What are the colors of August? It is the only month that doesn’t really have an identity, aside from being hot, or having the dog days to endure. There are no holidays in August, nothing to take inspiration from like Mardi Gras, Christmas, or Halloween. So, when Bernie at Needle and Foot asked me to do a Blogger Bundle of fabrics for August, I began to think about that month. It is a bit of a stepchild isn’t it? It is the last of summer, the flowers are fading, before fall arrives with its cooler temps and colorful leaves. For some it is back to school, but for those with no kids in school, or who aren’t teachers, that doesn’t apply. So, what does August have to offer? Well, for us, August is the beginning of the harvest. Red and gold apples are starting to ripen on trees still full of green leaves. Golden sunflowers ripen their seeds on tall green stalks. Orange and gold show in the ripening peaches. Hay fields of golden grain bend softly in the mountain breeze. Corn is at the farmer’s market in abundance. Fat heirloom tomatoes are baked into pies and layered thick on sandwiches. Summer sun still shines.
Can’t you just see the harvest in these prints? Yet, with a vibrancy of green life that says it is still summer. Here are links to the individual prints –
Flecks Auburn from Indie Folk by Pat Bravo
Vine Braid from Bountiful by Sharon Holland
Perennial Optimism from Bountiful by Sharon Holland
ColorWeave in Green by PB Textiles
Aged Allure Raw by Pat Bravo
Dots in Orange from Windham Fabric, Paint the Town
I thought they would be wonderful in a set of placemats for an August Tablescape. So, I sewed up a design, and will share it with you today.
Begin by cutting strips from these four fabrics. The strips are 2-inches wide (not 2-1/2) and I cut eight from fat quarters to make four placemats. You’ll need five strips from the WOF of the 1/2-yard fabrics to make six placemats.
Sew the strips in two sets of eight in the exact same order. Press the seams in the same direction.
Cross cut into 2-inch strip sets.
Sew sets of two strips, with one turned around 180-degrees, and press. Do half of the strip sets with the gold in the upper left, and the other half with the green in the upper left. You’ll need 1 set of each arrangement for each placemat.
I pin all the sets I’ll need for chain piecing.
Just keep sewing, with just a small space between to cut apart.
Cut the floral center section 6-1/2-inches x 12-1/2-inches. The print is directional, so you’ll need to decide how you want the final placemat to look and cut them all the same way. (This is why you need an extra FQ of the focal print.) Sew the strip sets to the floral center with the gold upper left on top, and the green upper left on the bottom. This creates some movement in the design.
Cut the side pieces 3-1/2-inches x 12-1/2-inches. Add the golden side pieces to each side.
Quilt as desired and bind as usual. I had enough of each fat quarter left to do the binding for the four placemats with one in each color. Next time, I’ll show how I quilted them. And yes, I’ll be doing a tablescape too! Read on for a special deal on these wonderful fabrics!!
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These fabrics are available in fat quarter bundles or 1/2-yard bundles, both on sale at Needle and Foot, August 15 – 19 for 20% off. (We are not affiliates, just friends!) You can get four placemats from a fat quarter bundle with an additional fat quarter of the floral print as it is a directional print. You can either piece the last gold sidebar, or get an additional fat quarter of it. To make 6 placemats, you’ll need the 1/2-yard bundle, and have the added bonus of enough fabric to back your placemats in the same fabrics. You’ll have enough for binding with either grouping.
I have been given the opportunity for you to win a Fat Quarter Bundle of these fabrics!! Woohoo!! To enter, just leave a comment on what August means to you. The drawing will be Sunday, August 19th. See the finish of the placemats HERE.
What does August say to you?
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From My Carolina Home 
That pretty much looks like August. Thanks for the inspiration!
Love August here in Maine. I live in a “tourist”town and love seeing the downtown so busy with happy people enjoying our area along the coast of Maine. Boats fill the harbor, weather is warm and sunny (except for the foggy days!), garden is producing, and life is good! Colors like the ones in your bundle are an inspiration for the month.
