I had a lot of fun making this set of 4 placemats for friends last week. Now that they have received the placemats, I can tell you about them!
California Sunset Fade Placemats
My friends are amazing individuals, and a wonderful couple. She fell in love with flying on their first date and is a certified pilot now, too. They built a custom airplane together that he races at the Reno Air Races (Wasabi Air Racing). You know, pretty typical things to do in your spare time. 😉
Photo Credit: Pop Wed Co.
Recently, they traveled to Washington D.C. with their family and close friends and got married in the Library of Congress (*love*).
Photo Credit: Pop Wed Co.
I fell in love with the colors of their wedding and how well they coordinated with the impressive architecture of the building. I have also been itching to dig into my bundle of Denyse Schmidt solids that I split with Renee @Quilts of a Feather. With their wedding photography as an inspiration point, I pulled the yellows, oranges, and reds from the Denise Schmidt solids and found a very happy color fade.
Denise Schmidt Solids – Fabric Pull
Because the colors remind me so strongly of the golden sunsets we get here in California, I quickly named the grouping California Sunset Fade. To make the placemats, I simply cut 2.5-inch wide strips of each of the colors and chain sewed them together in color order. The grouping finished at 12.5-inches, and I trimmed down the width to 18.5-inches. Each strip left me with a bit of excess, which I trimmed into a 2.5-inch wide by 12.5-inch tall stripe. I used the stripes in the pieced backing for the placemats.
California Sunset Fade Placemats
When I placed the fabric order for the Cocoa Leaf Medallion quilt, I received a yard cut of Kona Dimensions in Buttercup instead of Kona Solid in Buttercup. The order was corrected, but I was left with a yard of this fun textured fabric. I used most of that yard for the rest of the pieced backing.
California Sunset Fade Placemats
I polled my Instagram followers to get some help on selecting the binding for the placemats. I had auditioned a red Alison Glass Mercury print and a black Carolyn Friedlander text print along with what you can see I used. I was struggling to decide when looking at the binding against the front, but with all the yellow on the backing, it became obvious to me that the yellow / orange blender would compliment both sides better than the other two options. The good news is that the binding I used was even the winner of the popular vote!
I quilted the placemats with my walking foot and simple straight line stitching. I color coordinated the thread, using 50wt Aurifil 2130 over the 3 yellow stripes, 50wt Mettler 594 over the 2 orange stripes, and 50wt Mettler 600 over the red stripe. I used 50wt Aurifil 2130 in the bobbin and I also used the 2130 to machine sew down the binding.
California Sunset Fade Placemats
It took me approximately 4 to 4.5 hours to make these placemats, and after quilting and squaring, they finished at 12-inches high by 18-inches wide (prior to first wash).
I hope my friends enjoy the placemats, and I hope the placemats remind them of their beautiful wedding.
Gorgeous! What a cheerful table they make! I’m sure you have delighted your friends! And the Library of Congress? Who knew you could get married there? Well, obviously I didn’t. That is so cool, like the ultimate in cool! I’m totally jealous 🙂
Very happy looking – great idea to pull colour inspiration from the wedding photos!
The placemats are beautiful and so are the wedding photos. Congratulations to the happy couple!
Very pretty and bright, thanks
I love the placemats. What a beautiful colour choice.
Wow…such a simple pattern but yet so striking. Awesome!
LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! Stunning colors together–the placemats are gorgeous.
Sometimes the simplest things are just the best. Beautiful bold colors. I’m sure they love the place mats. The Library of Congress for a wedding?? What a great idea!
Yvonne, they are just gorgeous!! I don’t know which side I like more! I might be tempted to place them so two show the ‘top’ and two show the ‘back’ 🙂 I am sure your friends are going to love them!!
Great work! I love the fade on the back, too!
Oh man what a lovely location for a wedding! The things I wish I could do over for our wedding are the number of people invited (primarily the people I hadn’t met before the wedding and all the ones I haven’t seen since), and the location (wish it had been prettier). It sounds like they had a small and beautiful wedding! Your placemats really compliment the wedding pictures, plus they are just bright and cheerful.
I love it! Great color choice, simple and classic design. I agree that the binding choice was perfect, pulling it all together. Thanks for sharing! (I’m feeling inspired to dig my fabrics out… 🙂 )
What a fun and amazing couple your friends are Yvonne. These placemats reflect that perfectly!
Beautiful! Gorgeous how the colors of the California sunset match so well the colors in the Library of Congress. (I used to spend a lot of time there when we lived in D.C., btw — an amazing place.)
These turned out gorgeous. I can’t imagine anyone not liking them.
These are lovely! I’m sure your friends will adore them. And thank you reminding me how long it’s been since I made placemats.
Nice placemats!
These are so pretty. Such a splash of happy brightness! The binding choice ended up perfect 🙂
I really enjoyed reading about the making of the placemats. They look so effective and I would love them for my table.
Very nice, I really like both the front and the back sides (and the fact that they are two-sided mats). The colors are excellent.
I have always loved the placemats you make, but I have to say that I think these are my very favorite. Don’t be surprised if I copy. But in a different color.
Way too nice to use . I love the way the colours blend and they tie in with their wedding photos which in turn tie in with congress . And making their own plane ! That’s a whole new turn in the Tom Waits song what’s he building in there . My neighbour used to hammer in his garage but he was making dolls house furniture !
These are really lovely! Beautiful combo, simple but stunning.
I liked the red binding and the orange. Now I see the back, I agree the orange was definitely the better choice.
You can get married in the library? I love that idea!
They’re beautiful and the binding you selected is perfect. I’m sure they’ll love them.
I really love these placements and the fade effects is really good! I struggle with that… ugh. I love that you ended up making them versatile for the different looks on either side.
Beautiful, especially with the story behind it. And I love the backs as much as the fronts I think.
I am so inspired by those placemats – what a great gift!! What batting did you use?