Cheery Placemats

My friend picked up a pattern for some place mats and these fun, spring colors.  She pieced squares, slashed, stitched those together, slash and so on.  The resulting made fabric is bright and cheery.

I cut the made fabric into two pieces to get it onto the frame with the most effective use of the batting and backing.

I learned this all-over quilting design while taking a class with Erin Underwood.  A simple clam shell surrounded by a couple rows of petals.  This one is fun and really adds a nice effect to the surface.  It is also easy to move around as you can echo petals or sneak in another clam shell or two.

On the back, you can really see the quilting design.

Top thread is Fantastico from Superior Threads.  This is a dye sample, so I can't tell you if it will be available in the future.  I love the surprise threads I can get from them with their Try Me specials.  I used a yellow So Fine! #50 (color 514, Polo) in the bobbin so it would mostly match the top thread and blend with the back.  Matching a bobbin thread to some variegated threads is a challenge.  I like the little bit of visual interest that these threads create, but I don't want the bobbin thread to sneak onto the top and show up when I don't want it to.

After pulling it all off the frame, I trimmed the two large pieces and cut out six place mats.  The all over quilting was a great option for this.  I'm glad I quilted it as two large pieces and then cut it down.  It takes the design right over the edges and I really like the effect.  It also means that all six place mats are the same size since they were cut from the quilted piece.