This bundle is just stunning, and I love the placemats! Thanks you for the tutorial. August to me means savoring every last bit of summer – the garden, biking, family, and lazy weekends. It also means my favorite season is just around the corner. Nothing beats autumn in New England!
This is a really nice choice of fabrics and a good project to show them off. August is very bountiful, i guess September is as well.
August is still summer to me but it also means my craft shows are on the horizon in a month and a half-so sewing like crazy begins! Lovely fabrics you chose for the bundle.
I love the fabric bundle and the placemats! Thanks for sharing the tutorial! August to me is pre-season football! My youngest son has retired from the NFL and this is the first season we won’t be on the road or flying somewhere to see him play. Thankfully there are 3 teams here in Florida that we can watch play!
Great color work. I love the fabrics you have chosen.
These colors certainly look like you!
Like your placemats (and I enjoy your tablescapes too!) Your fabric choices are lovely! August means the students are back here at the College and all the parking lots are full by the time I get to the lab…so August is hike from the parking lot month! LOL
I think you have captured the colors of August perfectly! August is my birthday month, so to me it often means fun things like a small trip or calls from far away loved ones or a splurge on fabric. Plus, it’s almost football season. All good in my book!
Those placemats are a great idea to showoff a particular print you really like. I think it would work for someone who is learning how to pull colors together without committing to a big project like a quilt. I’m going to suggest it to my daughter who teaches color theory classes at our local quilt shop.
For our family August is birthday season. A fun time. Lovely fabric bundle!
I love August because it does mean that cooler weather will be here…..sooner rather than later, I hope! I love the fall with it’s falling leaves, cool breezes, and promise of the fall holidays, especially Thanksgiving, my fav! Love your placemats and if I win the bundle I will be making some also! Thanks! Enjoy your blog too!
Hi Carole,
Came across a pattern for Fidget and Focus for a pattern and I think you had done one of these some time ago, am I wrong? If you did, did you put it on your blog? I have a lot of things I could use to make some of these and would like to make some of them to help get rid of some things that could help others.
Thanks, Phyllis
These fabrics sing the colors of August so perfectly! To me, August means the beginning of a new school year. Being a teacher for many years, it’s a feeling that’s hard to get out of my head. School supplies, new clothes, setting up a classroom and packing lunches on hot days equals August!
August means- MY BIRTHDAY..and as of this post i am now one year older 🙂 I have been wanting new placements for my kitchen island (just 2 for me and hubby) as i have found some others on clearance for the main table for guests. I think these placemats will be perfect! Thanks for the idea/pattern 🙂
after thinking about it long and hard, it is impossible to say what August means to me – there are no personal celebrations happening this month, no national celebrations happening, it is just the month between July and September which have both personal and national events – go figure!
August is the time when daylight hours are getting longer, the days are warmer, spring bulbs are flowering, buds on trees are shooting, and I can put my mind to the approaching spring weather.The fire gets lit occasionally, and I can venture outside without wrapping up from head to toe in extra layers.A glorious time, that early coffee, sky turning a pale golden colour through the tall trees, beautiful nature at its best.
Here on the OK/AR border there isn’t a hint of autumn colors and we have recieved about 7 inches of rain in the last 2 days, so we will be inundated with lush greens (speckled with the deep reds of ticks and chiggers) for awhile. Since fall is my favorite I really yearn for your colors. Great choices.
Love the placemat design, Carole, and like several others said here, it is a big birthday month for us. Fun to plan short afternoon jaunts with lunch usually included to make it a proper birthday week! And the chicks we got in March are just starting to lay. We have the cutest little minature eggs! Otherwise, waiting for the cooler temps to arrive and trying to be patient!
August is still summer, but whining down. The last chance for that get-a-away trip. Looking forward to the Fall season. The colors in this bundle can help do just that.
