Have I ever told you that I used to play the piano? 

As in 6 years of lessons and quite a few recitals when I was little girl? Yup, and I hated most of it!! 

Don’t get me wrong, I loved being able to play once I learned the song. But ALL that practicing was just the pits to me. My brothers would be off playing games or watching cartoons and all I wanted to do was join in the fun. Instead, I had to sit at the piano playing the same song over and over again until I got it. And don’t get me started on being the entertainment during the holidays for friends and family 😉 Ha! Good times!! 

*This post contains affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, if you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a commission. 

If only I had a better understanding and appreciation of what practice is and that through those practice sessions, I was honing a skill. I have way more patience now and have learned how to be disciplined, when needed, to get to an end goal. Much like quilting, it’s not really about the end result. I mean, it is! But, as I’ve delved further into quilting, I’ve really come to love the process of quilt making. There are so many lovely steps that I try and savour their beauty as I go through them. Even basting is growing on me 😉 

All that to say, while I highly disliked the practicing, my piano lessons gave me a love for music, particularly the classics like Mozart, Beethoven and Vivaldi. 

SONATA FABRIC COLLECTION

I probably never would have thought back on my piano days if it hadn’t been for playing with Sonata, Amy Sinibaldi’s  latest fabric collection for Art Gallery Fabrics. The entire collection is inspired by Amy’s love for Beethoven and symphonies and you can see that musical theme infused throughout this beautiful collection. 

There are two colourways you can choose from Ludwig and Beethoven. I was torn by which one to choose. They’re both gorgeous and offer lots of opportunity for play. In the end, I opted to combine some fabrics from both collections. I was drawn to those peachy/ light pinky tones paired with the deeper rich navy. 

MODERN AZTEC TABLE RUNNER

While the prints are very whimsical and soft, the table runner design is very geometric with bold sharp lines that form a chevron pattern that encourages the eye to move outwards. Much like a sound wave spreads out, so too does the Modern Aztec pattern. 

I also like the fact that the table runner doesn’t have an up or down – the design flows no matter what angle you’re viewing it from. 

Even the backing incorporates this musical theme. I just love the magenta print and wanted to really showcase the bold floral in all its glory. That was my starting point. I then played around with fabric pairings until I pulled out that background fabric. It was a trimmed piece that just looked so nice next to the magenta. I adore stripes, but these also made me think of piano keys, with the different colours representing different notes and keys. You probably don’t get that just from looking at it, but that’s exactly what I was thinking about while piecing this little quilt backing together. And all the while, I had totally planned on using some Essex linen for the backing. I thought the texture from the linen would be a good contrast to the light silky fabrics on the front. But, sometimes you just gotta go with what your instincts are calling for 😉 

In my books, a quilt project isn’t complete unless it’s been labeled (find tips on making your own here). So, naturally, I made one. But, I’m on the fence about stitching it on. I kinda like the idea of having a reversible quilted table runner and I feel like the label would detract when showing the back side. For the time being, I’m going to hold onto the label and can always attach it at a later date. 

While I was working on this project, I realized I could bring her up to the cottage with me while I was away for the holidays. Hand stitching is one of my fave things to do up there, so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to slow down and add more dimension and texture to the quilted table runner. 

Before heading off, I opted to first machine quilt using 40wt thread and then incorporated some big stitch hand quilted details while I was relaxing during the holidays. Narrowing down the thread colours was tough! There were lots of options I could have gone with, but chose to focus on only a few colours to keep everything cohesive. I love pearl cotton thread (here’s a list of places to find your own) for hand quilting, it just adds the perfect chunky little stitches that make my heart sing. 

So, it just seems like life has come full circle with getting to join two things I love – music and quilting. 

MATERIALS

In case you want to make your very own, here’s a list of materials I used to make this table runner: 

SONATA SHOWCASE

I’m beyond thrilled to be supporting Amy and her recent Sonata fabric launch. This collection is so pretty and versatile, which is shown off wonderfully by the other talented makers participating in the Sonata Showcase: 

• January 2, 2019 – Kneesocks and Goldilocks  – You have to go and check out the gorgeous matching mother / daughter dresses featuring Amy’s Pastoral print in Crescendo – swoon!
• January 3, 2019 – Faith Essenburg of SaranaEve  – Faith showed off the collection beautifully in her flying geese quilt. 
• January 4, 2019 – Fran Gulick of Cotton + Joy – made this stunning ninja star quilt! And her Majestic Stars quilt pattern is launching January 17, 2019.
• January 5, 2019 – Cristy Stuhldreher  of Love You Sew - Cristy has made the cutest bags.using her Abbey Convertible Backpack (pattern coming Spring 2019)
• January 6, 2019 – Brittany Lloyd of Lo & Behold Stitchery - quilted up this gorgeous Snow Cabin Quilt.
• January 7, 2019 – Shannon Fraser of Shannon Fraser Designs (Hi! That’s me 😉)
• January 8, 2019 – Rachel Thomeczek from Wren Collective - Rachel made a gorgeous triangle quilt that highlights the different shades in the collection beautifully!
• January 9, 2019 – Nicole Young from Lillyella Stitchery
• January 10, 2019 – Alexis Wright of My Sweet Sunshine
• January 11, 2019 – Elizabeth Chappell from Quilters Candy Box
• January 12, 2019 – Barbara Maj of Just Acorn
• January 13, 2019 – Victoria Smith of Gingerroot Bags

I hope you have the chance to pop over and see their beautiful makes. This is just one of the reasons I love participating in blog hops, I get to make something fun and pretty, I have the chance to support a quilty friend and I get to meet other amazing creatives and see how they interpret using Amy’s fabrics. It’s a win-win-win! I love those 😊 

I’m not sure what it is about Amy’s collections that always spark childhood memories in me (see my first experience working with Amy’s Playground collection), but I love how emotive her designs are. 

The Modern Aztec table runner pattern is now available!

Happy quilting!

xo

Shannon

PS – I’ll be knocking this one off my Q1 FAL 2019 list!

_________________________________________________________________________

Never miss a post - sign up for the weekly newsletter.

This post uses affiliate links. For more info, visit the FAQ page.