Think Christmas Table Runner Finished

Well, I've finally got the Think Christmas table runner all finished. I had some issues with it turning out a little pink in the wash - but after a couple cycles through it's getting back to its normal coloring. I think I'll need to wash it one more time before it goes off to its final home, but I have time to take care of that later.

I ended up hand quilting this, and I'm really glad that I did. I like the way it turned out and each section is different, yet tied together with the coordinating fabrics. I ended up using a cream colored sashing to match the blocks and a deep red binding. The back is a white holly print that my mother gifted me with the rest of my Christmas fabric stash. :) So - one more crafty goal for August down with this project finished!

I actually have another goal finished. I wanted to try some basic paper piecing. I'm going to say this counts - my first string block ever! I have a lot of thin strips from the projects I've finished lately, so I figured I'd put them to good use.

So far I've just made one block - and I made it into a pot holder that I'll give to my sister. I have plans to make some more. I'm not sure what I'll do with them all. Maybe I'll have a lot of pot holders to give away.

I used parchment paper since I don't have real foundation paper. I think it worked just fine and tore off at the end fairly well. I don't know what to compare it to though, but I was happy with the results.

The last thing I did today was put together the first of 20 blocks for the quilt I'm making for the Dots on Dots hop. So - my block design has come to life. Now I just need to put together the rest of the quilt! I think that will be on the list for my September crafty goals. I've got 2 things left for August - putting together a fall table runner for my mom and a Christmas quilt. I originally posted that I had matching blocks from the Think Christmas blog hop that I would put together into a quilt. Those blocks never got made, and I think I actually want to keep the Christmas quilt a little simpler than that. So, I'll be redesigning something for that and probably won't get the whole quilt top put together by the end of the month. We'll see though. So, for now - 2 more goals checked off the list. Woohoo!

Happy crafting!