Setting a New Table

In my previous post I mentioned a wedding gift I had the joy to make early this summer. A dear young lady, K, whom I've know since before she was born was to get married to an equally dear young man, M, {is it okay to call a young man dear} and this happy occasion called for special gift. I knew I wanted to make a set of placemats.

Plus Block Place Mats

While looking through their online wedding registry I noted a decided bent for neutral colors...specifically cream, brown, and gray. This not being a typical color combination for me I inquired of the bride's mom if I should add a pop of anything else? She consulted with the bride's sisters and it was established that all neutral was the way to go.

For color inspiration I used a photo of a shower curtain they included in their registry. A friend of mine had just finished a sweet mini quilt featuring the Plus Block and I immediately thought it would be a great pattern to weave these colors together. Following my usual design path I pulled out my composition notebook and drew up a plan. Next up I pulled a large variety of fabrics from my stash and set out to begin piecing.

I love the combination of these neutral fabrics! A good reminder to step outside of my creative comfort zone more often :o)  To verify that this really was going to turn into a desirable placemat I made the first one up complete with quilting. Instead of using batting I used two layers of flannel - I wanted the placemats to have some body to them, but didn't want them to seem heavy.

Placemat front - close up

For the quilting I used a favorite method: organic straight lines closely spaced. A run through the washer and dryer really brought out the great texture. Even the placemat backs look nice! At this point I was convinced this was the plan and proceeded to make the remaining three mats.

Placemat back - really shows the texture!

No placemats are complete without a set of matching napkins to accompany them. While visiting my brother I happened upon a fabric store and stopped in. I found both a tan and a gray fabric that seemed like they would work nicely for the napkins. They are reversible with tan on one side and gray on the other.

Reversible napkins

All in all this was a fun sewing project to work on. I wish this new couple many, many years of happiness and God's richest blessings upon their marriage.