Whew! I made this a year ago. I took a class for it.

But it was a pain in the duff! It's woven strips of fabric with serged edges. I used three (3) spools of serger thread. I don't know how to spell serge. Surge?

I will say the effect is beautiful under candle light and twinkling Christmas lights, but not an item I can sell at a craft fair.

It's tacky to talk about money, but honey, it was $40 for the class, 3 half yards for the woven strips, 2.5 yards for the border and backing and $12.99 per spool of serger thread. The backing is the same border fabric.

Do the math!

The official $140 table runner.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

I have to laugh because that's INSANE. What was I thinking? I can see me now at some craft fair and having some one wanting to buy it for, oh, $25! Yeah, that's what they like to pay.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Does anybody else have "money pit" projects?

Here it is anyway.

At least it's beautiful :D

Cordelia, I don't have any money pit projects, but that is beautiful.

Thank you. The killer on it really was the cost of the class and the serger thread.

There's no way around it, both edges of the strips are serged (and that was really, really fun too) and used up a lot of fancy metalic serger thread.

I don't even have a serger machine. The quilt shop let me use one of theirs. I don't even know what they are. My mom has one. It sits up in her room with these like four huge spools of thread on it.

I'm like, what's that? My serger machine. What's it do? Serges.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

NIce runner though - better keep it for yourself!!!

And that is some of my Tom Cruise MI-1 arial photography too. :)

LOL! You are so funny Cordelia! You gotta admit though, that is one pretty table runner! Don't you dare put candles on it. Wax drips would not be funny! LOL! I think I might frame it! You have to make more to offset the "cost!" Gorgeous!

But wow is it gorgeous!!!

THANK YOU for your post. I've had a very sad night and I'm in the perfect mood to have something make me laugh... and this was it!!! Now I'm crying again but this time it's much more fun. :lol: :lol: :lol:

You are a riot. :lol: :lol: :lol:

I would put it behind glass and frame it :D It really is a true beauty :D

It's pretty, but like you said...expensive!
I don't have the luxury to be able to take classes, but if I did, I'd make dang sure about the price of the fabric. Not saying you didn't, don't get me wrong.
You know....I have $25 and it will look REALLY pretty on my table at Christmas! lol

Karla, I'm sorry you had a sad night.
Hope things look up for you.
Hugs to you girl!

That is absolutely stunning.
Yes I know what you mean about the money though we are such fanatics about quilting and sometimes there are people out there just waiting to line their pockets.
That Serge machine, think we call it an overlocker, by the sounds of the 4 spools on top....would that make sense??? It overlocks the material and cuts at the same time. :?:

Cordelia - Can you please explain to me exactly what a serger machine does, I thought it was like an overlocker????? But I can't figure out how you would use it in the middle of a project??????????????? Think I am having a very senior moment...... :? :roll:

Well at least you have a pattern and a little more knowledge, it is beautiful :D

:lol: You're too funny Cordelia. I love a good laugh to start my day and this was it!!

Well, I think it looks like a million bucks!! That is soooo festive and you can tell it's well-made. But you're right...not many are willing to pay what something is worth.

I'd be proud to have that on my table at Christmas. :)

Why, Cordeila, it sounds like you've been to a class at my local Viking dealer! (Those get expensive too - a $15 class my patootie!!) I have a money pit too; the $15 class in how to do the Quiltsmart Lone Star has turned into a $250 in kit and material quilt top, so I definitely sympathize with you there.

Thanks for the laugh this morning :) I'd put it on my table and dare anyone to have food or drink anywhere near it :lol:

It sure is beautiful. Good work.

Kyia

Cordeila it is beautiful!! And, you are not the only one who has money pits.
I am currently working on one and ready to pull my hair out :x

Thanks, all. I am laughing about how expensive it was to make and how utterly useless it really is because there's no way on God's green earth food or drink, or candle, will be within three feet of it.

Izzy, my mom calls it a serger. Those woven strips of fabric, I stitched them on the serger machine and it put those gold metalic thread bindings, I guess you could call it. You know, like fine holiday fabric ribbon has? And I always wondered why they're so costly too! Now I know, it's that sparkly metallic edge on it.

Those are two inch strips all the edges are overlocked, I guess is another name for it.

I put a big image there, you can see really close up.

I LOVE it!

Now I understand, the centre is made from woven fabrics which you have stitched all the edges with beautiful gold threads, it was hard to tell from the photo. :D

Did you say you have posted a close up = we can't see it :cry:

You have to download it to see it. You can see the edges better that way.

I had to use Wonder Under on the fabric, then serge it, then weaving the strips and pressing them down.

The result is very nice, but it was really a pain in the back end.

Here's a picture of the instructor's version, and they make nice Christmas stockings too.

