I didn't want to do anything too crazy, and I can sometimes tend to get a little weird when given complete freedom. When the friend mentioned that's she's not only a turquoise lover, but adores it combined with red? Well holy crap, it gave me an idea.
I cut out a bunch of starfish. I just wasn't sure if I could figure out how to affix them to the table runner. I am not proficient with applique. But after causing a flaw on the quilt (accidentally sliced one of the blocks with my rotary cutter after it was pieced), I had no choice. I tried to fix the slice with an invisible stitch, and it was NOT invisible. So now one of the starfish is covering that up. And I'm not sure I'd have had the courage to attempt it without being forced to desperately save the table runner top.
The applique adventure came after I had finished quilting it, and I'm glad of that. It filled in the spaces around my design well.
It's a stencil I've had for more than a year, but never had a great place to use it until now. Turns out the design is MUCH more amazing on the quilt than in theory! So I was absurdly excited about that.
Here's the completed table runner on an actual table.
I would not be offended if you ignored my attempts to stage the perfect picture. Some day I'll take a photography class. But in the mean time, this runner is now enjoying the luxurious life with a new, loving owner.
