Watermelon Placemats

Well, I am totally off task right now. I really should be cleaning the house, or starting dinner, or even working on one of the many projects that are stacking up, but after a photo shoot with these placemats, I absolutely cannot wait another moment to tell you about them.

I am so in love with these fabrics! They are actually leftover Swanky by Chez Moi from my Goody Gumdrops Quilt.  I was playing around with them and thought they looked a lot like watermelon slices, so I found a nice striped fabric to make the 'rind' of the watermelon. Perfect!

This summer, while on my annual trip to Rosie's in San Diego, I found the beige fabric called Linen from Robert Kaufman. My first thought was boring, but it will work.  I couldn't find any yellows I liked or super-pale pinks that would work, so beige it is. But...when I got home and started assembling the placemats, I couldn't believe how amazing they looked!

Seriously, I'm ready to order a whole bolt of this fabric. It such a wonderful alternative to white while still being light enough to allow the other colors to pop.  The texture of the print on the fabric gives it dimension and movement.  It goes with all sorts of things! I am so excited to use it again.

For the quilting, I was trying to do a more modern pattern that would be quick and relatively easy.  I also felt like the beige was almost the color of a wooden picnic bench, so the elongated stitches made it look like wood grain to me.

Finally, I completed the project with binding in more beige to create a simple frame that allowed the watermelon pieces to be the pop-out stars! SO MUCH FUN!

I love this so much I think I want to make a quilt with it. I also wanted to make a matching table runner, so maybe I'll go with that. I am going to post these on my Etsy Store so they can grace someone's beautiful table.

I'm linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finished Friday. I am super excited to share this finish! Can't wait to see what everyone else is finishing up.