What to do with a charm pack

I am always, always drawn to charm packs.  I love the idea of owning one little piece of all the coordinating prints in a fabric line.  But what to do with them?

This past summer I came across this book:  Charmed and Dangerous by Heather Mulder Peterson:

The cute wordplay in the title alone was enough to make me pick it up and flip through it.  I decided to try the Crossroads table runner using a charm pack of Dogwood Trail by Moda.

What I really liked about this pattern is that it allowed me to use the light/white charms in the sashings as well as the medium/darks in the squares.

In fact, I liked it so much I cut into my collection of Christmas fabrics and made 5"charms just so I could make another runner for Christmas:

The construction of this table runner does not require cutting triangles.  The triangles are created by trimming the runner after it is all sewn together.

I like how the center of the pattern forms a nice square for surrounding whatever you might choose to put on top of the runner, in this case a candle.

I like the whole idea of seasonal table runners.  They're quick to make and add a nice touch to the room.  Too bad I missed out on making one for Valentine's Day, but there is always next year....