August used to mean returning to my classroom and getting to know a new group of kids, but now that I am retired, it means I can still play, and especially enjoy lots of sewing! Your bundle is full of pretty color, and I just ordered one. I’ll have to find the perfect pattern to use it with!
Carole, Thank you for participating in this year’s blogger bundle event. I enjoyed getting to know you better and look forward to more projects together down the road! Can’t wait to see your table scape with these pretty placemats. (Also, I love how efficiently you utilized this fabric to get such a lovely set of placemats out of the bundle.)
August is a great month for me – birthdays, vacation and wrapping up the summer. I am so excited to make your placemat pattern. I just ordered the fabric from N&F and placemats are my go to project for a quick and colorful finish to add to my breakfast nook.
Thanks for a great bundle and idea on what to make with it!
I was so excited to see you featured at Needle and Foot for the monthly bundle! Congrats! These are lovely fabrics together.
I work at a community college, so August means back-to-school! Today was our first day of classes and it’s so nice to have students back on campus and in the library (my corner of campus)!
Growing up in NY August was when the hottest part of summer was. We took our family vacation then traveling far and wide. Now it is my boyfriends birthday and a bit of a holiday for us.
Those do indeed look like August! I was up to my elbows in a reddish gold batch of savory plum sauce, and it would match perfectly with those placemats! To me August has always meant Fair time, first County and then State!
I love August. Our anniversary is August 12 and my birthday is August 21 so there are usually some celebrations!!! It IS hot, but Fall is not far behind in August and I really love Fall and Fall fabrics. Thanks for the giveaway.
Really great August placemats. Some how they seem early August, I guess because of the lighter colours you have used. This week I have been working on an Autumn wall hanging for my daughter but I raided my stash for browns. Apparently I don’t do brown as I had to buy a couple of fat quarters to help out and I still don’t have a solid dark brown in sight. This time of year brings great happiness, don’t have to use the A/C so much and right now it feels wonderful outside (thought it is 9 pm). Back to school for the children and the State Fair are the biggest things happening this month.
August is another year older for me, back to school and just too hot. I love the colors you chose for the bundle. I like the different color binding on the placemats.
August includes a vacation trip to visit family in Kansas and extra time at our cabin up north in Minnesota. Thanks for the giveaway, it’s a pretty bundle.
These are lovely. Look like typically fall.
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Hello Carole; This is a lovely set of fabrics you put together as a bundle! Plus, the Placemat tutorial is wonderful. I look forward to creating some. August to me is usually when I begin really thinking about change. I seem to change my living room around, especially after a deep clean before winter. So many Farmers Markets to visit and our town has events going on for the community, one example; the artists of the area get to section off a block or two and create their art on the streets, sidewalks and bricks for the people to come and watch. Musicians play, people perform light ballets, folk dancing and so much more. Thank you for sharing and your post was brilliantly written Carole! I almost forgot to tell you that, your descriptions were marvelous. Have a marvelous day!
Hello Carole; Here I am responding again….August here to me means Community in that there are so many varieties of events celebrating this town, its people, its history and what this town has to offer. Of course, it is also time for certain vegetables to begin being harvested and begin the canning process or just enjoying the taste. I really have come to love the colors of the slow changing seasons when you pay close attention also. Thank you again for sharing and have a wonderful day!
August means I’m that much closer to my favorite season-fall! What a beautiful bundle! Thanks for the chance to win!
Lovely placemats; thank you for the tutorial! From the time I was a little girl to now as a grandmother August has meant an end of summer vacation to me. School starts in late August here so now it’s time for my grandsons to head back to school which means I don’t get to watch them while their parents work. I always felt a tinge of sadness, never relief, when my girls were little and it was time for them to go back to school. I always tried to make their summer vacations full of family fun time —truth be told I think it was ME who had so much fun with them. Thanks for a chance to win, Carole. You have such a great eye for fabric combinations.
Peaches! August means peach season to me . I freeze a few bushels every August to enjoy throughout the year.
