I’m really excited to share
today’s project, the Centerpiece Tablemat!
This terrific pattern was designed by Terri Staats, owner of Sweet Treasures Quilts. Simply select a pretty
focal fabric and coordinating 1 1/2” strips and you can whip together a 21”
octagon shaped tablemat in no time!
Maybe you have
purchased some of those cute Moda Honeybun rolls of 1 1/2” fabric strips, but
you haven’t used them yet. This would be a great project for a Honeybun. Or you
could create your own 1 1/2” strips from your stash. That’s what I did!
My Centerpiece Tablemat
features a beautiful floral print from Fig Tree’s Strawberry Fields Revisited
collection, surrounded by a smattering of other Fig Tree fabrics making up the
strips. This project is a reminder to never throw away our treasured
scraps! Look at the loveliness we can
create with 1 1/2” strips!
Terri’s pattern
instructions and illustrations are top-notch!
She teaches classes at her sewing studio in Keiser, Oregon, and her
teacher personality comes through in her patterns, with helpful tips and easy-to-follow instructions! I thoroughly enjoyed this project.
I quilted my tablemat
using a 1” grid. As you can see in the
photo below, I like to use quilter’s tape to mark my stitching line. I began by
quilting one line right down the center.
However, when I laid down my large rulers to plan out the remaining
quilting lines, I noticed that I didn’t like where the one-inch stitch lines
would land “in the ditch” of the outer strips. So I put my seam ripper to work and removed that first on-center
stitch. I then laid out my grid so that
the true center of the tablemat is in between of my
first two stitching lines.
This photo shows how
the outer quilting lines land in the center of the border strips. I’m really happy with how this turned out,
and it was such an easy quilting process using quilter’s tape.
I backed my tablemat
with the cream floral from Fig Tree’s Ella & Ollie collection and bound it
with a red gingham from their Strawberry Fields Revisited collection. All told, I believe I have used at least six
past Fig Tree collections in this fun project!
The Centerpiece
Tablemat is a great weekend project and would make a lovely gift! You can
purchase the pattern from Sweet Treasures Quilts. If you don’t feel like you
have a great stash of fabrics to pull from, Terri and her team have also
created several kits using lovely Moda collections! I have shared Terri’s photos with links to the individual
kits below.
features "Return to Winter's Lane" by Kate & Birdie
features "Love You" by Sandy Gervais
features red, white and blue prints by Bonnie & Camille
features "Project Red" by Sweetwater Fabrics
If you are looking for
a homemade gift idea, the Centerpiece Tablemat is just the
ticket. It’s quick and easy, and really
lends itself to some assembly line sewing. You could probably get carried away and crank out several in one weekend!
Thanks for stopping by!
~Taunja