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Eat Good, Laugh Often, Live Well!

Quilting the Paper Pinwheel quilts is coming along nicely after the free motion quilting practice I did on the placemats. By Wednesday night I had the four 12” blocks on the lap quilt finished before I ran out of thread. A quick trip to the fabric store fixed that but not my sore, aching shoulders.

You see, I’m still learning to relax my shoulders while FMQing. After several hours, I need to take a break and do other things. Late Wednesday evening, I switched to making and attaching the binding on the roosters and hens placemats. Then I spent yesterday hand sewing it to the back of each of them.

As much as possible I’ve been trying to sew from what I have on hand. The binding for the placemats came from fabric I had leftover from making this round tablecloth. (Just as a side note, that tablecloth is one of my most popular and pinned tutorials.)

Hens and roosters placemat
The title of this post came from one of the sayings written on the placemats. It’s a little hard to see but the sayings are: “There is no replacement for good taste. Eat good, laugh often, live well. Spice a dish with love, pleases every palate.”

Two of the placemats were quilted in loop de loops, one in a meander and the one pictured above was done in loops and hearts. Here’s a closer look at that one:

loops and hearts quilting

It’s so nice to have fun new placemats for the table as well as another finish to add to my 2015 Finish Along Q1 Goals.

roosters and hens placemats

After they’ve been washed a few times, it won’t be as noticeable that the quilting (especially on the first two) could stand improvement.  By the time I’m done the paper pinwheel quilts and another set of placemats, I hope to feel ready to tackle some FMQing on the bigger quilt tops that are waiting their turn to be finished.

 

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8 Comments

  • Leanne
    April 14, 2015 10:27 pm

    They look lovely on your table, and yes, it is just a matter of practice to get better, although your quilting is quite lovely already.

  • Laura @ Prairie Sewn Studios
    February 23, 2015 6:16 pm

    This are great! I think place mats are the perfect sized project to practice your FMQ on.

  • Vickie Horsfall
    February 23, 2015 10:21 am

    Loving the colors and your FMQ on these placemats! You have inspired me to finish some of my projects set aside for various reasons. Thanks for sharing these! Enjoy your creative day!

  • Lisa Johnson
    February 22, 2015 6:48 pm

    Lovely placemats! Enjoyed the longest zipper post very good idea! Thank you!

  • Katherine
    February 22, 2015 3:03 pm

    Oh, what pretty placemats! You’re rocking that FMQing. Bravo!

  • Susan
    February 21, 2015 4:01 pm

    They look so nice on the table. The binding is perfect with the fabric! You are ready to eat good, at least. =)

  • Gemini Jen NZ
    February 21, 2015 2:29 am

    They will be well used I am sure and no one but you will be any the wiser that the FMQ may be not as good as you would like it, aren’t we often our worst critics?! Isn’t it satisfying to be able to make something so useful out of practice pieces. Good work!

  • Carie
    February 20, 2015 5:43 pm

    Oh I love that you’ve got a little heart tucked into your FMQ – I love finding things like that in quilts, it’s the equivalent of carving a little mouse or something into the end of a dinner table as the carpenter’s mark!

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