Fall Table Runner

I decided to try my hand at making a table runner. I am in a fall swap, so I wanted one for that, and I want one for my house. Since fall is at hand I choose fall colors (or so I thought). I have a bad habit of not wanting to spend the money on a pattern, so I just did something easy and this is what I came up with.

There are six fabrics on the runner---the browns.

And the oranges.

I pieced it on the back, so you could really use it with that side up too if you wanted to.

As it often happens, the more I sewed, the less I liked the fabric. It just wasn't "fall" enough. It seemed too bright, and I'm not sure it really goes together. But I told myself to finish it and then put it away and maybe I would like it better later.

Well, I also want to learn to do machine quilting (besides straight lines!) so I thought I would try it on this runner. First I watched a video on utube, then I practiced. OH MY!! It was waaay harder than it looked! My stitches were all sizes and I just couldn't keep any type of pattern going. So, that plan was shot. I just did some straight machine quilting. It does add a little dimension to it.

So, I took it to school to show my critics and I got a variety of responses--from some who really liked it (or so they said), to some who said it looked 70's, and some who said they couldn't see it in my house, but it would fit in others.

So, what to do with it? I can't give it as a gift when it isn't something I love. I do think I could put it on my bench in the foyer where it would just peek out from under the things on the bench. The girls will be here tonight, so I guess I'll see what they have to say.

What do you think?