My sewing room has had a little bit of a rearrange this past week. And you know how it is when you move things about… you find things which you’ve forgotten that you had. I found a table runner which I started a couple of years ago, but which I never finished. It started as an impulsive purchase through the Fat Quarter Shop. It was a bundle of Art Gallery fabrics, for a project in a US quilt magazine. It was on clearance, and even though I didn’t have the magazine, I thought “what the heck” and added it to my cart. When I bought my quilt frame, I needed a quick project to have a play with my new toy. I quickly whipped up a very basic and very long table runner with this fabric bundle I’d bought from FQS. I played with the new machine, quilting swirls and loops here and there… all the while forgetting to put the presser foot down. Yes, you can imagine what came next. The back of it was horrid mountain of thread nests. ARGH! I removed it from the frame, rolled it up and put it away in a fit of disgust… until my cleaning frenzy last week. I spent ages unpicking the threads. I tried to convince Miss 6 that this was a fun project and that she should have a go at unpicking too. She ran. I visited mum the other day and took the runner and a seam ripper with me and let her have a couple of hours of unpicking fun. I even had hubby in on the unpicking action. Yes, it truly was a family affair. Once it was unpicked, I pressed the whole thing with bursts of steam, in the hope of removing the perforations from the previous stitches. It’s a little better, but could probably do with a good wash to further reduce the perforations. If anyone has any other advice on how to reduce or minimize the holes, please let me know. I basted and quilted it. Attached the binding and took the kids into going to the park (so that I could get the binding stitched to the back). It’s now finished (yay!) and has now found a home on my dining table. The runner measures 12” x 84” which is perfect for my table. And just in case you’re interested in making your own “Whip It Up Quick” table runner, here are the basic measurements which I used. Fabric Requirements Light Blue = 4.5” square Yellow = (1) 3” x 4.5” and (1) 3” x 7” Navy Blue = (1) 3” x 7” and (1) x 9.5” Turquoise = (1) 3.5” x 9.5” and (1) 3.5” x 12.5” Yardage = 1/4 yard of the light blue, yellow and navy. 3/4 of a yard of the turquoise. The block is quite simple to put together. Start with the light blue. Sew the shorter yellow strip to the right side and press. Sew the other yellow strip to the top and press. Navy is the same. Sew the shorter navy strip to the right side and press. Sew the other navy strip to the top and press. The same with the turquoise strips. Now make 7 of these blocks and sew them end to end. Quilt, bind and display it on your dining table… or make one to gift a friend. This is a fun project, which can be finished in an afternoon. I love a quick project, don’t you?