A bit over a week ago, I gave a sneak peek of a project I had in the works. I was thrilled to finally finish it yesterday, just in time to decorate our kitchen table for Valentine’s Day!
The pattern is mostly my design. Ever since I made a Celtic knotwork wall-hanging eons ago when my now 20-year-old daughter was just turning one, I’ve wanted to do another knotwork project.
(Allegedly, I am part Irish. At least family genealogical records seem to indicate this to be true. My middle daughter declared today, after seeing a selection of “Kiss me, I’m Irish” shirts on display at Meijer, that, “Everyone thinks they’re Irish.” I said, “I am.” She responded, “Where’s the DNA test proving it?” Well, gee. I guess my grandfather’s research isn’t sufficient.)
Anyway…
The table runner finished at 33″ by 15-3/4.” I used a pattern from the Celtic Knotwork Handbook by Sheila Sturrock for the hearts in the corners, though I changed the pattern up just a bit. The “Love” script is my design. I cut 1″ bias strips, folded them in half, and sewed them wrong sides together with a scant 1/4″ seam. The resulting tubes were then pressed on bias bars. Note: You don’t have to turn these tubes, as they are already right side out. Simply trim the seam and press flat, with the seam hidden on the “back.” (You must cut the fabric on the bias so it curves nicely. I took a class on this technique when making the wall-hanging all those years ago and our instructor incorrectly instructed us on how to cut the bias tape. We ended up with a lot of wasted fabric cut with the grain, sewn together, and pressed. It would not curve properly! There was a silver lining, though. I liked the fabric I chose the second time around much better!)
The lettering and knots were set in place on the fabric with pins, following the pattern I had traced in ink on the background fabric. Then, once everything was where I wanted it, I used small dots of Roxanne’s Glue-Baste-It (which was surprisingly still good after 20 years) to hold the letters and knots in place. I did this on my ironing board with a scrap of fabric underneath to catch any glue that might drip through. You could use a piece of cardboard or Styrofoam. Anything that you can stick a pin in will work. The letters and knots were then sewn in place with a tiny blanket stitch using clear thread.
For the quilting, I outline quilted the knots and lettering in thread matching my background fabric. I also quilted hearts in the empty space using black thread. (For these hearts, I found a pattern on Pinterest that I liked, enlarged and printed it, and pinned the pattern to the table runner to quilt around.)
I love how this project turned out!
Lazy Saturday Quilts 