Some fun little finishes

It may not seem like it, as my blogging is a little bit slow at the moment, but I'm actually getting quite a bit of sewing done lately. We're full swing in the summer holidays and the whole family is at home all day every day. Finding time in between the constant demands for food (seriously, how often do children need to eat, because it feels like my older 2 are hungry every hour!) and baby care can be a bit challenging at times, but short bursts of sewing are perfect when you're working on small projects.

(Don't forget that my giveaway for a $25 gift certificate for Fat Quarter Shop closes tomorrow, so if you haven't entered already, make sure to do it here)

My friend asked me a while ago if I would make a few things for her, and of course I was happy to oblige.
 

First up, she wanted some placemats for her kitchen table. She had seen the ones I made for my brother, but wanted a more regular shape than triangles. I settled on rectangular mats measuring approx 12" x 10", and made 2 contrasting patterns, 3 of each. I loved her colour palette of pink against a neutral and really enjoyed making these. The neutral is Kona Champagne, which I've had in my stash forever, and is such a lovely warm colour. These are a very easy make, and would be a perfect project for those new little mini charm packs so I'll post a quick tute later in the week with the measurements.

 I straight line quilted these using Aurifil 50wt thread, they are quilted approx 1/4" apart in dense lines which I hope will help them to stand up to frequent washing. I really love the stitch definition I got with it.

I found the perfect pink binding for them, with tiny stars, and they are backed with a Tanya Whelan Grand Revival print which I can't remember the name of. I machine bound these (again, to help them withstand frequent washing) after reading a few different tutorials for the technique, I like how they turned out on the front  but could probably make the back a little neater with more practice.

My friend also wanted some bunting for her little nephew. I forgot how fun it is to make bunting and how pretty it looks! Must make some for baby R's room too.

Lastly, after seeing my friend Fiona's piano cover over on her Facebook page, my friend asked me to make something similar for her daughter (my goddaughter) for her keyboard.

 

We decided a rainbow of colour would work nicely for this one, and once I had pulled out some prints, I put this together very quickly. I think this is one of my favourite things I've made this year - so simple, but I just love how it works.

 

I used a candy stripe pink for the backing and a black poplin to bind it. I quilted the white space similarly to how I did the placemats, leaving the coloured "keys" unquilted so they popped that bit more. This measures about 32.5" x 6"

I'm heading off to visit my friend next week, so I have lots of goodness to bring with me and I know she's dying to get her hands on it, which is great.