Thank you for the tutorial! the placemats are beautiful! & Thanks too..for chance to win the fabrics to make them! 🙂 August is a busy time here..we have small peach orchard, so we take some to the farm mkts…and can for our winter treats. It’s also back to school for kids..so don’t get to have days with the grangirlie as often. (she is 11, so we get to sew, etc together..and she loves helping papa in the garden & outside things. 🙂
Woohoo! August always meant cooler weather – not this year however – it was always the month my kids went back to school! They are all grown now & I am left with happy memories of the nervous anticipation that starting a new school year brings.
I am not a big fan of hot weather, so August means that fall is just around the corner.
August means saying goodbye to summer, hello to school and looking forward to fall. A very transitional month.
Oops! Think I commented in the wrong place for the drawing! August for me is “so many birthdays” I want to remember. Three friends who have passed, my husband’s, a sister-in-law, an estranged friend, two friends from grade school. . .lots of card making! I still get excited about the first day of school feelings, tho I’ve not had kiddoes in school for years!
Your question about August has me seeing the sun shining on golden fields pff grain almost ready to harvest, the great Herons arriving on our shoreline as they prepare for migration, the power wires lined with clusters of small birds preparing for their long journeys, farmer’s markets heavy with produce from the gardens, trucks and buses carrying the blueberry scoopers to the fields, August skies returning with the promise of a few gales, rain beating on the roof, and tides that cause the sea to churn and foam, good for the kite surfers. The start of fall flowers in the supermarket lots, grasses in our yards that begin to turn yellow and prepare for fall, hot days perfect for swimming or just looking around, It has the anticipation of fall mingled with the sounds andd smells of summer. August is a glorious month!
My apologies, I was so wrapped up in thinking about the scenes of August, that I forgot to tell you how much I like the placemats, and the quilting you used on them. The pattern, Rosie? filled the area perfectly. The colours are for me more like September, but beautiful none the less. Maybe living at the shore gives me a different August perspective. Who knows.
I love August! Being a retired teacher, it used to mean mourning the loss of such freedom but also getting excited about and gearing up for a whole new year and group of students. Now it means leisurely mornings in the sunroom, cicadas and crickets, family picnics, dewy morning walks, harvesting the garden, cutting flowers from the garden to place around the house and relishing the fact that the fall will provide some cooler temperatures, beautiful walks and bike rides and continued freedom to quilt til my heart’s desire. Janice.snell@gmail.com
Even though there may not be an official holiday or theme for August, it has always been special to me. It is my birthday month! This year will be the big 65 which I find really hard to believe but it’s true. It’s also my anniversary month and we will celebrate 43 years of marriage. There is so much activity with children returning to school and that includes my grandchildren and one of my daughters since she is a school teacher. It is the cusp of fall weather which I really love so I think August is a great month. Thanks for the awesome tutorial on the place mats. I think I will try them in Red White and Blue.
The end of August is often when my husband & I get away. Families are busy with back-to-school, so we find that the hotels and flights are less expensive and patios not as crowded even though the weather is still nice. I think you’ve captured August perfectly in your fabric choices!
August used to mean the start of a new school year, now, it’s the almost start of that fall season that has a whiff of clear, cool, crisp beginnings with it. looking forward to what you share on you blog in the fall. i live now overseas, and your pictures always remind me of “home”!
thanks, shoshana
Several times a year a make a table runner for the back desk at the security station in the building where my husband works. The residents love the seasonal change, and I love the challenge of something new to brighten up a dull space. When I saw this bundle I thought the colors might carry thru till Halloween. Can’t wait to get started on a new adventure!!
I think the fabrics you chose are perfect to represent August. Vibrant colors but with a hint of Fall around the corner. Beautiful!
Good luck to all of the entrants to win this delightful bundle you created.
I adore the place mats!
I love August. It is my birthday month!
