I’ve made so many Christmas gifts in the past week that I can’t blog about because the recipient reads my blog. However, my very own sister doesn’t follow me because she “doesn’t quilt/sew”. So shhhhhh….. if you’re related to us. Here is what I just finished for her.
Donkey Table Runner
She owns a miniature donkey named Albert and when I saw this fabric by Laurie Wisbrun, I knew I had to make something for her with it.
Albert. Awww, so cute!
She asked me to make placemats but I just wasn’t happy with how my attempts at those looked.
Placemat attempt. (Part of this may be made into a hot pad.)
Pretty boring!
I finally decided that a table runner would be fun (and actually much less work) and I wouldn’t have to decide how many to make. So I started cutting strips and placing them on my design wall.
Strips on design wall
For some reason, despite how simple it is, I liked this much better. This became the final table runner. The middle strip has little dogs on it that look like my sister’s Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, George.
George
I did a little research on what size a table runner should be compared to the size the table is. The width should be about 1/3rd the width of the table. This makes sense to me because you want to have room for your place settings on each side. This table runner is about 17″ wide and on my table it is about right. Right before I put the binding on, I asked my sister to measure her table. I didn’t hear right back from her so I proceeded to finish the binding. As luck would have it, her table is much skinnier than mine – only 36 inches. Oh well! Maybe she can use it on her breakfast counter!
Back of table runner
If she get’s tired of the donkeys, she can turn it over and have this pretty print.
Merry Christmas, Sis!
Addendum: Here it is in her kitchen:
Christmas paperwhites, African violets and an amaryllis.
I Finally Have Time 
Love it! The rain boots in green and yellow…great use of the accent colors!
I really like the table runner. You were right the placemats were baad!
The donkeys in boots are adorable. She can also use it as a wall hangi
ng fisher wants.
Al
I hate this automatic correction thing. It’s not fisher wants it’s if she wants.
A.
Thanks for your comments Alice. Yes, auto correct definitely has it’s drawbacks – often very humorous!
Adorable – but with a few tweaks I do think your placements could be lovely also! Debbie
That was a very good post. I love the careful explanations of your inspirations and illustrations of the pets that helped you make such a thoughtful project for your sister. What a blessing to have such a thoughtful sister. The flip side is great!