Friday, May 28, 2021

May Table Scraps Challenge - Red White and Blue Serendipity

For May's Table Scraps Challenge, I had Memorial Day in mind.  There were some interesting red, white, and blue fabrics in the bags given to me recently, as well as some Wizard of Oz themed fabric, including a fat quarter of a poppy print.  I think of the Buddy Poppy around Memorial Day.  The ones I remember were made of red crepe paper on a wire stem, but they're slightly different looking now.  

As it turned out, I didn't use the poppy print fabric after all (the colors were a little too orange-red for this runner, and there was yellow in the background). 

But what kind of runner to make with the red, white, and blue?  As I looked off to the right of the cutting table, I saw my Serendipity table runner that I made several years ago.  It's where I usually plunk down my scissors or rotary cutter when I'm working.

Perfect!  I'll whip up another one of those.  I revisited the tutorial I had written when I made the first one.  You can find that HERE.  I had used charm squares then, but this time I just cut the pieces I needed in the correct dimensions from the red, white, and blue scraps.


The fun of this runner, for me, is playing with the pieces to get a combination that looks balanced but not too perfect.  Especially if there are string-pieced elements, I want a bit of random.  Do you know what I mean?


I was really down to the dregs of batting scraps.  There are quite a few little pieces of Frankenstein-stitched batting in this one.  I don't know why that makes me happy, but it does.

For the quilting, I went with a wavy stitch on my Brother sewing machine.  I like the effect of the lengthwise parallel waves.

And that's it, my RWB Serendipity table runner!  


It's sitting in the kitchen garden window now with my grandmother's blue pressed glass footed bowl.


I hope you have a good Memorial Day weekend!

Linking to:  The Joyful Quilter - Table Scraps Challenge

10 comments:

The Joyful Quilter said...

Super cute runner!! Thanks for the link to your tutorial and for joining in the TABLE SCRAPS Challenge. I may have to make my own Serendipity runner next month!

Deb A said...

Very cute runner and you have the perfect spot to display it.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful! It reminds me of fireworks. Isn’t it awesome to use up those fabric and batting scraps? I understand why it makes you happy.

Quilting Babcia said...

This pattern makes a perfect table runner, and your grandmother's bowl complements it beautifully.

grammajudyb said...

You are ready for the holiday weekend! I think this pattern is great and it makes a wonderful vignette with your grandmother’s blue bowl!

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

I love those scrappy strips with their low volume background! That's a great design!

Ivani said...

It is a beautiful patriotic table runner, Paulette. With the blue pressed glass bowl is perfect. I inherited from my mother a small green bowl of pressed glass, very similar to yours.

Quiltdivajulie said...

Terrific runner and I agree about the quilting lines. LOVE that view with the dish on the runner and Mother Nature outside the window.

QuiltGranma said...

I like it! Wish my machine did a nice wavy stitch!

Michele said...

I love the way it turned out.