June Quilt Day: Not Really Quilting

The second Sunday of June was coming on and I was thinking of what to do for my quilt day. I toyed with getting very ambitious and working on my crossed canoes quilt. But I couldn't do it. One, I couldn't quite summon up the energy it would take to gather materials, clear a space, and prepare the quilt for quilting. Not yet.

The other thing was that I still have these tablecloths for church hanging over my head (still not done from the Spring to Finish list) and I couldn't feel good about any other sewing until I got them finished and outta here! So I worked on the current one and got it finished. Three done, one to go!

I dropped it off at church this evening, and went ahead and took some pics so you could see what I've been talking about.

The first ones done were the two for the rectangle tables. I had a generous friend help with that and we worked at the church for an afternoon. We almost got them done and just had to do a little more sewing at home.

You can see that it fits rather well, hangs low and sports some lovely box pleats. I planned the design and cut all the pieces as my friend--we'll call her "Amy"--started sewing them together. The farther we got, the more confused she got. But she just sewed one seam at a time, and it all worked out.

Later that day, however, Amy delighted in asking all her family how many pieces of fabric it takes to make a tablecloth. They all answered, "One. Throw it over the table." And she would answer, "No! I know someone who used thirteen!" like this was a punchline to a great joke! Well, come on, is that really fair to me?

One piece of cloth would cover the table, but you would constantly be futzing with it to get it even and to keep it in place. If you want a nice table covering for presentation, you need something more than a cloth thrown over the table. Or, at least, that is my opinion.

So I worked this pattern out. It has fancy flowers and swirls on top to make it beautiful:

It has a subtle stripe on the sides to keep it from being too fru-fru:

And box pleats that not only make it more interesting, but make it easier to throw over the table, too:

The flower fabric inside the box pleat is just a little mmm mmm.

The rectangle tablecloths turned out great; they fit the tables well, and just need a good pressing.

The round tablecloth I finished sports four box pleats:

It does not fit quite as well. The top is just a touch small, and that is going to annoy me. (But not enough to redo it, I'm afraid.) I will be sure to make the second one a little larger.

The requirements for these table coverings were that they had to be formal enough for art and music receptions, neutral in colour, and easy to wash/care for. (I thought the poly content would make them need less ironing, but apparently I was wrong on that.) Besides the wrinkling thing, I hope that they fulfill the requirements.

One more to go...


PS: David, the round one is folded on top of the other two, in case you need it. You're welcome...