Irish Tea table runner

My lovely Irish friend, Maggie, helped me serve a wonderful meal after our son's wedding rehearsal last week.  Like most good friends, she would never accept payment for her invaluable help, but we quilters have our ways.   Over the weekend I sewed like crazy and put together a table runner as a 'Thank You' gift and brought it over to her last night when we arrived back in the city.

The Currier and Ives print of thatched roof houses in the countryside reminded me so much of Ireland that I had to use it as the focus fabric and backing.  So sweet!

The free pattern is Winter Palace Table Runner designed by Mary Lou Hallenbeck of H.D. Designs for Maywood Studio.  Love those free internet patterns!!!  I quilted triple-zig-zag lines in the print, followed the basket pattern  with my walking foot to highlight the squares in the tan fabric, free motion corner feathers and stippling around the teapot.  Hooped up the quilt into my embroidery machine for the teapot and light squares.  So, a little bit of everything!

I also machine embroidered the teapot on a flour sack dish towel, but forgot to take a photo of that.  oops!

As a side note:  We set the tables for the rehearsal dinner with china, glassware and silverware that were used for the first time at my parent's wedding breakfast exactly 60 years ago that week.  Long story how that reception hall closed and we ended up with some of the dishes, but what a wonderful and sentimental connection.