A new project: Placemats and Table runner

My husband asked if I could make a new set of place mats for our dining room. It must have had something to with the fact that currently on the dining table is a set of 3 Halloween place mats that are probably about 15 years old! 

I have plenty of beautiful tablecloths  but for some reason I don't like using a tablecloth for everyday use. I prefer place mats but I only have a couple and somehow they have seemed to dwindle.

Last winter my husband bought me several yards of Robert Kaufman design in a wine print. This fabric along with some new quilting templates that I got for my birthday this year spawned into an idea. I was at first going to just do a simple set of place mats but then I thought that place mats are the perfect size to try out new techniques on. The templates that I bought were for hexagon, diamond and a crazy pattern. For this project I am using the hexagon and diamonds.

Designing the pattern on graph paper was fun and then I got to sewing up a test piece and OH. MY. GOODNESS. Piecing together hexagons and diamonds takes precision and patience! Well at the very least I can say that I tried something new.

playing with some ideas with the diamonds

The hexagons and the new EZ Hexagon template.

Test piece

 I have several other accent fabrics to go with the wine prints. At least I have something to keep me busy!

 

Family Valentines craft night

Yesterday evening, after a wonderful dinner and dessert made by my wonderful hubby, we had a fun family craft night.

Rick 'antiquing' his glass.

Melissa came up with the idea of painting wine glasses for Valentines day. She picked up 2 inexpensive glasses for her and Dorian and I re-purposed 2 glasses from the china cabinet. I just happened to have a set of 2 left from a bigger set that is all broken now, so I used those for Rick and I to paint.

Gotta love Dorians face...

The paint was an enamel based paint for glass and wood that once painted can be either air cured for 21 days or cured in an oven heated to 325'. I opted for the air curing method, I just did not feel to comfortable putting wine glasses in my oven heated to 325', maybe it would have been fine but I don't know enough about it and did not want to ruin our project or be picking glass out of the bottom of the oven!

Dino's in love by Dorian

Polka dots and hearts by Steph

Grapes on the vine by Rick and squiggles and hearts by Melissa

It was a fun, inexpensive way to creatively spend the evening together with the family, After the wine glasses we hit the Wii for a while for a little 4-way racing in Maria Kart. Boy oh boy, I really am not so very good at some of those games! Very fun night :)

True loves kiss :)