As quilters, we're often asked "just how many bed quilts do you have?" It's fun to make a variety of bed quilts, and fun to have a variety of looks to change up a room.
But what if there was an easier way? What about a bed runner? Less work, less storage space, all the impact! Terry Albers of Hedgehog Quilts designed this beautiful bed runner using the Summer Breeze collection for Easy Quilts magazine.
 |
| Blue on Blue by Terry Albers; machine quilted by Sandy Schilawski;featured in Easy Quilts Spring 2014 |
Q. What makes bed runners so great?
Terry: A bed runner can make a quick change for your room. It lets you dress up
your bed without the time, expense and storage issues of a big quilt.
Q. What attracted you to the Summer Breeze fabric collection?
Terry: Color...it's always about the color for me. I'm a fan of watercolors and
that's the feeling I got when I saw this fabric. The unexpected hint of
purple really makes the line pop. It's subtle but makes an impression.
Q. Love the coordinating pillows! What can you tell us about them?
Terry: I love the way the throw pillows accent and enhance the runner. They help
give the room a more pulled-together feel. I used 20" pillow forms and make
all my "coordinating" pillow covers the same size. Quick change without
storage issues. When I want to change out the room, I just pull off the
pillow covers and keep them with the runner.
Q. Can you talk about how you came up with the design?
Terry: I knew I wanted to make a bed runner for my guest room. I played with some
of my favorite table runner designs, enlarged the blocks and tweaked the
borders.
Q. Favorite fabric in the collection?
Terry: My favorite fabric is the large floral on the light background...it looks so
airy.
Terry: While this line is fairly monochromatic, working within the group helps me
make sure the tints and values complement each other. The challenge lies in
arranging the design elements with enough contrast (in color and scale) to
keep the fabrics from mushing together. Also, the light purple accent draws
out the color differently in each fabric, helping the eye separate the
elements.
Q. Your bed runner seems wider than most traditional ones. How come?
Terry: This bed runner is definitely wider than most. It has a bigger presence on
the bed than a runner just at the foot. I love the layered look I get by
starting with the off-white matelasse bedspread, the turned back sheets and the
regular pillow cases in the same off-white and then the wide runner with the
accent pillows. It all looks luxurious and welcoming.
Q. Can you talk about the machine quilting?
Terry:I brought the runner and the pillow tops to Sandy Schilawski so that she could use the
same quilt design on everything. We chose an all-over design for the runner
and then enlarged the same design for the pillow covers. It wasn't so much
about matching the design as it was about keeping the flow smooth from the
runner to the pillows. I was looking for a peaceful feel to the whole
project.
See the entire Summer Breeze collection here.
Learn more about Terry and her work here.
Find Easy Quilts magazine here.
Find the kit for the Blue on Blue runner here.
No comments:
Post a Comment