Yes, I am officially insane.....

Remember this runner? The one with all the angst about the different dye lots?

The one I asked for your advice on, which you so generously gave. Lots of you! And you all pretty much said the same thing.......leave it as it was.

You know what I actually did?

Yes, you're right. The panels are all the same. I ripped it all back and replaced the fabric with some more from the same dye lot. Mad. I know.

But.

I am so much happier with it now. Despite what everyone said, and knowing that you were all right, and knowing that I would have given the same advice myself, I just. couldn't. love. it. the way it was. Just could not bring myself to do any more work on it. I hated the difference in shades so much it was paralysing me, particularly as it was not consistent throughout the runner, so it just didn't look like it was intentional, and really, there was only one decision to be made then.

That's not to say I didn't appreciate all your advice. Or listen to you, because I actually thought about it a lot. And I normally listen to the sage advice you all give me. But sometimes, you have to do what makes you happy. As Lynne wisely said (thank you Lynne!)

So now, I have a lovely ta-dah moment with my Stepping Stones table runner. I really really am happy with it now. (Can you imagine if I had done all that and then I wasn't?) I know in the photo above, it looks like there is a difference in shade, but that's the way the light is falling. When its down on the table, it looks so much better, I think. And I wanted the focus to be on the charms, and the quilting, which it now is.Here are a few photos from my gloomy grey winter garden this morning. See why I called it Stepping Stones?

This was a very straightforward make, but sometimes they're the best. Let me know if you would like a super quick tute on this one, I'd be happy to write it up. I think it would work great as a Christmas themed runner too. I'm really pleased with how the quilting turned out on this one. I used a light grey Aurifil thread on the front, leaving the charms unquilted so they really pop:

 

I used a lavender Egyptian cotton thread on the back (sorry, I can't write the brand name as its Greek!). Love how the quilting pops on the back too!

 
My first time using both brands of thread and I was very impressed with both, compared to the Gutterman natural cotton which is what I normally use for quilting. Love the stitch definition and how smooth they flowed through my machine. I would say the Egyptian cotton is ever so slightly heavier - very marginally - and will definitely be using again for quilting where I want the quilting to be a feature. I got the Aurifil thread from Janette in River Fabrics, who has recently started stocking them, and the Egyptian cotton from Fi in Threads2000 (Patchwork Delights) and its absolutely great to now have some choice in the thread available to me, and to be able to get those great big spools of cotton, at brilliant prices. I highly recommend checking both of them out!

The grey is Kona Ash - love this fabric so much! I think the charm squares stand out against them - they are all from my charms from Jennifer's Rainbow charm swap.

The back is wide strips of Kona Orange, Ochre, Berry and Aubergine - all from River Fabrics in Co. Down also - Janette has a brill selection of Kona shades. Very bright for my friend who loves this combination of colours!

The binding is an orange fabric I picked up at the K&S show - not sure what it is!

All ready now to be washed and sent off in the post to my friend - hope she likes it!!

Quilt Stats:

Name: Stepping Stones Table Runner
Made For: My good friend
Measures: 50" long x 11.5" wide
Fabric: Kona Solids + various charm squares
Batting: Warm and White
Quilting: Straight line by me
Pattern: Simple squares design by me

I'm linking up this week to {Sew} Modern Monday, Manic Monday and Fabric Tuesday.