From Wall Art to … Table Runner?

 A couple of years ago, after completing my experimental seaweed art series, I decided to continue playing with pictures of my late father’s first algae collection. I enjoyed the delicacy of the dried seaweeds in my dad’s collection, and felt comforted by incorporating something he cared about into my own art. After digitally manipulating images, I sent a few digital collages over to a commercial printer to print on yard-long pieces. I wanted to test several kinds of fabric, to see what it feels like working with them. When I finally received the prints, it turned out that one of the fabrics was quite slippery. It was so thin, in fact, that I could almost see through it. I wasn’t sure whether I’d be able to quilt it on my sewing machine without ending up with a big mess.

An Unusual Wall Quilt

I left the prints untouched for many months. Then, one day, I decided to experiment. Luckily, there was more than I needed of the too-thin print. I was able to cut a few small pieces out of it to test. At first, I just planned to sandwich these pieces and try to free-motion stitch over them. When I put all of them together, however, I immediately thought of pieces in my scrap pile that would be a perfect match. Before I knew it, the scraps were out, too, and I was playing… I ended up piecing together strips of the printed fabric mixed with different upholstery-scrap solids. Eventually, this resulted in a long and narrow strip, which I sandwiched quilt-like.

At first, I free-motion stitched around the images of the algae. I liked how the stitch added definition to the image. I also loved the texture it created on the surface of the fabric.

Then, I started playing with different stitches on the solid-colored fabric as well. I don’t have a lot of experience free motion quilting, and I saw this as a good opportunity to practice. I created a stitch sample of a sort. Having no specific end result in mind, I just went along. I enjoyed the process, the colors, and the textures that emerged.

I kept changing thread, to see how different colors looked on different backgrounds, and how different thread weights influenced the result.

At the very end, I filled the entire background with stitch. Finally, I bound the quilted strip and finished it.

The quilt which resulted was long and narrow, a bit unusual in shape. I liked it more than I expected, though, and it also happened to match perfectly with the décor in my house (in other words, it matched the sofa!). In order to photograph it, I temporarily hung it in our family room, but couldn’t leave it there as that space was already accounted for.

I asked my daughter if she wanted to hang the quilt in her room, but she chose to hang posters instead. Onto my quilt pile this quilt went, where it was basically forgotten for many months.

An Unintended Table Runner

A few months ago I got fed up with the placemats we’ve been putting in the middle of our dining room table, the ones that go under trivets to keep heat from damaging the table. I went online to look for a table runner that might replace them. I sort of knew what I wanted, but couldn’t find anything like it anywhere. For weeks I combed through home décor websites, but found nothing. Then, one day, I suddenly realized that the image of the table runner I had in mind looked a lot like … the quilt I made a while back.

At first, I wasn’t sure about this. When I made it, I thought of this quilt as wall art. Turning it into a table runner felt like a degradation of sorts. Eventually, hesitantly, I went to retrieve it. I couldn’t remember what it looked like exactly, or its actual size. I certainly didn’t think it would fit the table. When I found it, it was prettier than I remembered. I still really liked it as wall art. I put it on the dining room table anyway, just to see what it looked like, and … it fit five diners perfectly! It also went really well with the colors in our dining room. Reluctantly, I decided it was better to use it as a table runner than to leave it in the quilt pile for many more years.

We’ve been using it ever since. I enjoy looking at it every time I sit down to eat. The little stitch-sampler quilt is full of “mistakes.” Now that I see it up close every day, I notice those “mistakes” more, but I also find them charming. It was handmade, after all, and handmade isn’t perfect. I also notice the contrasts in color, and the way that different thread colors look on different backgrounds. I enjoy the various textures, those that are an integral part of the fabrics, and those created by the stitch. And I very much enjoy the play of light and shadow created by those textures, which change throughout the day with the variations of natural light that come through the window.

I no longer see the change of purpose of this piece as a degradation. As a functional artwork, this piece brings me more joy than many other art quilts I’ve made, the ones meant for a wall. It certainly elevates my dining experience three times a day (or more!), seven days a week.

I know there are risks involved. Every now and then crumbs fall, or food smears. So far, I’ve managed to vacuum the crumbs and spot-clean the drops. I know that one day someone will spill gravy, knock over wine, or drop an oily chunk right onto my quilt. I also know this will upset me. Still, I try to brace myself for that day, and hope that when it comes I will be able to take it in stride, and remember all the joy it brought until then.