New Fabric - Help me Find a Project

We got a box in the mail earlier this week. The box itself was not a surprise; I knew it was coming. I knew it held 2 letters for The Writer. I even knew it held fabric for me.

I didn't expect so very much fabric, though, nor such gorgeous colors.

I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to do with them.

The red is too burgundy to go with my red, white & blue quilt, and honestly, it would be a terrible shame to not use these together, since they coordinate so very, very well.

My first thought was maybe quilted coasters. A good friend of mine wins blue ribbons for hers all the time, so I asked her to send me a pattern. I'm thinking maybe coasters will make nice Christmas gifts for people.

Then I saw how much fabric there is, and I started to get a little ambitious. Maybe a table runner for myself......

I think I actually might have enough fabric to do both, if my very basic pattern idea and calculations are correct. I need to run it all by my good friend, the blue ribbon winner, and see what she says. Right now I'm thinking a very simple design, more or less patchwork. I don't know that I'm ready for anything too fancy. We'll see....

I'm so excited to have some new stuff to play with. I'm no where near done with my red, white & blue project, not even close!, but right now, the thought of some small, simple projects (like the coasters) that will let me actually get to "Finished" sounds like a treat.

I'm also a little bit blown away with the kindness and generosity of the giver in this case. I was told I was being sent "some leftover fabrics" -- which turned out to be so, so much. One bit of leftover is over 2 yards long (though only about 18 inches wide; still, way more than I had dreamed of receiving!). The other bits are all over a yard long, 2 of them being around 18 inches wide, and the last being roughly 3 feet by 3 feet square(ish).

I'm so excited by all of this. Thrilled that the giver is confident enough and interested enough in my very new, very baby hobby to gift me in this way. I don't know if she realizes what a vote of confidence this is for me, but it is. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but for me, this little gift of fabric says more than, "here, have my scraps." To  me, it says, "I saw that one square you did, and I think you did a great job, and I really want to encourage you in this new pastime because I think you are good at it and will enjoy it."  Besides also saying, "...and I value our budding friendship as well...."  So, Kim, if you're reading -- thank you. Very, very much.

If any of you have project ideas, I'd love to hear them. I'm such a novice that I'm open to any and all suggestions you might have. Just remember -- I'm still a beginner, so, keep it easy!