Placemats

First, let's talk business. I've joined that cult phenomenon, instagram. (I needed to see what's going on with the #fiercequiltersbee2014, and OMG, my quilt-in-the-making looks so flippin' yummy.) If you have the inkling, you can follow me. Apparently I need to start hashtagging everything? Oh, instagram. I have so much to learn.

 

Okay, now let's talk placemats. 

 

Once upon a time, I made some placemats. (You'll never ever ever guess which one is mine.) Four of them in all. With my family's first initials raw edge appliqued on them, conveniently located right where a napkin will lay, they were fun, and I enjoyed making them.

Fast forward two years. My boys are older, they are messier, and another one has been added to the pack. I need a ton of placemats since they only last about three seconds before they are dirty. I decided to make a bunch as one of my Q3 2014 FAL goals.

I finished this one a couple of weeks ago. The goal is to use only scraps for the fronts, and I use unloved fabric to make them. (Unloved fabric=truly uggo stuff that sullies the name of the beautiful fabrics I have lined up in my closet. I have more of it than I'd like to admit and because most of it is putrid, I'm refraining from showing you the backs.)

I started officially homeschooling Banzo a couple of weeks ago, and of course Lito wants in on the action. He points out colors and shapes or does art projects with us. Our color last week was red, and Banzo helped me sort red scraps and design this placemat. (It's my favorite.)

I haven't quilted and finished this one yet, but in true rainbow fashion, our color this week was orange. The owls are leftovers from the orange owl quilt I made last year, and I'm glad I finally found a way to use them.

That red poppy fabric is some of the first fabric I purchased, before I ever started quilting. Let's see, I started quilting in the fall of 2011? And I bought that fabric in the summer of 2007. I can't remember what I planned to use it for--it's not like I had a sewing machine at the time--but I found it in the remnant bin and couldn't say no. The HSTs are leftovers from the red and black X & + quilt I made last year. I'm pretty pleased with the corners on them. This is another one that needs to be quilted and finished.

And I've got a good start on the quilting for this one. I'd like to get at least one more placemat done, but if I can swing it, another three. I'm using them to practice FMQ and different quilting ideas, and while they look a little crazy, I figure that's okay since they're going to be stained and well-loved by my kidlets.

I'm looking forward to getting these done and scratching another item off my list! What are your weekend plans? I'm looking forward to a ton of college football, and maybe if I'm lucky, I'll get some sewing in too!