August means my annual trip to the coast of upper Maine! It is so beautiful and peaceful there and a wonderful way to slow down and enjoy nature! I can’t wait – I leave the heat of Texas behind in one week!
August is lots of home grown vegetables – BLTs with tomatoes. Yum! Also lots of black-eyed susans flowering in our gardens. They look so beautiful. Love your placemats. They say “summer” to me.
August – tomatoes, finishing the last of the quilts for the church camp benefit auction, tomatoes, canning jams-tomato of course!, filling the freezer with green beans and blueberries, canning tomato salsa, summer squash abundance, tomato-basil pie, baskets of cucumbers, tomato-mozzarella salad, freezing dillweed for winter bread and sauces, but no time for new projects! And I really want to make a set of August placemats!
Love the place mats and the fabric you used…definitely define August! For us August is birthday month…my father, three of our five kids, two grands, one son-in-law, and one niece all were born in August!
Your August placemats remind me of my marigolds, yellow and gold cosmos, and golden coneflowers, all in full bloom now. The grand finale of summer before the coolness of fall begins. Thank you for another pattern. It will make sweet gifts in fabrics for all seasons or decor matching. Your “givingness” is above and beyond. Happy end of summer to you!!
August means that it is hot, hot, hot and humid, humid, humid! ☺ It means the garden is slowing down and you get a break from all of the freezing and canning “chores”. I absolutely love all of the lightning and thunderstorms we’ve had lately. Pretty soon, the leaves will start changing and Fall will be upon us. August is a very good time for a trip to the beach for those cool ocean breezes! Better go pack a few things! 😉 Thanks for the chance to win this awesome giveaway!
To me, August is a time of fresh starts and new beginnings. A new school year begins, and children get a new beginning with new beginnings, new friends, maybe new schools. For me, August was the beginning of a new marriage to my sweetheart.
August to me is finishing summer, getting ready for new fall adventures.
love those placemats , thinking of doing a table runner and placemats for step daughters for Christmas gifts
August here means 2 more months of summer heat, then October cooldown starts!
August is my base for the entire year and ever since I was a child, the rest of the calendar revolves around this month. Every year when the first of August comes around, it’s like coming home.
August this year has meant an abundance of quilting opportunities. A fun quilt show, a lunch where we celebrated friendship by creating a quilt for a friend who is moving, a weekend quilting retreat, our guild’s annual quilting day and the abundance of county fairs where quilts can be enjoyed.
Making placemats for our table has long been on my ‘gotta do list’ and I love autumn colors. Your placemats look like the perfect project to get my sewing mojo back after several months of caregiving. Thank you for the opportunity to win the fabric bundle.
August is “Back to School”, and the very beginning of Fall.
Love your placemats!!!!!! August is the end of summer – am so glad!!! I am a Fall & Winter person. I do love the fall colors. Thanks for th echance to win some gorgeous fabric!!!!!!
August to me is a time when garden harvest begin and fall is just around the corner. We may still have hot days but the evenings start to cool down. School is right upon us and so much to do.
Thanks for the chance to win this bundle I like to colors a lot.
August means the end of summer, going back to school, and the sweet smell of autumn. Fall has always been my favorite season, but living in Buffalo, NY then comes the dreaded snow. The colors in the placemats are beautiful, such warmth.Thank you for the opportunity to win the fabric.
August means summer isn’t over yet! We still have to go through September, which is another month just as hot as July in central Florida. It also means freedom! I am a retired teacher, and I send my condolences to my colleagues who haven’t joined me just yet :).
To me, August means it’s blinkin’ hot.
This year August is very special. My mother is turning 100 and my grandson is turning 1. It’s truly a month of celebrations. These placemats are so cheerful! Reminding me of all the reasons we have to be happy.
When I saw your bundle on IG, I smiled because I have at least two and maybe three of those fabrics I bought from her for my FALL into a QAL project. The colors you chose are much like the ones I chose. Your placemats look wonderful!
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Your placemats are beautiful. The colors are just what August needs.