CRAFTY | POTTERY INSPIRED TRIVET

It’s been awhile since I updated you all about the Quarterly Challenge that my Mum and I have going on, so long in fact that 2 challenge deadlines have been and gone.

Mum’s an aspiring potter (no, not the Harry kind) and I’m an aspiring quilter so we thought a great way to keep motivated and encourage each other would be to set a Quarterly Challenge.  Each quarter (March, June, September, December) we’re going to set a challenge and then make something inspired by that challenge in our chosen fields.  At the end of each challenge we’re going to reveal to the other one what we made (whether we send it to them (we don’t live in the same town) or whether we send them pictures) and then blog about it.

The June Challenge was for my Mum to make something in pottery inspired by quilting and I was able to make something quilty that I wanted to do.  My Mum delivered her challenge and I’ll let her talk about her work in another blog post, but let me just say this it’s awesome and getting a lot of use.

I decided I’d make a table runner for my parents 12 seat table.  (No, I don’t have 9 other siblings, we just have a big family dinner table!)  When my Mum was here at Christmas time we’d been looking through some of the quilting books that I had and she’d fallen in love with a quilt pattern by Elizabeth Hartman in her book Modern Patchwork.

…I had to use the hallway to measure it…

I took the pattern and translated it in to a reversible table runner.  I used the colour palette that my Mum liked and I’m proud to say it’s the first project I’ve ever done 100% by myself – that’s right I did the quilting and the binding on this baby (all 8m of it!).  The table runner was 3.5m long and 30cm wide.

The construction on this block pattern is so easy and so effective, but I really struggled to get it completed in the time frame (I was actually 2 months late!) because I just didn’t feel it.

…baby racing track…

I wasn’t confident with my fabric choices, or that the colours worked together.  And in the end I rushed getting it done so I could deliver it in person when we went North for an impromptu visit.  I’m not 100% happy with it and there’s definite lessons I’ve learned from making it which is always a good outcome.

…the table runner in it’s new home…

I have to admit though I really like it now it’s in place at Mum and Dad’s.  But for now, I think it’s the last 3.5m table runner I’ll be making for awhile!

For the September Challenge I had to make something in quilting inspired by pottery.  I knew the moment this challenge was decided what I was going to do.

I’ve always lusted after the foundation paper piecing that I see people doing on Instagram and I really wanted to have a go at it.  I’ve also been thinking more about the use of Batiks since doing Jenny Bowker’s course in May.  I thought that Batik could give the look of glazing.

I purchased the Cups Stacking Paper Pieced from Bubblestitch on Etsy and then set about teaching myself how to foundation piece.

I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. It’s only my second time quilting and binding and both have turned out not too badly.

I used insulation batting in the mix so that it could handle the temperatures. It was a weird product to be sewing with… I’ll admit that I spent some time day dreaming that I was sewing astronaut uniforms for Ben Afflick in Armageddon.

I used left overs from the massive table runner for the back so there’s some continuity between the two pieces.

I’m hoping it gets a bit of use.  It’s given me an idea for making some pot holders (you can never have too many!) that might be nice to have in our kitchen.  I enjoyed this challenge, I’m not sure I’ll be heading back to foundation piecing any time soon, but I really got a kick out of seeing the image form while making the pattern.

Now to get on to the December Challenge…