Drift Away for Christmas

Nothing like deciding to make a Christmas gift 2 weeks before Christmas :)  After weeks of being stuck, I finally thought of the perfect gift for my grandmother- a table runner and two placemats for her kitchen table!  She has sewn all her life and is the person who taught me how to sew and quilt, but she doesn't like quilts (she is always too hot to use them, lol), she has plenty of pillows on her sofas and beds, but she is always looking for a tablecloth or something to cover her (very large, 60") table.  How have I sewn for years and not thought of this before??

Thanks to Google, I found a new-to-me fabric and sewing shop this morning and figured I might as well take the 45 minute drive to check it out.  So glad I did!

 

The fabrics up top are for the table runner and placemats.  The fabrics on the bottom were fat quarters I just couldn't pass up- so stinkin' cute!  I have a baby on the way, so they are justified purchases...right ;)  And the two feet for my machine are ones I have been meaning to get for ages and just never "bit the bullet" but at 25% off I took the plunge.  An open toe foot and a stitch-in-the-ditch foot.  Thinking that second one will be awesome for attaching binding by machine, something I could use some help with.

 

 

When I got home I discovered a fun little find in one of my fabrics- a hidden submarine!  Leave it to Tula Pink to do something like that (this is from her SaltWater collection, for those who are curious).

 

 

I decided to keep it simple for the runner- being low on time will do that to a person.  I love the way these fabrics play together.  The print that started it all was the painted pallet print, which I thought looked like a boardwalk.  Pretty much a perfect print since my grandparents live a half mile from the beach and my grandmother loves blue (and my grandfather hates flower prints, so I had to keep that in mind while searching for fabric too).  The teal print is a pale background with teal coral on it.  The very pale fabric is a pale blue gingham and the cream fabric has white circles on it that remind me of sand dollars.  The beachy theme has had me singing "Drift Away" all afternoon while making this.

 

 

Another shot, where you can maybe see the fabrics a little better.  Pictures at 7:30 at night is not easy!

 

Linking up to Finish It Up Friday at CrazyMomQuilts.