Vegetable Spiral Table Runner

I have made this pattern for a Spicy Spiral Table Runner several times before. It takes eight fat quarters and a wedge ruler, either 9° or 10°. I used a 10° wedge ruler. These are the eight fat quarters I selected from my stash, cutting each fat quarter into four strips of the appropriate width per the pattern. From left to right the eight vegetables are red onions, filberts (also known as hazelnuts), pumpkins, potatoes, sliced cucumbers, yellow squash, peas in pods, and green bell peppers

After sewing the eight strips together to form a striped rectangle I sliced the rectangle into a series of wedges which when joined form two spirals, one from red onions to green peppers and one in the reverse color order. Pressing direction is important so I have shown the reverse side of each half.

Then the two halves are ready to be sewn together into a spiral. Next step is to trim the jagged edges and finish off with batting and backing.

In my fabric stash, I happened to have a panel of vegetables. I forgot to take an intact picture of it before using it for the backing but here it is. I thought the small sacrifices of the "Ve" from the Farm Fresh Vegetables banner and the corner edges of some images (radish, tomato, peppers) was worth using this panel because of how well it fit with the veggie theme.

Once backed and turned right side out, each side of the spiral table runner looks like this.

My quilting plan was simple and straightforward. I stitched in the ditch of every other wedge seam. I thought this would look best when used with the spiral side up. Since it is in the ditch a photo does not show it very well. I also stitched from the reverse side around the boxes for each of the six vegetable "seed packets" and around the top and middle rectangles of the vegetable banners. This stitching option show if the table runner is used with the panel side up. In tiny font, I wrote my name and year in the point above the tomato packet. The following photo also shows some of the quilting lines.

The Spicy Spiral Table Runner pattern that I used is still available on Etsy. It is an "oldie but goodie". I've made previous table runners using that pattern. Their associated links are: 
http://dianeloves2quilt.blogspot.com/2011/11/spiral-table-runner.html
http://dianeloves2quilt.blogspot.com/2012/01/turquoise-and-grey-spiral-runner.html
More details of the intermediate construction steps are in these blog posts.

Third Saturday of December 2021

Beginning April 2020, my quilt guild members began a tradition of hanging quilts in the front of their homes on the third Saturday of the month as a source of enjoyment for the community and as a thank you for the essential workers during the pandemic. My initial post about this practice is dated 4/22/20.

For "Hang Your Quilt Day" this December, I chose to hang two Christmas quilts, both of which I have displayed before. From left to right these two quilts are Simple Gifts 49" x 68" and Grinch 45" x 72". More detail about each of these quilts is in my blog posts that are dated 6/10/15 and 7/2/14 respectively.

Christmas Elves

Those adorable stuffed characters of a boy elf and a girl elf are smiling, beguiling, even begging to be held or brighten up someone's holiday home, accompanied by their three pet polar bears and three pet penguins. I made up two sets of them for my two households of grandchildren. They are from a panel by Moda designer Stacy Iest Hsu.

These panels always take me longer to cut out than I remember from other Stacy Hsu dolls. Although sewing them is a cinch, I find this array of tools sure helps me with the turning, and finessing, and stuffing. Those long thin arms and legs are a challenge; but after making all her released panels so far, I have gotten the knack of it. The Turn-it-All helps "right-side-out" the long thin appendages and the gripping forceps help grab and stuff the fluffy fiber fill down into them.

I have also learned one panel per household, not one per each of six grandchildren, is sufficient. Even my penchant for the repetition tendencies of a quilter draw the line at six times! My past repertoire includes these previous sixteen panels I made up for my grandkids, who reside in two households: Lil Heroes, Howdy, Hansel & Gretel, Goldilocks& the Three Bears, Bunnies, Coral the Mermaid, Lil Red, Princesses, and Castle.

The panel of elves has many more pieces when you count the hats, clothes and pets.

This project led to scraps from the two panels. The illustration of the boy elf and the girl elf and the mini-scene of the two of them at the North Pole are too cute to just toss. Similarly the green border around the panel can be incorporated elsewhere, perhaps as a sashing or perhaps for placemats or pillows when paired with another fabric or two. Look closely; there are even cute tiny candy canes in many colors along the selvage. That border totals 258 discontinuous inches with varying seam allowances. It has a collection of seasonal phrases: Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Be Merry, Ho Ho Ho, Jingle Bells, Fa La La La La, Tis the Season. How could I possibly toss all those cheerful greetings in the trash? I couldn't. (I do have to store these scraps now. Bah, humbug!) But even I was able to toss out the printed instructions.