October 19, 2026
In November I am taking a course on how to make a table runner similar to the Spicy Spiral Table Runner. You can find pictures of it on the internet. The one we are making is from a free pattern or video or ?? so I will be able to write about it here later on.
The spiral table runner we are making is smaller than the one which has a pattern for it. What I like about it is that you don't have to match seams as each wedge is shorter than the previous one. The finished one that was shown was so nice that 20 of us signed up for the course. With that in mind, I knew I needed to do my homework and be prepared for the class.
My research started off with this video. I am thinking this is the table runner we will be making as we will be given a ruler to use. With that in mind, I bought my fabrics.
With this video under my belt, I got carried away looking at other videos about bargello and I will make one later on. It is a challenge for another month. So I climbed out of that rabbit hole and focused on the project I am going to work on.
I went back to the videos that had come up on this topic and found this video. What drew me to it was that every third wedge is a solid colour. This pattern has line up the seams which makes it a bit more challenging. But I loved the idea of a strong contrast fabric in the middle and a wedge to make it look like the fabrics were being woven. It does spiral but not like the pattern we are going to make.
Then I moved on to looking for more ideas. A google search for the template landed me to a website I have read several years ago; e-sheep designs. She has amazing ideas and explains things extremely well.
I did look briefly at the first two parts of her Math In Sewing Series and when I got to part 3 I struck gold with her. She was making the table runner for the last video I mentioned. I read this blog post carefully and learned a lot from it. She shows how to make the ruler in part 4. I did read it but I have a 10 degree ruler I bought over 10 years ago and it is still in its wrapper. Part 5 is her gift to us. She shows us how to make the strips plus gives ideas for variations.
This table runner is fun and I just might make it before the class so I have an idea of how long it will take to make the table runner. I do need a piece of fabric for the stripe as I will be doing it.
I will add on what I learned, how I did it, and what frustrated me. I will start with the stripe one as I have enough information on how to do it. I will do the one for the class afterwards giving you all the information you need to make one yourself.
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October 23, 2026
I decided to play with the 10 degree wedge ruler before the class I am taking. It fits in perfectly with the Christmas stocking contest I wasn't going to take part in. Of course I am crazy but I do have one thing on my side -- time.
I bought the ruler in 2011 as I was going to make a tree skirt for our lovely Christmas tree. It never happened as I was too busy making rodeo queen clothes and helping with renovating our house. We sold the house, gave away the tree, and I kept the ruler for some unknown reason.
At this time my goal is to learn how to use the ruler making simple to more complicated items. The first project is to make a stocking where I cut out the wedges from a full piece of fabric. There is no piecing done what so ever. I used two pieces of fabric (found more fabric from the bundle after I was done sewing for the day). I cut the wedges and sewed them so I made a flat piece of fabric. It isn't square but it does the job.
One thing I learned is that if you use 3 fabrics it takes 6 wedges to complete a pattern. You will get a different look.
I folded the fabric in half to see I had enough to make a dog's stocking. I did.
Next I fused fleece onto the back so I could cut out the front and back and fleece together. I printed out the pattern twice more so I could tape the two pieces together to get a flat pattern. The third one will have the grey pieces cut out so I can position those pieces on the fabric properly. I cut out the stocking and quilted it.
I am now ready to do the paw's pads and have done one using machine appliqué. The next one will be hand appliqué which I do like to do. We wait and see which one wins.
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