Table Runner Accomplished!

Among my list of autumn-to-do's was to make this table runner, which I got inspired to do last weekend, jumping the gun a bit on the season. Though as I was making it, it occurred to me that the colors are a bit more summery, with that buttery yellow and those blossoms, so I may need to make a more autumney one yet.

Now I could tell you a long boring story as I am wont to do, about how I fell in love with the sparrow fabric when I first saw it, but was in the midst of my Buy Nothing Year, and then decided to get some to make living room curtains last year, but by then it had been discontinued, and all I could get my hands on was a single fat quarter the complimentary "rose" design (as it turned out, the decorator weight and width that I ended up using was a much better choice for curtains), then last Thanksgiving while visiting friends, I found a bolt of the sparrows in a tiny little gift shop that just happened to sell a few fabrics and bought a single, precious yard, to hang onto until the right project came along, and then, by chance discovered the tangerine wood grain at a huge discount store that is about 15,000 square feet of garbage and 500 square feet of really great fabric at super cheap prices, and then the idea and design for the runner just came together and clicked, and how the vase my mom sent for my birthday (it arrived the exact day after I brought home flowers from the farmer's market and thought, "I need an in-between-sized vase" and pictured in my mind the very one you see here) matches exactly.

But I won't...instead I'll just ask, how much do you love those colors? They make me happy just looking at them. On third thought, perhaps this should be a winter table runner, to offer color and cheer during those dark months.

I do admit to taking it off the table when we sat down for dinner after taking this picture, 'cause I didn't want it to get all messy, but since then I have left it on the table and it's gotten its share of milk splatters and sprinklings from the flowers and pepper shaker...it will fare worse over time, no doubt. We have all really yucky plastic place mats that do it no justice at all...I am contemplating the trip to Marden's to buy up the last of the orange wood grain and make a dozen or so (hmm...but then we'll need complimentary napkins!)