Thursday, August 14, 2014

Arles placemats


My second commission (!) was for eight placemats in Provençal colors. I had all the fabrics on-hand from other projects, but I needed to purchase more turquoise and white dots for the binding.

Improvising the design for each mat is a heavenly task. I get into Zen mode and let the fabrics tell their story.

The tangerine linen comes off brighter in photos than it truly is.

The story on the backs is simpler.

mat backs

With fabrics as fun as this linen toile, stories are easy to imagine. It doesn't hurt that I lived in Istanbul. My sister Nancy gave me the linen toile with sultans and also the red toile with French scenes.


mat backs
Do you recognize the tangerine linen from Inge's dress? If so, thank you for paying attention. :)

Even the red and white dots were in Inge's dress, in the Hong Kong seams.


I machine quilted every 5/8".


See the little peek of plaid from Bootsie & Astrid's placemat backs?

The person who ordered these placemats did not want napkins. If you were to order napkins for this set, what fabric would you choose?

Etsy listing here.




5 comments:

  1. Gorgeous, Ruth! They seem to have a similar flair to my mug mat! If I were choosing napkins to go with these, I'd probably pick the turquoise or green solid (so I could use them in lots of ways!) -- but those are also my fave colors so that's probably not the best reason! Except for me!

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    1. Thanks, Jeanie! And yes, all the fabrics in your mug mat are in these placemats somewhere, except for the binding. :)

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  2. Aren't you just Ms. Creative, Ruthie! I am loving this outlet for you and can just imagine the zone you go into as you are working. YAAAAAAAAY. And btw, we are enjoying our own mats and napkins every single day! Lucky us.

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    1. Boots, I just love picturing you using your mats and napkins every single day. So so happy. <3

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  3. The colors are reminiscent of the sun in Provence. I can visualize eating a tasty ratatouille on them. Your sewing is so regular! When I use my sewing machine mine are often in zig-zags.

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