Category: Doug Leko

The brightly colored strips with loud prints paired with a black solid is not my usual color combination, but I picked out this Manchester Table Runner kit from Millie P’s Quilt Shop and really love how it turned out! Sometimes you need to try something completely different from your norm. This is the third of three Tabletastic! 2 table runners I made during the shop’s virtual retreat in June.

This runner was assembled in such an interesting way using many strip sets and attaching them in an alternating pattern. Since the fabric is definitely the main feature, I kept my quilting very simple and only stitched in the seam lines to accentuate the shapes of the triangles and strips. Any other detailed quilting would have surely gotten lost!

Although this is a smaller runner at only 12 inches wide, I found it fits perfectly on my china buffet in my dining room!

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Finished Size: 12" x 34"
Pattern: Manchester table runner from the Tabletastic! 2 book by Doug Leko/Antler Quilt Designs
Fabric: Kaffe Fassett Collective by Kaffe Fassett for Free Spirit Fabrics

The second table runner I completed from the virtual retreat I attended is Eden Park from Tabletastic! 2. I hadn’t made a design such as this before, so it was fun to try something new!

The thin strips called for in the pattern made this runner a little more difficult to make and keep things from going askew, but it was a good skill builder! I’ve learned that accuracy is so important with something like this.

Since the interesting shape these blocks create is the highlight of the runner, I kept the quilting very simple and did straight-line quilting around the shapes.

Finished Size: 18" x 45"
Pattern: Eden Park table runner from the Tabletastic! 2 book by Doug Leko/Antler Quilt Designs
Fabric: Notting Hill by Amy Smart for Riley Blake

Table runners are perhaps one of my favorite types of quilting projects to make. You get the experience of making the quilt blocks, but you don’t have to make too many of them. Plus, the time it takes to quilt and bind the finished product is so fast compared to a large quilt!

Earlier in June, I attended a weekend-long virtual quilt retreat run through Millie P’s Quilt Shop. The theme of the retreat was “Tabletastic 2” and we were to make three specific table runners from Doug Leko’s new Tabletastic! 2 book. This book is excellent, as is its predecessor, Tabletastic!, with high-quality step-by-step instructions for a variety of runners and table toppers. Through demos and instruction from the staff at Millie P’s all weekend, I was able to complete all three runners during the retreat. What a fun event! As a bonus, there was even a guest appearance by Doug on our Zoom call. It was so great to be able to meet him!

So far in my quilting journey, star blocks are my favorite. The unique interlocking stars in the Cotswolds runner really appealed to me and it was fun to make. As precise as I was trying to be, I still managed to lose a few star points… Not sure what went wrong there, but I think it happened while trimming my flying geese blocks. So, per recommendation of the Millie P’s staff, I have now purchased an Ultimate Flying Geese Ruler which I hope will help me next time!

For a smaller project like this I could have quilt it on my regular sewing machine, but I decided to throw all three runners on the longarm to get more practice. For the quilting on this one, I experimented a bit to try to emphasize the interlocked shape the stars create by making a design that flows from one star into the next. I also played around with the negative space around them.

Stay tuned for the other two runners coming soon! 🙂

Finished Size: 16" x 48"
Pattern: Cotswolds table runner from the Tabletastic! 2 book by Doug Leko/Antler Quilt Designs
Fabric: Sophie by Brenda Riddle for Moda