Quilt 17: Tutty Fruity Placemats

Most of the charm squares (from the pack I told you about last week) are very similar prints: bright, sparkly and vivid. There are a handful, however, which are less so.

Such as the "potatoes" squares, "mushrooms" and the "cabbage" squares.  They're OK, but they don't blend well with the others, so I've pulled them out and have decided to make placemats with them. Like Quilt 13 (the table runner with Japanese prints), I expect they'll work up pretty fast. And as I'm not really in LOVE with the prints, if beef juice or red wine (or, more likely, curry sauce) gets spilled on them, well, so what?!?!

Six charm squares make up almost a placemat-sized rectangle.  I'll edge these with plain solid black calico.

Here's the pairings:

First: apples/peaches/cabbage/asparagus.

 Who would pair asparagus with peaches in a dish?  Well, not me. It doesn't make sense from a culinary point of view, but at least the colours don't scream "WRONG!!".... at least not to me.

Second: mushrooms/corn/potatoes and onion/lettuce/carrots.

 The carrots kind-of "pop out".  I tried swapping the corn and carrots, but ended up thinking this arrangement is probably best. Well, sports fans, there's gonna be plates, cutlery and table napkins sitting on top.

Finally: bell peppers/tomatoes/bell peppers and limes/chilis/cucumbers.

Yeah... a bit much.  I know.  Again, I tried different arrangements, but this one is the most harmonious (keeping in mind the fabric in real life looks just a smidge different than it does in photographs).  This one is garish, but might be nice for the picnic table...?

So there you are.  There are enough of these prints to do 2 of each of the above 3 combinations, 6 placemats in all.

I've stitched the charm squares together, but haven't added the edging yet. I'm holding off on that. I've got the black calico but have decided to go with a "throw" size quilt and a table runner, and am thinking I should get those measured and thought out before I cut into the calico for these placemats.

These will make nice little "portable" projects, too.  Something I can easily tote with me when I visit my friend and quilt guru Pauline (and I'm hoping to see more of her in future... ...I'm even working on her to let me photograph some of her divine pieces so I can share them with you here...  ... Keep your fingers crossed, because she could say "no"...).