Americana Table Runner - A Homemade Christmas Gift

I decided to try some homemade Christmas gifts this year. My goal was to make items that were unique and personal, but that didn't appear too "homemade" (like, "Here, I drew this picture for you!"). 

This summer I visited a pottery shop in Pigeon Forge. It had quilted table runners, place mats, and pot holders. I wanted to buy them all, but decided that I could probably make some of those things myself. Besides, it's no fun to visit an All-American town and find that your pot holder was made in India.

A few weeks later I found a quilting book with directions for a quilted table runner, so I decided to give the table runner a try. Nice thing about table runners: they don't have too much fabric, so they're easier to work with than a full sized quilt.

Or so I thought. The second set of instructions had a measurement mistake. I ended up having to cut and re-cut my diamonds all through the quilt, along with the borders. Sigh...

Diamonds for the star

I love Americana!

Starting to look like the picture...

"Setting in" took some practice     

Once the top was pieced, it was beautiful! I couldn't wait to finish it, so I went ahead and sewed on the back and the binding. Mistake number two. 

 

I started quilting the top and realized that everything was pulling the wrong way. In addition, I had cut the wrong size for the end borders. I had to undo all my quilting (any quilter knows that you're supposed to quilt before you bind, however, I am not a quilter), and I had to take off all the binding and the end borders. 

After I took the thing apart I cut new borders, binding, and filling, and redid the machine quilting by starting from the center and working my way out. In the end, it turned out all right, and I wouldn't mind making another!

Matching pot holders

The finished product!