Embroidery Girl: Courthouse Step Runner

Sunday, April 2, 2023

Courthouse Step Runner

During one of our quilting group's meetings last year, we decided to take part in some of teacher Annie du Toit's classes to broaden our skills and to bring more variety to our group meetings. Luckily Annie was doing a class about an hour's drive from Bloemfontein and decided to sleep over and do the class in person rather than via the internet.

So, on the 2nd of March our group convened at Marietjie's house and started cutting and stitching. It was such a wonderful and instructive morning. When we left at midday, everybody had most of their blocks done and ready to stitch into a runner.

I added a fifth round of steps and a wider border as our tv cabinet is a bit wider.

As with the Strata Star table runner I stitched in February, I again used machine embroidery, the walking foot as well as free motion to do the quilting. I used four different designs in each of 4 of the blocks with all 4 designs in the center and 5th block giving a different look to every block.

On the border, I decided to stitch a free motion feather, the first time ever I tackled a feather. Since I started quilting in 2010, I so wanted to stitch feathers, but was totally intimidated and scared to even try. I stitched the stem with the walking foot and failed miserably on the first two attempts. Whilst drawing it out on a piece of paper to show my husband what I was trying to accomplish, I realized what I was doing wrong. On the third attempt I succeeded and stitched a feather all around the border.

Although I didn't stop far enough from the edge as to not catch the feather in the binding, I am extremely proud of myself that I have finally overcome my feathered fear.

The embroidery designs I used is this set from Embroidery Library. On the maroon I stitched with a matching variegated thread and on the cream with a mother of pearl metallic thread.