Wow, I see the class was only $30. That makes it the $130 table runner.

:lol:

This was back in 11/06 I made this thing.

Cordelia, its gorgeous, have not see anything like it. Guard it with your life :mrgreen:

At one time or another we all have had a money pit project! I recall a project my husband and I started, made some cedar boxes, filled them with dirt and planted some strawberry plants. Our yield of strawberries that year, well, I figure it cost us about $137.00/pound for those few strawberries!!! The plants didn't last and we aborted our strawberry growing venture!:roll:

M

Serging those strips that way with the sparkly metallic serger thread actually turned those strips into ribbon.

I used to buy holiday ribbon and wind them around foam wreaths and make fine holiday wreaths. I liked to make them as gifts, but the ribbon cost so much money.

I had a particular ribbon that I loved. It seemed like it was made out of velveteen (spell?) and had serged gold metalic thread edges just like I did with my strips.

It was a red/green/gold diamond pattern. I'll have to snap a picture of that. All you do is buy it, wrap it around the wreath, pin it down and attach those glittery Christmas foliage thingys you buy in the craft stores and you have a real top class wreath.

I'll get pic of it and post it. I've never been able to find that beautiful ribbon again, but I wondered if I could make it myself now ...

I would be afraid to add up what I have spent on some of my projects. I think the ones that cost me the most are 'I can make that!'. The material, the material to fix what I cut wrong, the batting, the thread, the thread because I keep running out, the gas to buy the equipment. The needles because I keep breaking them, The book because I finally admit I need some help. The phone calls to my sister because she can quilt and tell me what I did wrong, the extra electricity because I am only going to sew a little bit more. The seam ripper because my dog chewed up the one I was using and left in one of the rooms I moved to, so I could rip out more stitching. The kleenex because I cried when I found out I put a whole row on backwards. Just a few of my hidden quilting costs.

I don't think I have ever seen one any pretter than that. It is fantastic.What do you mean by woven strips?

That is the funniest thing I've ever heard. I needed a good laugh. Then you got me thinking about some of the classes I couldn't live without and how much they ended up costing. I guess we are all a little crazy!

It is beautiful!

Beautiful table runner.

I inherited a serger from my aunt. Unfortunately, I can't figure out how to thread the stupid thing. Everything was serged (is that a word?) in white thread that was already on there. Then the unthinkable happened. Two of the needles broke and I had to rethread two of the needles. It hasn't worked right since :cry:

Haha! I couldn't thread the thing either. The instructor had to thread it for me. When I went to sign up for the class, they said, remember, bring your serger.

I'm like, huh?

Oh, you can use one of ours.

Okay. Thanks.

I get there and the instructor threads it and shows me what to do. When I ran out, she threaded it and I went on.

The one my mom has hardley gets used. What do you have that thing for? Oh, I use it. I've never seen her use it, but she says she does.

HI, I did one of those table runners with about the same cost as yours. What ever was I thinking?? lOL never again. Also I had a serger once, thought I needed it, wrong, I sold it. If you make clothes it would be nice to have but since I don't do that anymore I really never used it.
Quilting is my addiction and I am sticking to it. NO more woven tablerunners. Marge

I think your tablerunner is gorgeous and when you consider that it could grace your table every Christmas season for your lifetime and that of your heirs because it would become an heirloom, the cost per year then becomes a bit more reasonable.

We've all had "money pit" projects at one time or another...one of mine was a quilt "quillow" that I made for a grand to use on the school cheerleading bus trips......school colors, school mascot appliqued on it, spent $85 having it quilted, all my time and cost of materials and it went to ONE GAME. Got "forgotten" on the bleacher and was never seen again! Even with the quilt label, our grands name, the school colors and mascot you'd a thought whoever found it COULD have done the right thing and somehow gotten the quilt back to the owner but it didn't happen.

The BIGGEST and most expensive money pit I ever had was a "fixer upper" house I bought back in the 70's! Now that was a MAJOR money pit!

Well, Cordelia, I for one think the "expensive" runner is beautiful.

It's probably a good thing that we don't add up what projects cost (I don't anyway). Just imagine what we "have" in our stashes. LOL

It is beautiful. Sorry it cost so much.

I know what you mean about people wanting to pay less than it is worth. I made a lap quilt for the church bazaar in 2007. It was worth about $300.00 between the materials, and my time. I put a price of $90.00 on it and it did not sell. The ladies marked it down to $65.00 and it still did not sell.

It is a beautiful table runner. Is there any way to make something similar with woven strips, but without the fancy edging? It wouldn't glitter like that one! :?
I don't even want to think about my money pits! :?

Very pretty table runner even if it was so spendy!

It is really beautiful. Wow what a price tag though.