more improv piecing

You know how I was planning on making some place mats, right? Well, it seems I really, really wanted to make them because that's what I did right after I finished writing up my post. And then I got some very nasty cold + flu that kept me in bed, and not sewing at all, for 2 days straight. Totally going crazy here!

So, I thought I'd just show you the two place mats I managed to finish. Hopefully more of them will be coming soon.

 This place mat was 100% inspired by the ones Chase made a while ago. I really loved all that improv patchwork combined with the white solid fabric she used, but I was being realistic here and decided to use darker fabric that will definitely be able to hide some stains.

I first quilted the patchwork part - almost in the qayg style since I attached it to the batting and quilted.

 I then added the backing and the two dark strips around the patchwork and quilted those using straight lines. I really love how the quilting looks on the back, too.

I decided to back it using my new favorite fabric I found at Joann - a very soft, inky colored jeans fabric. I found it in the pants section but it's so much softer and drapier than any other jeans fabric I came across before. (I'm thinking it would make a very practical and stylish backing for a picnic quilt.)

I then trimmed the place mat to 13" x 18" and bound it as I would a quilt, cutting my binding fabric to be 2" wide, instead of my usual 2.5" I use for quilts.

I followed the same process for making the second place mat, too.

 Here it is, very similar, yet not the same as the first one. That's what I like about them.

Wishing you all a wonderfully creative day. And to all my US friends, Happy Thanksgiving!!!