a one-up "placemat"

Whilst working the Oh My Stars! quilt along, I had some leftover, small 4-patches.  They were very cute, in the way that small things are, and I decided *right then* to make something with them. Mainly because I was tired of making the Courthouse Step centers of the last Oh My Stars! blocks.  :-)

I had 8 blocks.  I bordered four in red and 4 in green, then using an on-point layout, I alternated the bordered 4-patches with plain black squares and  red and green setting triangles.  The bias binding was made from fabric leftover from a Victorian dress made long ago for my youngest daughter.  The backing is a plain red twill.

The entire project ended up measuring 11" x 18" ... more or less a placemat size, although I had not intended it to *be* a placemat.  At this point in time, I have no intention of making any more of them.  I don't have enough of the specific plain red or green fabrics left to do so, although using slightly different shades probably wouldn't make that much of a difference.  I'm not even sure if I have any more of the fabric used in the 4-patches, but again, I'm sure I could scare something comparable up, if I was so inclined.  Which I am not. 

I free-motion quilted it on my home machine, a Janome 6500, using a shiny red machine embroidery thread.  I chalked in the spine of the feathers then free-handed the feathers.  I'm so pleased that I finally found the secret to doing inside curves with feathers!  (mark a diagonal to bisect the inside curve then use that line as the limit line for the outer edge of the feathers).  The setting triangles got three loops and the 4-patches got a four loop design.

Personally, I think it came out rather nicely.  Not perfect, but more than acceptable.  :-)

For the ::ahem:: photo shoot, I used my mother-in-law's china, Rangil's "Normandie" pattern, as a place setting.

This is such pretty china ... the gold border around the circumference is a lovely embossed gold pattern.