Placemat Swap Reveal

My partner received her placemats in the mail yesterday from Placemat Quilt Swap 6, so I can now share what I sent her.  She asked for something summery and said her absolute favorite color is red and her favorite fabric is gingham.  She has a 5-year old son who will be heading off to school in the fall, so I wanted the placemats to be a little bit fun.  So I started out with this pieced watermelon idea. I thought they might be fun for picnics or pretend picnics maybe.

For the other side, I chose these bright yellow dragonflies.  I think it might have been OK to stop there, but while we were teasing each other, my partner mentioned that she liked these placemats that I did awhile back, so I thought, "why not?"  I saw a pattern somewhere for a placemat with a pocket (although I think that one rolled up to take along on picnics), so I decided to applique the fruit motifs onto a pocket for napkins or flatware.

I wanted to include a cloth napkin, but I could only find white, and that just wasn't what I was going for.  That and the time constraints, and - no.  Anyway,  each of the pockets is different.  I toyed with making the pear red, but I just couldn't.

So, an appliqued kitchen towel, one of my famous hexi needlebooks, and the package was complete.  I got the nicest thank you email yesterday from my partner, meanfish2.  It really made my day.

That is until I realized that my own placemats had arrived in the mail too. Perfect timing for  a non-secret swap, huh?

Aren't they gorgeous?  And fun!  I'm having a blast examining all the different fabrics she used.  LOVE the strawberries.  And apparently she stalked me well enough to know that I love anything paisley. 

And wouldn't it be fun to use them in pairs as a table runner?

Oh, I am so excited.  These are great!  Meanfish2, you're the bomb! Thanks so much