TBT Christmas Table Topper

Remember this project? I wrote about it last November. I did get it done in time for Christmas.

Although I started it for myself, somewhere in the process I decided it really was perfect for the sister whose name I had for gift giving. She loves to decorate her table for a holiday.

I quilted the background in lines that echoed the shape of the stars/flowers about 3/8" apart. The first side I did on the go but the second side, I marked the turning points so that the two sides would match.

When it got to the stars/flowers, I had a few ideas. I drew out a couple on a pane of glass and took a poll on my IG feed.

A number of people voted and gave their opinions, which were all fun to read, but when this sister chimed in her preference, I was done and went with what she liked. She picked the bottom design. I made a change in the corners after this picture. Instead of another petal/leaf in the corners, I simplified it to a curve that travels to the point and then on to the other side (without crossing itself).

I bound it with a subtle red strip on cream. It could look like candy canes when you got close, but didn't detract from the center design.

Then it was time to wash it to remove the markings. I also knew it would be washed in its future life and I feel like I should do it first in case anything goes wrong.

Well, it did. The red damask I used as backing bled like crazy. It seeped to the front side where there was stitching (you know, like everywhere):

and there were areas of general red splotchiness. The binding seemed especially suseptible.

It wasn't terrible but it gave an overall pinkness to the table topper.

So I did some reading online and got a recommendation from someone I trusted to clean it with blue Dawn dish soap. So I did. And it bled like crazy and continued to do so through several washes. And the red kept depositing on the front. I have since read others who expressly say to never use blue Dawn because it will pull out more colour (and not the colour that was deposited). I think we know who's right.

So I accepted what was and gave the table topper to her anyway. She really likes pink so I sincerely thought she may even prefer it.

It is interesting to see where the red did not stick - you can see a couple of whiter squares in the background area.

I almost like the pink over all of it, except the center of the stars/flowers. I would have liked it if they stayed cream. And that it emphasizes all the seams in the background. It prevents the different fabrics from blending together.

But my sister liked it and she can wash it without fear - it can't get worse!!

#Christmasiscoming

I don't know if you've noticed, but the Christmas music and commercials offering all of the things you should buy are already out. One even had the nerve to start with carolers singing Jingle Bells and the protagonist saying "Noo...it's only November" and then being convinced it is indeed time to start buying buying buying. I did not fall for that one.

But it is true that people who hand make gifts or like to make their own decorations do have to think about these things early. I don't mind if the fabric store has Christmas fabric in July. There's a good reason for that. And for whatever reason, my mind turned to Christmas about a month ago when I came across this image:

I only ever found this image. I couldn't find the source, who made it, whether it was a pattern or an item for sale. But for whatever reason, when I saw the picture, I really wanted to make this star pattern into a Christmas table topper. (Who can predict when inspiration and motivation will strike at the same time? If you could bottle that, "5 hour energy boost" would go out of business and you would be a millionaire.)

It's not surprising I was attracted to a star made from a sixteen-patch and half square triangles. It seems to be what everything I'm doing right now is made of. And it's scrappy. Need I say more?

One problem was that I had absolutely no Christmas fabric scraps. I don't mind using some non-seasonal fabrics if the colours are right, but none? That doesn't seem right. So I called my sister and asked her to bring what she had and was willing to give me. She saved my butt.

We had fun looking through all the fabrics. I had no problem adding some more reds, and then we went shopping where I picked up a few more fat quarters that I thought would work. (Ok, like 10.) We did a general sort of layout where I decided I could group the flowers/stars by colour instead of doing it completely scrappy.

I also decided that there was no need to do HST for the flying geese border. I cut 2.5x4.5 rectangles instead and sewed them together like you would sew a flying geese unit. It saved a lot of seams and made for a smoother look.

I decided I couldn't do this quilt table topper unless I laid it all out and planned where everything would go. With the restriction of the colour placement I wanted and with a piece this small, you can't sew pieces together and arrange them afterward.

In the picture above you can see the three stages of the stars. The blue is laid out but nothing is sewn. I kind of simulated the triangles that would be sewn. The red has the HSTs sewn but none of the squares are sewn together. And the green has all of the star sewn together. (Isn't it amazing how much difference in the size sewing the seams makes, even with only a 1/4" seam?)

In the border above, the rectangles are folded in half so I could see the colour progression. They look like squares but they're not. :)

Once I had the center together, I couldn't stop and put the border together as well.

It's not sewn to the center yet in this picture. I had to put that off for another day.

Here's a close up of each star:

One of the fabrics my sister brought had very fancy gold trimmed poinsettias. I didn't think they would fit in the design (and hated to cut them up), and then I had the brilliant idea to use them for the center of the stars. I love the effect.

You can see the background is made of a lot of scrappy neutrals. This is something I am learning and having fun experimenting with. I did try to group neutrals with green or red or blue in the area around the corresponding star.

After I had the border sewn on, I layered it with a piece of red damask and pin basted it. I decided not to use any kind of batting. I wanted a very flat table topper.

I've started to quilt it and so far I am pleased with how it's going. There is a ways to go, but I am confident I can get it done by Christmas season.

Linking up with Oh Scrap! on Quilting is more fun than Housework.