind of 2 winners! One won the fall table runner.

The winner is

ALLISON

Congratulations! Please send your mailing address to waywardgirlscrafts at gmail dot com. Thank you who entered so much!

The other winner is ME! I purchased my new sewing machine on Monday. (Pfaff Ambition 1.5) It is fantastic. I made a receiving blanket and burp cloth and used some of my 195 stitches to trim them. I learned to choose wisely-- the leaf pattern, though adorable, took a long time to do and a lot of thread to do it.

Wayward Girls send out a salute to the men and women who have served in the Armed Forces to protect our country! Happy Veterans' Day.

Last Fall Giveaway

For our last weekly giveaway, the winner can take her pick of one of the two fall table runners that were featured earlier on the blog.  You can choose the bright orange and yellow version pictured above, or  the more muted runner pictured below.

There are four different ways to enter:

• One entry for becoming a follower of our blog, and commenting on this blog post to tell me about it.
• One entry for following us on Twitter, and commenting on this blog post to tell me about it.
• One entry for tweeting this post, and commenting on this blog post to tell me about it (with a link directly to your Tweet).
• One entry for Liking us on Facebook, and commenting on this blog post to tell me about it.

Just so we're clear: each of these should be in its own SEPARATE comment! So if you like us on FB, follow us on Twitter, tweet about this giveaway and or are a follower of WGC, each of these should be it’s own separate entry.
(Since I don't Tweet or Facebook, I really don't know what this means or how I would ever know if you did those things. I guess my girls will fill me in!.)

Good luck!

Pieced Fall Table Runner, take 2

Last week when I posted the Fall Table Runner using 4 fat quarters, I already had this table runner planned. This one uses all 6 of the fall pallet fat quarters that I bought. Last week, the quilt went together quickly and without problems. This week, not so much! I should have just stopped when I realized the quilting gods were not smiling on me this time around.

If I could calculate wrong, I did.

If I could measure wrong, I did.

If I could cut wrong, I did.

If I could sew it wrong, I did that, too.

Nevertheless, I pressed on! (Literally. Pressing is a key part of quilting.)
I will spare you all the frustrating details, and just show the final product.

My camera doesn't do the colors justice. Here are close ups of the squares:

You can make this with 6 fat quarters, or with scraps.

(See last Friday's post for more details.)

For one large leaf blocks.  You need 2. (finished block size 10 1/2")

Leaf fabric: Cut 1 4" x 12" rectangle, then cut that into 3  4" squares

*Cut 1 4 1/2" x 9" rectangle

Cut 1  1" x 6" strip

For leaf background fabric

*Cut 1 4 1/2" x 9" rectangle

Cut 1 4" square

Cut 1 4 1/2" square    then cut into 2 triangles. Use these with the 1 x 6 strip to make stem.

*Make speedy triangles with these pieces. Mark them like this,

and then sew seams 1/4" on both side of diagonal lines. Cut on all lines. You will have 4 squares. Trim to 4" See  here for sewing details.

For medium background fabric (swirly brown)

Cut 1 11 1/2" square-- Then cut into 4  5 3/4" squares

Dark

Cut 1 13" square, Cut into 4 right triangles.

For each small leaf squares (Finished block size 5 3/4")

Leaf fabric cut 3     2 1/2" squares

Cut 1   3/4" x 5" strip

*Cut 1    2  3/4"  x 5 1/2"  rectangle

Leaf Background (to make 4 leaves)

Cut 4   2 1/4" blocks

Cut 4  2 3/4" block  then cut each into right triangles. Use these to create stem block with 3/4" x 5" strip.

*Cut 4   2  3/4" x 5 1/2" rectangles (1 for each leaf)

*Make speedy triangles with these pieces. See  above or here for details.

For small squares, follow directions from last week. Trim each block to 2 1/4 inches. Sew together following the same directions as last week.

Sew 4 small leaves together to create center block. Try the leaves in a variety of positions to see your favorite.

I referred to these books to help design this runner: Your First Quilt Book by Carol Doak and Quick Country Quilting by Debbie Mumm

Here are small blocks 1 and 2 that didn't work. Waywardness!

Fall table runner made with 4 fat quarters

Table runners are a great way to introduce seasonal decor into a room, and believe it or not, this quilted fall table runner makes a great first piecing project!

It can be made with 4 fat quarters (1 for the leaf, 1 background for the leaf, 1 medium value, and 1 dark value). You will also need a backing fabric that measures 52" by 15". You can use 1/2 yard of fabric to make that. If you choose, you could also make this table runner with scraps that you have on hand.

Cutting instructions: From each fat quarter, make the following cuts. Make the sizes designated the first cut first. Then, cut that piece into the sizes indicated in the second cut column. (For example, your 4 x 20 piece will be cut into 5  4" x 4" squares.

Leaf Fabric
	First Cut		Second Cut
How Many			How many
1	4” X 20” strip		5	4”squares
1	4” x 16” strip		4	4”squares
1	9” x 13 ½ piece
2	1” x 12” strip		3	6” strips
Leaf Background Fabric
1	9” x 13 ½ piece
2	4” x 12” strip		6	4” squares
Medium Fabric
1		11 ½ “ square	4	5 ¾ “ squares
Dark Fabric
1		13” square	4	Right triangles

 ALL SEAMS ARE 1/4"

Step 1- Speedy Triangles

Layer the 9" x 13 ½" rectangles from the leaf and background fabrics, right sides together. Match them up exactly.

Use your ruler aqnd a pen to mark the wrong side of the lighter fabric into 4 1/2" squares.  Then draw diagonal lines as shown. Sew ¼" seams on both sides of the diagonal lines. Cut on all lines, diagonal and straight. Press to set seams, then press open. (Seam allowances to dark side.) You will have “tails”  at the corners. These can be trimmed off when you square up into 4" squares.

In this picture, the lines are drawn in blue and the seams are sewn in black.

Step 2  Cut 3 of the 4” squares of the leaf background fabric into right triangles.   

Sew one triangle onto one 1” x 6” inch strip. Repeat with 2 more triangles.

Press open, then add a second triangle on the opposite side. Try to line up the corners so that it will form a square. Press open. Square up into 4” squares.

Note: When sewing several repetitions of the same block section, don’t cut the thread in between sections. It saves time. Cut them apart at the ironing board. (This is called chain sewing.)

Step 3 Layout the leaf blocks as shown. Sew sets of the block together.  For example, start by sewing all Square A1s to Squares B1, then A2 to B2, and finally A3 to B3. After you sew the first group of sets together (chaining them!), press open. Square up as needed.

Step 4- Add the next square (C1, C2, or C3) to the sets. Press. Now you should have 3 sets of 3 square sections of the block.

I always lay my pieces out in the block pattern after each step to make sure I am sewing the right way.

Step 5- Form the block by sewing the sets together. Make sure to match the seams. Press.

Step 6-Sew one triangle from the dark fabric to one side of the medium 5 ¾ “ medium square. Press open. You might need to trim the corner of the first corner where the second triangle will intersect. Repeat on the opposite side.  Press seams.

Step 7- Sew sections as shown. Press seams

Step 8- Sew the sections together. Trim as needed. Tada! You are ready for a backing. You can either layer it with batting and a backing fabric or use a prequilted backing.

What colors would you use in a fall table runner?