Snowflake Swirl Placemats

Remember the Cloud 9 New Quilt Block Blog Hop? Ever since then I’ve had the idea of trying out some different colour combinations, especially after the many suggestions put forward in the comments. With the upcoming entertaining season almost upon us what could be more perfect than a couple of sets of placemats? Not much! So here they are first in the classic red and white scheme so perfect for Christmas.

I’ve gone all out for my photo styling this time, splurging on a few shiny baubles and raiding the garden for some sprigs of rosemary. If you can imagine Christmas carols playing in the background then the whole scene has been set.

I spiral quilted all of these as you can see. The trouble with echo quilting is any flat spots are repeated in every round, nonetheless it’s effective and to the untrained eye of your guests it should go unnoticed, especially once they’ve got a plate full of food in front of them and a glass of your special Christmas champagne cocktail in their hand.

And there’s a blue and teal version for any other time, styled with a bit of dessert (thanks, don’t mind if I do!).

It’s surprising how many mini meringues and blueberries you can fit into an antipasto dish. Just add a generous dollop of double cream - delicious!

Stats

Finished size is 14” x 18”.

You can find the block tutorial here

Baubles were just a few dollars from Kmart (Australia).

The idea of rosemary as a table ornamentation for Christmas came from many places on the internet when I was searching for styling ideas for holiday table settings. There are even tutorials for making simple mini rosemary wreaths (long supple sprig tied so it forms a circle) if you’ve got the time (one here).

Linking up with Lorna for Let’s Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts and Kelly for Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation