Triple Express Runner

I always wanted to make a table runner, but I have a round table. Not quite a good match for those rectangle ones.... I finally had the opportunity when I found out our Neighbor loves table runners. =) I showed her some options and she chose the "Triple Express Runner" from the quilt book Happy Hour by Atkinson Designs. She purchased the fabrics in a home dec weight which made for a sturdy runner.

I thought it was a pretty easy runner. The assembly of the top was really simple the way she designed it-- cutting down one big pieced section into the necessary smaller ones. I've never quilted anything beyond a pot holder so it was my first experience with that. I taped down the backing, put down the batting, then the top and safety pin basted it. I think I could have made the top a little more taught during basting. But it wasn't as hard as I thought. The only part that tripped me up was the binding. I didn't know how to bind corners at that angle. Since they weren't right angles I couldn't do the nice mitered ones. I just went around them without doing anything (treating them like a curve). This worked pretty well until you sew down the binding on the back and end up with some pleates and other unfavorables. It might not be such an issue if you hand sew down the binding in the back, but I did it by machine. I stitched in the ditch on the front and made sure the binding on the bottom would get sewn through.  I did look in the multiple books and online trying to find out how to bind those corners nicely but I couldn't find what I needed. I redid a few of the curves a few times until they looked a little better. The best part about table runners is no one looks at the back....usually. =O