Sun Kissed Carrots
Happy Thursday!
Tomorrow is my day for “sew and tell” with my sewing group. Our local senior center offers a large room with tables, folding chairs, power strips and ironing boards twice a week for quilters that are snowbirds a place to sew for a very low fee. I live here now but I still use the room to fellowship and baste quilts !
During “sew and tell” an item the assigned maker has made is displayed while she talks about her process, things learned, as well as mistakes made. I love learning new techniques from others!
In February we were shown how to create a double friendship star block with a square in square center block easily using two Creative Grids rulers – flying geese ruler and square on square trim tool. I thought it was brilliant and had to go home and try it immediately ♥♥ It really was an efficient way to make the block come together easily without waste. I made a Christmas table runner – using batiks I had in my stash. I’m super happy with the results.

I love raw edge applique and keeping with the Spring/Easter theme I designed a carrot table runner for my sew and tell project . I have a bundle of hand dyed batiks in bright colors and used the orange ones to create the triangle shaped carrots. I used one of the green fat quarters to make orange peel shapes for the leaves. Both (carrot and leaves) were appliqued to a background fabric alternating the carrots leaving approximately a half inch between the carrots to give the illusion of sashing. The carrots on the end were cut in half. The runner measures 16 x 36 inches.
I’m hoping the ladies will find this a fast and fun project as much as I did.

Happy Quilting!
I always love your seasonal designs. They must make for some beautiful displays in your home.
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My grandmother and aunts were home economics teachers and were constantly making something for the house. They taught me to sew at age 8 and I’m constantly making something for our home – drives my hubby crazy!
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What a cute runner! I have the square in a square trim tool but haven’t used it yet.
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It’s a great ruler – my first attempt was a disaster but watched a you tube video from Erica’s Sewing Center and learned how to use the ruler properly.
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Both runners are great! For the Christmas runner, were the rulers from Creative Grids? At my local quilt shop I’ve seen a Square in a Square trim up ruler from Creative Grids and wondered if it was accurate and easy to use.
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Hi Aby, yes I did use the Creative Grids trim up tool for the center block of the Christmas runner. My first attempt using the tool was horrible. I had trouble with the written instructions. Once I watched a You Tube video the light-bulb finally came on in my head. I’m currently using it for a snail trail baby quilt!
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Thanks for the hint on using the ruler! A picture is worth a thousand words!
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Love your table runner!!! And your carrots are too cute!!! I’m sure your ladies will love it! Right in time for Easter!
Happy Quilting! 🙂
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Thanks Gail!
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Hi Karla! Both runners are fabulous, but now I want to know about how to make that center block easily. I can see that there are two flying geese blocks sewn together, it looks like. Anyhoo – your carrot runner looks so fun, festive and easy. I’m sure everyone will love it. I really enjoy raw edge appliqué myself. The carrots stand out so nicely on that really white background! Have fun at the show and tell. ~smile~ Roseanne
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The flying geese are the really cool thing about this block! The block itself is a simple sawtooth star! Each set of flying geese (star points) is made with two colors (red & green). The inside block (center square of a sawtooth star) is a square in a square (economy block). Using one of the two colors from the flying geese ( I chose green) as the outside round of the economy block created the second friendship star.
Although I used the Creative Grids rulers for both the flying geese and the economy block…they aren’t necessary. The good thing about the rulers was no waste and required less fabric. My blocks in the runner are a whopping 16 inches and I truly used scraps of blenders I had on hand.
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Those carrots are adorable Karla! You will be the hit of the sew and tell😊❤️❤️
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Thanks Tracy…the ladies did love the carrots!
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Both of these projects are wonderful. Love the idea of the raw edge appliqué. Sewing with friends is such a treat. I rarely get to do this but it is always fun. Next week I am taking a class which I haven’t done in a long while and I look forward to it – both to learn a new technique and also to sew with a group of like minded women. Have a great weekend Karla.
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Thank you! Sew and tell went great this morning I made copies of the templates in case any one asked…glad I did! Good luck with your class next week and have fun sewing with others ♥♥
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