Cool Summer Place Mats

Hot July weather calls for a refreshing antidote, and these Accordion Place Mats featured in the July/August issue of Modern Patchwork are just that! Cool hues from our Painter's Palette Solids collection are perfect for a summery table. Scroll down to learn more.

Accordion Place Mats by Lisa Swenson Ruble;
featured in Modern Patchwork magazine July/August 2018

Q. How did you come up with the design for these place mats? 

LR: When I work with solids, I love to use the idea of transparency and depth by using different shades of the same color. These colors were borrowed from my Diamond Drama quilt--they're some of my favorites!

Q. Why do you call them Accordion Place Mats?

LR: Because of the shading, I think each placemat looks like it recedes and then pops out, similar to an accordion. I paired the darker shade of each color with the Silver to enhance this illusion. 

Q. Tell us something unexpected about this project.

LR: As I started to sew it, I realized just how many pieces each place mat contained! 82, to be exact. That's a lot of sewing, but it's worth it for the final look. I am looking forward to using these place mats all summer long!

Q. We love the faux-flange binding! 

LR: I do too! I think it finishes the place mats beautifully and brings the color out to the edges. It's actually an easy technique with stellar results. 

Painter's Palette Solids used (dark/light):

Silver/White

Gulf Stream/Pale Aqua

Carrot/Clementine

Jolly/Island

Violet/Orchid

See all 168 Painter's Palette Solids colors here and ask for them at your local quilt shop.

Find Modern Patchwork here.

Tute-Happy Summer: Table Topper

We're continuing our Tute-Happy Summer series today with a tutorial for a simple, cheery table topper by Connie from from Freemotion by the River. Connie used the soft prints from the Ro Gregg's Marblehead Pleasing Pastels collection. Enjoy the tutorial and then find the details at the bottom of this post for a chance to win a bundle of Pleasing Pastel prints to play with!

Hi, I'm Connie from Freemotion by the River and I have another quick and easy pattern to share with you. Last week I made placemats with the Marblehead Pleasing Pastels fat quarter bundle and today I have a table topper that will look perfect with them!

The size of this table topper is 24" x 24".

From the fat quarter bundle I choose 5 colors and a cream. If you make this, you will actually need 2 fat quarters of the cream to get all of the pieces.

 Cut the following:

• 20 - Pink - 2 1/2 inch x 2 1/2 inch squares
• 20 - Teal - 2 1/2 inch x 2 1/2 inch squares
• 32 - Cream - 2 1/2 inch x 2 1/2 inch squares
•   8 - Green - 2 1/2 inch x 2 1/2 inch squares
•   8 - Pink - 4 1/2 inch x 4 1/2 inch squares
•   4 - Purple - 2 1/2 inch x 4 1/2 inch rectangles
•   4 - Peach - 2 1/2 inch x 4 1/2 inch rectangles

Sew all seams with a 1/4" seam allowance.

This is a simple pattern that combines two different blocks.

Block One:

Make 4 Pink and 4 Teal 9 patch blocks. Each 9 patch will use 5 of the pink or teal and 4 of the cream.

 Block Two:

Make 8 of these. Use the following diagram for placement for block two.

You will make:

4 - Teal/cream 9 patch blocks
4 - Pink/cream 9 patch blocks
8 - Purple/Peach/Green/Cream blocks

Lay your blocks out as shown below.

Sew the 4 blocks together. Make 4.

Sew the 4 large blocks together to make your table topper.

Quilt as desired.
Cut 2 1/2" strips from the leftover fat quarters to make the binding.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and stop by my blog for more pictures of this table topper.

For a chance to win a bundle of Marblehead Pleasing Pastels prints, head over to Connie's blog. This giveaway is now closed, but be sure to check out our other tutorials, as we'll be sharing a tutorial and hosting a giveaway each week!

Check out each week of our Summer of Tutes!
Week 1: Sunglasses case  featuring Graphix 3
Week 2: The overnight bag featuring Who's Who

Week 3: Tablet case featuring Jungle Party 

Week 4: Patriotic pennants featuring Tone on Tone 

Week 5: Melon mini featuring Gemstones, Jewels and Quartz

Week 6: Zig zag lunchbag featuring Graphix 3

Week 7: Placemats featuring Marblehead Pleasing Pastels

Week 9: Elegant clutch featuring Jungle Party 
Week 10: Modern table runner featuring Prairie Cloth Solids 

Week 11: Striped table runner featuring Gemstones, Jewels and Quartz

Week 12: Nautical mini featuring Prairie Cloth Solids
Week 13: Stair Stepper Runner featuring Gemstones, Jewels and Quartz

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Announcing our Summer placemats Marblehead Pleasing Pastels winner:

Happy Cottage Quilter

Congratulations!

12 Days of Christmas: Day 12

Christmas is only 63 days away!

We've reached the twelfth day of our 12 Days of Christmas celebration! We hope you've enjoyed all of the fabrics and tutorials that we've shared. Today we're featuring a round-up of additional holiday tutorials that have been featured here on our blog. Wherever your holiday sewing takes you, we hope you enjoy it!

On the 12th day of Christmas, we have:

Holiday garland, fabric gift bags, place mats, and stockings!

Find the tutorial for the Holiday Garland here.

Find the tutorial for the fabric gift bag and wine bag here.

Find the tutorial for the Christmas star place mats here.

Find the tutorial for all three Christmas stockings here.

The 12 Days of Christmas:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
Day 12